Is Liver Safe to Consume?
Throughout most of recorded time humans have regarded liver as a source of great strength and as providing almost magical curative powers.
According to Margaret Gin and Jana Allen, authors of Innards and Other Variety Meats, “liver has ranked as one of the most prized culinary delights. Its heritage is illustrious-whether savored by young warriors after a kill or mixed with truffles and cognac for fine pates de foie gras.”
The long-held tradition of using liver in cooking can be found in almost every cuisine around the world.
Liver is also included in the Eight Delicacies list in The Li-Chi, a Chinese handbook of rituals published during the Han era.
Some cultures place such a high value on liver that human hands can’t touch it.
Although not considered a favorite of the Western palate, organ meats such as liver and heart are the superfoods of the animal kingdom and are some of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat.
Dr. Weston Price traveled the world studying diets of traditional cultures and found organ meats were nearly universally prized, primarily for their incomparable nutrient content.
Liver is one of the most nutritionally dense foods in existence and nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A; liver is also abundant in iron, choline, copper, folic acid, B vitamins, purines and natural cholesterol.
What makes liver so special? Liver provides:
- An excellent source of high-quality protein
- Nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A
- All the B vitamins in abundance, particularly vitamin B12
- One of our best sources of folic acid
- A highly usable form of iron Trace elements such as copper, zinc and chromium; liver is our best source of copper
- An unidentified anti-fatigue factor making it a favorite with athletes and bodybuilders.
- CoQ10, a nutrient that is especially important for cardio-vascular function
Promotes optimal immune function
Liver is an excellent source of vitamin A and very good source of zinc, two nutrients that support functioning of the immune system (Mateljan, 2007, p.558). Vitamin A is important for the health of epithelial and muscosal tissues, the body’s fist line of defense against invading organisms and toxins.
Zinc acts synergistically with vitamin A and promotes the destruction of foreign particles and micro organisms, protects against free radical damage and is required for proper white cell function. Zinc also inhibits viruses associated with the common cold.
Promotes Bone Health
Because liver is an excellent source of copper and because copper is a trace mineral and essential component of energy production and antioxidant defenses, it is necessary for the activity of an enzyme that is involved in cross-linking collagen and elastin, both of which provide the ground substance for flexibility in blood vessels, bones and joints.
Promotes Energy Production
Because liver is a good source of niacin, a vitamin that helps promote blood sugar regulation via its actions as a component of molecule called glucose tolerance factor, it optimizes insulin activity.
It is also a great source of patothenic acid which plays an important role in the prevention of fatigue since its supports the function of the adrenal glands especially in times of stress.
Promotes Better Sleep
Because liver is a concentrated source of tryptophan, it promotes better sleep.
Promote Mental Health
Does it feel like your brain is a ticking time bomb? Feeling on edge? Snapping at every body for every littlest thing?
Did you know that B12 deficiency is related to mental health? Mainly found in animal source, its metabolism is essential for myelin synthesis and maintenance of neuronal integrity as well as neurotransmitter regulation.
Virtually all your B-12 intake comes from animal protein–beef, fish, chicken, ham, yogurt, cheese, etc. You pick up a trace of B-12 in fortified foods, but it’s a scant dosage at best.
Beef liver in particular is incredibly nutrient dense. It’s nature multivitamin, containing more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food.
Liver has almost everything in it that you need for optimal brain and mental health:
- An excellent source of high-quality protein and amino acids
- Omega 3 fatty acids
- Vitamin C
- Minerals such as zinc, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, manganese, iron and chromium, some of which are very important for cognitive function and overall brain health.
- Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K. Liver is the most concentrated source of retinol (preformed vitamin A) found in nature.
- All of the B vitamins, including choline, B12 and folate, which support methylation, a biochemical process that is very important for robust and vibrant brain and mental health. Liver has 17 times more vitamin B12 than regular ground beef
Fruits and vegetables are super important for balanced nutrtion. They include higher amounts of phytonutrients to animal foods.They should definitely make up a large part of your diet. But when it comes to vitamins and minerals, fruit and veggies pale in comparison to organ meats such as liver.
And what happens when B-12 is deficient? Red blood cells don’t form properly, DNA synthesis is compromised, and neurological function suffers.
And if you can’t find high-quality grass-fed liver in your area or don’t like the taste of liver, I recommend buying raw beef liver powder in capsule from HERE. Their supplement contains organic beef liver from free range cows that feed exclusively on grass.
Doesn’t liver hold lots of toxins?
One of the roles of the liver is to neutralize toxins (such as drugs, chemical agents and poisons); but the liver does not store toxins. Poisonous compounds that the body cannot neutralize and eliminate are likely to lodge in the fatty tissues and the nervous system. The liver is not a storage organ for toxins but it is a storage organ for many important nutrients (vitamins A, D, E, K, B12 and folic acid, and minerals such as copper and iron). These nutrients provide the body with some of the tools it needs to get rid of toxins.
Of course, we should consume liver from healthy animals–cattle, lamb, buffalo, chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese. The best choice is liver from animals that spend their lives outdoors and on pasture. If such a premier food is not available, the next choice is organic chicken, beef and calves liver.
What about Vitamin A toxicity?
Organ meats are extremely high in natural vitamin A, which is crucial for your health and may even prevent birth defects; unlike synthetic vitamin A, you cannot become toxic from natural vitamin A.
According to the authoritative Merck Manual, acute vitamin A poisoning can occur in children after taking a single dose of synthetic vitamin A in the range of 300,000 IU or a daily dosage of 60,000 IU for a few weeks. The Manual cites two fatalities from acute vitamin A poisoning in children, which manifests as increased intracranial pressure and vomiting. For the vast majority, however, recovery after discontinuation is “spontaneous, with no residual damage.”
In adults, according to the Merck Manual, vitamin A toxicity has been reported in Arctic explorers who developed drowsiness, irritability, headaches and vomiting, with subsequent peeling of the skin, within a few hours of ingesting several million units of vitamin A from polar bear or seal liver. Again, these symptoms clear up with discontinuation of the vitamin A-rich food. Other than this unusual example, however, only vitamin A from megavitamin tablets containing vitamin A when taken for a long time has induced acute toxicity, that is, 100,000 IU synthetic vitamin A per day taken for many months.
So, unless you are an Arctic explorer, it is very difficult to develop vitamin A toxicity from liver. The putative toxic dose of 100,000 IU per day is contained in two-and-one-half 100-gram servings of duck liver or about three 100-gram servings of beef liver. From the work of Weston Price, we can assume that the amount in primitive diets was about 50,000 IU per day.
BareFood Angel recommendations
Liver is one of the most nutritionally dense foods in existence and nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A; liver is also abundant in iron, choline, copper, folic acid, B vitamins, purines and natural cholesterol.
Only consume meat and organs from animals that have been raised sustainably, organically, pastured raised, grass fed and finished (not grain finished like in confined animal feeding operations a.k.a CAFOs). Animals raised in CAFOs are not only deficient in essential nutrients but also potentially infected with diseases that can put your own health at risk.
Personally, I like the taste of chicken liver. My trustworthy source is Kepner farms and Harvest Gathering Farm. Harvest Gathering Farm is at my local Westlake Village farmer’s market on Sundays. Their liver is already free from other organs such as gallbladder. If you liver comes attached with other organs, make sure you remove other organs. If not, your batch will taste foul. You want to consume an offal not a foul offal.
Organ meats from grass-fed animals are safe and rich in high quality amino acids, fat, B vitamins and B12, CoQ10, minerals, and “fat-soluble activators” (vitamins A, D and K), important for mineral absorption.
Here is a silky-smooth chicken liver pate that is inexpensive, delicious and simple to make. The chicken livers are briefly simmered in water with aromatics before they’re blended with butter in a food processor.
Share your comments below with the rest of the community. I’d like to know how yours turns out.
To Your Health,
- Eggshell Membrane: An Overlooked Collagen Source - September 21, 2023
- Lemon Verbena Tea - July 19, 2023
- Lemon Verbena Herb - July 19, 2023
- Announcing the 5th Blue Zone - March 11, 2023
- 2 toxic additives to avoid in bread - March 1, 2023
- How to add TheWholeTransformation to your allow list - February 8, 2023
- Hibiscus – Egyptian Wonder Flower 🌺 - December 14, 2022
- Cold/Flu Remedy protocol - August 20, 2022
- Sunshine Vitamin - February 14, 2022
- Spike Protein Disabling Tea - August 16, 2021
