Health Benefits of Beef Liver & Organ Meats

You may have noticed the increase of chatter surrounding the health benefits of beef liver and other organ meats. The topic is trendy, the act itself is ancestral.  It certainly can look like a trend when a topic gets a big wave of support throughout the wellness community. In some ways, sure, it’s “trendy” to discuss the nose to tail style of consuming animal meats. But, in actuality, consuming organ meats along with muscle meats is a traditional and ancestral way of eating. We have lost a lot of nutrient density to our diets by eliminating the nose to tail traditional way of eating. With the rise of chronic illness, it can be important to pay attention to what our ancestors did or didn’t do. They led healthier lives with less chronic disease.

Eating the whole animal can feel intimidating. But if we only consume muscle meat, we leave behind a plethora of nutrient density that is missing from modern day diets.

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Is Beef Liver right for me?

Everyone can benefit from the fat soluble vitamins and minerals that are delivered through organ meats. Meat and organ meat specifically offers a wide range of nutrients and some that can only be attained by animal foods. If you’re looking to boost your overall health and get a good dose of important vitamins and minerals then organ meats may be the perfect option. Back in the day, everyone ate them. That being said, there are always exceptions to the rule.

One thing to note about beef liver is it’s high levels of histamine. Histamine is an important part of our system but like anything, requires balance. Individuals with no signs of histamine intolerance or normal levels will be just fine consuming nose to tail. There is a portion of the population who are histamine intolerant due to already high levels within their body. This could mean that beef liver or any high histamine food could make them feel worse.

I have personally dealt with bouts of histamine overload and had to switch to a supplement that contained multiple organs and included kidney. Kidney is a natural Diamine Oxidase (DAO). DAO is a natural anti-histamine that blocks histamine over- production in the body. Since I have managed my histamine levels I am now able to consume beef liver but I do still stick with multi-organ supplements out of preference. I don’t want to tip that scale incase histamine levels rise again (mine were linked to gut dysbiosis). There is also the fact that multi-organ supplements offer a wide range of other nutrients since they encompass more organs than just the liver. That being said, I do use what I have on hand. I always have some type of organ supplement circulating in my holistic medicine cabinet. More on which ones I love best in a moment.

So in short, liver and organs are an incredible source of health but listen to your body and do your due diligence to determine what’s best for you.

Health Benefits of Beef Liver & Organ Meats

Due to its nutrient dense profile, consuming beef liver and various organs comes with a wide range of potential health benefits. Here’s a list of some possible benefits when consuming beef liver and/or organs:

•  increased energy
• improved skin
• graceful aging
• bone health
• dental health
• heart health
• improved fertility
• brain health
• muscle strength
• improved endurance
• mood support
• eye health
• immune system
• supports cardiovascular system
• can remedy chronic fatigue

 

Beef Liver: Natures Multivitamin

The biggest draw to consuming liver or other organ meats are their nutrient density and large range of vitamins and minerals required for the human body. They’re some of the only foods that hold this kind of nutritional abundance. It’s exceeds all “superfoods” in almost every micronutrient. In summary, it contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other “super” food.

• A major source of daily protein intake
• Highest levels of Vitamin A in any food
• High levels of B Vitamins, especially B12
• A natural source of Folic Acid
• Bioavailable Iron (Far superior to synthetic iron supplements that often don’t absorb)
• Trace elements and their proper co-factors such as copper, zinc and chromium
• A good source of CoQ10
• Contains Purines, nitrogen compounds that act as precursors for DNA and RNA

Beef Liver can remedy fatigue better than than anything else found in Nature. While scientists don’t understand every factor behind this phenomenon (besides the nutrient profile), it is certain to give you a boost of energy. Many professional athletes find this beneficial to their performance yet everyday humans can benefit from this too. Fatigue is running rampant in our society and this dose of energy could benefit us all.

When I was postpartum with my second born, I suffered a major decline in health. I lost a large amount of hair, my hormones were suffering and blood tests showed anemia amongst other deficiencies. Prior to having my children, I was vegetarian for many years. The lack of animal foods put a deficit in my vitamin and mineral stores. Fast forward a few years and I went through two full term pregnancies and extended breastfeeding journeys with both my children. In pregnancy alone, a Mother passes 10 pounds of her minerals to baby. Breastfeeding will transfer even more. A woman with normal stores and levels of vitamins and minerals will be able to go through these stages just fine. However, many women are deficient these days. This is generally due to an epidemic of under eating or following trendy fad diets that eliminate animal foods.

This experience is what led me to understand the benefits of beef liver and organ meats. I had grown up in a Ukrainian family watching my Grandmother and Mother consume these types of foods. It was not new to me per se. My Grandmother grew her own food, cooked from scratch, and ate nose to tail. Liver was a staple meal at the dinner table. But I never fully appreciated the nutrition value of this.

I often feel as though our health can benefit from going back to basics. Back to the ways our ancestors lived and ate. This was my personal experience being brought back to traditional ways in modern day times. Once I began consuming Beef Liver, my health peeked dramatically. My hair grew back in thickness and length. My blood tests showed normal levels of nutrients including iron. No more anemia. I truly believe that these types of whole food supplements from animals can be such a blessing to Women especially.

Flash forward and I now have most my friends and family taking them in some fashion. Besides my Mother who preceded me in this wisdom.

 

How to consume Beef Liver for it’s Health Benefits

Eating liver at meals is a great way to get nutrients into your diet. However, many people (myself included) cannot stomach the taste or texture of liver or other organ meats. There are three simple solutions to this. Some choose to make their own “liver pills” from fresh beef liver. By making your own liver pills out of an organic grass fed beef liver, you bypass the texture since you don’t need to chew. Here’s how to prepare your own beef liver “pills”:

 

Option #1 DIY Beef Liver Pills Recipe

1. Purchase an organic grass fed beef liver.
2. Place in the freezer for at least 2 weeks. This will help reduce/eliminate potential pathogens as they cannot withstand that temperature for that length of time.
3. Thaw liver and chop into tiny pill sized pieces. (Note: Some people prefer to cook the liver prior, some consume raw. You’ll have to read up and determine what you prefer or feel comfortable with. Lots of factors to consider here.)
4. Place pieces of liver on a tray lined with parchment paper and pop into the freezer.
5. Once frozen, place them in a baggie inside the freezer to keep.
6. Take a “pill” each day with a little Orange juice (vitamin C helps heme iron within liver absorb).

 

Option #2 Beef Liver Pate Recipe

Another option is to alter the texture of the liver by making a pate. I love adding pate to crackers and even ate this as a kid. It can still be a little off putting to some but it is more palatable than eating fried liver in my opinion. This recipe is simple and easy to make, you can keep in your fridge and eat some each day for a good dose of nutrition.

Ingredients:

• 1 Beef Liver
• 5-6 Tbsp. Butter
• 1-2 Cloves of Garlic (chopped well)
• 2 Tsp. Thyme
• 1/2 Tsp. Sea Salt
• 1/2 Tsp. Black Pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Heavy Whipping Cream

Instructions:

1. Cut liver into strips and chop garlic finely
2. Melt half of the butter in a pan
3. Add liver and garlic to the pan
4. Add thyme, salt, pepper to the pan and stir
5. Cook for about 3 minutes while ensuring all sides of liver are cooked
6. Remove from pan and allow to cool
7. Add to a food processor and add heavy whipping cream and remaining butter
8. Place in a air tight container and refrigerate over night
9. Enjoy!

 

Option #3 Beef Liver Supplements

Alternatively, and probably the easiest way to consume, is to purchase an organic grass fed desiccated beef liver supplement. They come in capsules and eliminate both taste and texture aversion allowing you to get the nutrients without gagging.  I love Perfect Supplements Beef Liver. It is grass fed, organic, certified glyphosate free, batch tested, and high quality. The best part is that they are affordable and not substantially marked up in price like many other brands on the market.

 

Perfect Supplements Beef Liver & Multi Organs

 

Perfect Supplements is a superior company for many reasons. The company is run by wonderful people who really do care about the performance of their products. Their branded products go through third party testing to ensure no impurities are present and to check quality. They source their ingredients with high standards and their organs are from organic grass fed cows. They also don’t inflate their prices to unaffordable prices. In fact, they work hard to keep price point a priority so that everyone can access their products. They even offer bundle deals where you can get 20% off if you buy 3 or more of their products and 25% off if you buy 6 or more. In addition to this, they offered me a discount code which you can stack on top of these deals for an extra 10% off (discount code: HOLISTICVANITY).

They carry both Beef Liver AND a Multi-Organs Supplement for those who are histamine sensitive. This blend contains 6 glandular organs: heart, kidney, pancreas, liver, spleen & thymus. Here is a breakdown of the quality of the Multi-Organs that Perfect Supplements formulates. In my opinion, it is one of the best on the market and I have noticed major benefits.

As mentioned above, this blend contains Kidney. Kidney is a natural Diamine Oxidase (DAO). DAO is a natural anti-histamine that blocks histamine over- production in the body. This helps those with histamine intolerance balance the intake of beef liver and other organs. It also contains Thymus which is particularly supportive of the immune system. Because of these added benefits of the other organs within this blend, I sometimes prefer this over the beef liver. Although I cycle between the two often as histamine regulation is no longer an issue for me.  Here is a breakdown of the quality standards and benefits found within the Multi- Organ Supplement:

 

The bundle deals allow you to mix and match between all Perfect Supplements Brand Products so you can get a little of everything with a steep discount. I love stocking up my medicine cabinet with high quality whole food supplements using this deal.

Beef Liver and Organs are a gift from nature that I love to share about. It can be such a great source of nutrition for many with a wide range of health benefits. I hope you enjoy some of the same benefits I’ve been able to by adding this superfood to my wellness routine.

 

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