Last week I posted my brand comparison of cod liver oil (CLO). In this comparison I listed three dozen types of liquid and softgel cod liver oils, and compared the cost per serving of each of them. I compared the cost of CLO to the more superior fermented cod liver oil (FCLO) and concluded the liquid FCLO is less expensive than all but two of the liquid brands. We also discovered there are brands of CLO with 0 IU’s of Vitamin D.

However, as I mentioned, quality was not taken into account in my cost analysis. Who uses synthetic vitamins? Natural? Which brands contain soy?

This post addresses which brands contain soy. But first, let’s take a quick peek into why we don’t want soy in our CLO.

Reasons to Avoid Soy

Soybean oil is the main active ingredient used in Bayer’s “natural” pesticide - and we want to consume this?

Soy is genetically modified - we want to avoid GMO’s!

Soy is processed in a way that increases levels of carcinigens,and cause thyroid problems - read more: Soy Danger’s Summarized

The Whole Soy Story - by Kaayla T. Daniel

Endorsed by Mary G. Enig (author of Eat Fat, Loose Fat) as providing “the most comprehensive review/evaluation of the soy story ever to exist. This is a must read for the intelligent and concerned consumer of food for themselves and especially for their children and grandchildren.”

Read more about The Whole Soy Story. 50% off until November 3rd. Nearly 500 pages in this hardcover book.

Brands Listing Soy as an Ingredient

I will update Cod Liver Oil - Brand Comparison Guide and Cost Analysis to include these notations of CLO brands containing soy. Here are those who list soy as an ingredient:

1. Natrol - emulsified “contains soy lecithin”
2. Nature’s Answer - liquid “contains soy”
3. Twinlab - emulsified “emulsified with soy lecithin”
4. Twinlab - softgels “soybean oil”
5. Vitacost - liquid “contains soy (lecithin)”
6. Vitacost - softgels “contains soy (lecithin)”

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?

Child Life doesn’t list soy in their ingredients. They go to the effort of listing “free of: egg, corn, nuts,” etc. but avoid listing soy as a “free of.” They do contain Vitamin E, however, which means they have tocopherols (read more about tocopherols next)

Natrol also has a “free of” list that excludes soy, although there are no soy ingredients, tocopherols, or Vitamin E listed.

Other brands who do not use soy, such as Natural Factors and Solgar promote their products as “soy free” very proudly. So what are we to think? Should we avoid them, erring on the side of caution? I’ll leave that up to you.

Tocopherols = Hidden Soy?

During my research of cod liver oil that contains soy, I came across brands that contain “natural tocopherols” or “mixed tocopherols.”

What are tocopherols? Vitamin E. However, there are two kinds of Vitamin E - synthetic and natural (who knew researching cod liver oil would bring me through so many different rabbit trails?)

Although Natural Vitamin E has eight different components, the most common ones (and the ones used in CLO) are listed under these names:

• d-alpha tocopherol
• d-alpha tocopherol acetate
• d-alpha tochopherol succinate

Don’t let that confuse you with Synthetic Vitamin E, which is listed as:

• dl-alpha tocopherol
• dl-alpha tocopherol acetate
• dl-alpha tochopherol succinate

Notice the difference? Yup, that little “l.”

Come to find out, tocopherols/Vitamin E are almost always (70% of the time) derived from soy). If it’s not derived from soy, then it’s derived from corn (not too happy with that choice either, since most corn is now GMO).

My first reaction was to ban all brands listing tocopherol or Vitamin E. I want nothing to do with soy!

Upon educating myself further, I found some health professionals state that although soybean oil is used in the process of making tocopherols, “all negative elements of soy have been removed, and only the valuable Vitamin E elements are provided.” (source: Mercola on Vitamin E). Mercola’s views on soy are pretty strongly against consuming soy proteins (which cause health issues and allergic reactions), so this gave me some comfort.

Carlson’s has a similar answer here: “[T]his vitamin E is extracted from soy, highly purified and then isolated. There are no soy proteins or soybean oil found in the finished vitamin E raw material that is added to the Cod Liver Oil. Therefore, no soy proteins or soybean oil are found in our Cod Liver Oil products.” They state that omega-3′s present in CLO are easily oxidized and natural Vitamin E (tocopherols) is used as a preservative.

Synthetic or natural, tocopherols make up a very small percentage of the CLO when you consume it. This is far less a worry than consuming soybean oil (which contains soy proteins). In fact, most people allergic to soy can consume soy-based tocopherols with no bad reactions.

My conclusion? Tocopherols are harmless. At the very least, we have bigger issues to worry about than if our CLO contains tocopherols or not!

Because I am thorough, I will list the brands containing tocopherols; however, I am not saying you shouldn’t use these brands:

1. Barlean’s - Lemonade liquid “d-alpha tocopherol”
2. Carlson’s - liquid “d-alpha tocopherol, d-alpha tocopherol acetate, and mixed tocopherols”
3. Carlson’s - Lemon liquid “d-alpha tocopherol, d-alpha tocopherol acetate, and mixed tocopherols”
4. Carlson’s - “for kiids” liquid “d-alpha tocopherol, d-alpha tocopherol acetate, and mixed tocopherols”
5. Carlson’s - softgels “d-alpha tocopherol”
6. Carlson’s - Lightly Lemon softgels “d-alpha tocopherol”
7. Child Life - Strawberry liquid does not list any tocopherols, however they do list 8 IU’s of Vitamin E. As we have learned, Vitamin E is made from tocopherols, so I am listing it here.
8. Garden of Life - Lemon-Mint liquid lists “alpha tocopherol” without stating “d” or “dl” but no Vitamin E IU’s are listed. They are labeled “free of soy.” I leave the conclusion up to you!
9. Health from the Sun - softgels “mixed tocopherols” but no Vitamin E content listed on bottle…
10. Nordic Naturals - Orange liquid lists “d-alpha tocoopherol” and contains 30 IU’s Vit E “derived from refined soybean oil”
11. Nordic Naturals - Children’s DHA liquid lists “d-alpha tocoopherol” and contains 30 IU’s Vit E “derived from refined soybean oil”
12. Nordic Naturals - softgels lists “d-alpha tocoopherol” and contains 30 IU’s Vit E “derived from refined soybean oil”
13. Spectrum - Lemon liquid lists “Non-GMO Vitamin E” in ingredients, yet the bottle shows “0 IU’s”
14. Spectrum - softgels list “Non-GMO Vitamin E” in ingredients, yet the bottle shows “0 IU’s”
15. Swanson - liquid “natural tocopherols”
16. Swanson - softgels “natural tocopherols”

Lauric Arginate in CLO - Why?

Natrol contains “lauric arginate.” Concerned this was another code name for soy, I did come investigating.

Lauric Arginate (LAE) is a Na-lauroyl-Larginine ethyl ester formulation. According to Purac, who manufactures LAE, it is used as a novel antimicrobial compound that can be used for bacteriocidal surface treatment of fresh and cooked meat against foodborne pathogens such as: E.coli, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes.

I must ask: why is this being used in CLO? One would assume there are questionable ingredients included in the cod liver oil to require the addition of LAE. Use at your own risk.

Brands that are Soy Free

Here are the brands labeled “free of soy” and do not contain tocopherols or Vit E:

1. Country Life - softgels
2. Garden of Life - Lemon-Mint liquid (see my note in the tocopherols list above)
3. KAL - softgels
4. Natural Factors - softgels
5. Nature’s Life - softgels
6. NOW - softgels
7. Solgar - softgels
8. Sonne’s - liquid (the label does not say “soy free” like the other brands listed here)
9. Swanson - double-strength softgels
10. Twinlab - liquid

Where does your brand of Cod Liver Oil fall in this list? Are you concerned about soy in your CLO? What about tocopherols?

Similar Posts:

Cod Liver Oil – Brand Comparison Guide and Cost Analysis
Benefits of Fermented Cod Liver Oil – How to Take it Without Gagging, and How it Saves You Money
Benefits of Vitamin D - Why it’s essential to health + the best food sources

Want to learn more about herbs? proud contributor

Lea Harris founded Nourishing Treasures in 2006. A mom passionate about her family's health and well-being, Lea believes education is power. Encouraging others to take baby steps in the right direction of health for their families, Lea's goal is to raise awareness of what goes into our mouths and on our bodies, providing natural alternative information that promotes health and prevents disease by using traditional foods and nature's medicine. Lea is a Certified Health Coach graduate from Beyond Organic University, and a Certified Aromatherapist graduate from Aromahead Institute. "Like" Nourishing Treasures on Facebook, join the Nourishing Treasures Group on Facebook, follow @NourishTreasure on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter. You can also find me on Learning About Essential Oils forum, and Fido Fermentation Facebook group. Disclaimer: I use affiliate links wherever possible. So if you click on a link, and make a purchase, I might make a small commission, but it doesn't cost you any more.