A reader has raised the question of what they could take to ease the pain and discomfort of arthritis. The answer is simple. Cod Liver Oil!

Now many of us in our Third Age might be more than a little uncomfortable with the mention of Cod Liver Oil. After all, isn’t that the horrible stuff that Government promoted and parents were encouraged to give their children to keep them healthier in post-war Britain? Along that is with concentrated orange juice and dried milk and other medicaments too horrible to mention.

Well it is – and then again it isn’t. It’s certainly the same stuff alright, but it’s how you take it that determines how you feel about Cod Liver Oil.

My experience of Cod Liver Oil as a child was an unpleasant one that remains with me to this day. In those days, and I’m sure it was the case for most youngsters at the time, the amber nectar was simply poured onto a teaspoon and we were forced to swallow it gagging the whole time and reliving the experience for the next hour or two as the fish oil repeated on us. Today of course children would simply refuse to take it and perhaps the less said about that the better!

All of which is a shame really, especially since a recently published study in the medical journal Rheumatology proved that taking Cod Liver Oil could reduce the reliance on anti-inflammatory drugs for the likes of arthritis by more than 30 percent. (It’s also a rich source of Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acids).

So if you suffer to any degree whatsoever from arthritis, joint paint or anything related, herewith a masterclass from someone who has personally benefited from the effects of Cod Liver Oil for more than 20 years.

Ingredients:
10ml liquid Cod Liver Oil
1 chewable Vitamin C Tablet
Orange Juice to taste (or not to taste in this particular case)!

1. To begin with, you need pure liquid Cod Liver Oil, not capsules, because it is easier for your body to assimilate as it bypasses the digestive tract and the nutrients get absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Personally, I use Seven Seas.

2. Pour 10ml (2 teaspoonfuls) into a medicine measuring cup. Pour the orange juice into a glass in readiness. I use fresh orange juice, but I have also tried it with undiluted orange squash, any other squash or blackcurrant drink which are just as effective. You don’t need much – about half an inch is fine.

3. Take a mouthful of the fresh orance juice and swill it around the mouth before swallowing. This coats the lining of the mouth so that you never taste the Cod Liver Oil.

4. Throw the Cod Liver Oil to the back of the throat but don’t swallow at this stage. Now take a gulp of the Orange Juice and wash down the Cod Liver Oil with it.

5. Drink any remaining Orange Juice and chew a Vitamin C tablet.

And that’s it. No smell, no taste of anything except orange juice, no repeating and less joint pain. Not a quick fix, but one the benefits of which you can feel within days and you will continue to feel all the while you continue to take it. And I believe there are even Cod Liver Oils on the market today that are virtually tastless anyway.

Of course there’s an alternative. You can continue to suffer the pain caused by arthritis. I know which I prefer!

The Editor.