Cod liver oil 'helps arthritis sufferers'

Adriana Davies felt the benefits of cod liver oil within days

Cod liver oil has been proved to have real health benefits by scientists at Cardiff University.

Findings revealed in a project funded by the Arthritis Research Campaign show there is truth to the old wive's tale.

I began to notice the benefits in seven to 10 days. It was not long before I was running up the stairs.

Arthritis sufferer Adriana Davies

Research team member Professor Bruce Caterson, of the Cardiff University School of Biosciences, said the work showed how the oil goes to work on the human body.

"It has lots of benefits and the paper that we have put out shows that at a molecular level how it helps with some of the aspects of arthritis," Prof Caterson explained.

Prof Bruce Caterson: Benefits are evident

Cod liver oil convert Adriana Davies, from Ystradgynlais, near Swansea, began taking it after a recommendation from a friend.

She was told the concoction of orange juice and cod liver oil might take weeks to have any effect.

"I began to notice the benefits in seven to 10 days," she said. "It was not long before I was running up the stairs."

Proof

Pharmacist Mark Button said that cod liver oil has proved popular for treating muscular and rheumatoid conditions.

But the latest research provides clinical proof of how it can improve the lives of some arthritis sufferers, said Prof Caterson.

"It is a correlation that has been known for some time and it is known that eskimos get less arthritis," he added.

Research funding may now be sought by the project team to find out the benefits on injured and arthritic race horses.