How To Choose The Best Beef Liver Supplement

If you have spent any time reading one of the recent popular books on the diets of healthy traditional cultures (many influenced by the research of Weston A Price), you cannot have missed the fact that nose to tail eating was a dominant feature of their diets. In other words our ancestors consumed many parts of animals that have since become unfashionable to eat, e.g. organ meats (liver, heart, kidney, etc), skin and bones (as bone broth).

In fact many people in our modern society are quite squeamish about eating these traditional foods, especially organ meats like liver. For many eating muscle meat (e.g. steak) is considered to have a higher status than eating organ meats. In the eyes of many organ meats were consumed due to lack of better quality meats like steak and are these ancestral foods are relegated to the history books.

Another factor is that it’s actually not so easy to source good quality organ meats that are organic and sourced from healthy animals that have not been subjected to chemicals. For example many large industrial farms illegally add clenbuterol to increase protein content in the meat, which ends up in organ meats such as liver.

For those aware of the benefits of eating organ meats a great way to consume these health promoting feeds is to take beef liver supplement that is sourced from grass fed, organic cows.

What is in a beef liver supplement?

Liver sourced from pasture raised cows is more nutritious, gram for gram, than any other food on this earth. Liver is truly a superfood that stands head and shoulders above pretty much all of the other superfoods. Plant based supplements don’t come close.

The process of freeze drying or desiccating liver involves drying the raw meat until the water is removed. It is then normally crushed into powder and sold in tablets or capsules for easy consumption

Liver from healthy, grass fed cows contents a wide array of vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats.

What are the benefits of eating beef liver?

Beef liver contains an array of vitamins, enzymes and minerals that contribute to a healthy, nutritious diet. Below is a list of important vitamins and minerals contained in beef liver.

Vitamin A (also knows as retinol)

Vitamin A plays key roles in vision, immunity, cell maintenance, and other key bodily processes. Vitamin A is an essential micronutrient and contributes to normal:

iron metabolism
function of the immune system
maintenance of normal skin, vision and mucous membranes
and also has a role in the process of cell specialisation

Vitamin B7 (also known as biotin)

The word “biotin” comes from the ancient Greek word “biotos,” which means “life” or “sustenance.” B vitamins, and specifically biotin, help keep your skin, hair and nervous system healthy. Biotin is also a crucial nutrient during pregnancy, as it’s important for embryonic growth. B7 is an essential vitamin and contributes to normal:

functioning of the nervous system
macronutrient metabolism
psychological function
and also contributes to the maintenance of normal hair, skin and mucous membranes.

Vitamin B12 (also known as cobalamin)

Vitamin B12 has many important roles in your body, including the normal function of your nerve cells and is used for red blood cell formation and metabolism. Vitamin B12 contributes to normal:

functioning of the nervous system
function of the immune system
psychological function
red blood cell formation
energy-yielding metabolism
homocysteine metabolism
and also contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and has a role in the process of cell division.

Copper

Copper is a mineral found throughout your body. It’s a nutrient that your body must have to function properly and it contributes to normal:

energy-yielding metabolism
functioning of the nervous system
function of the immune system
hair pigmentation
skin pigmentation
iron transport in the body
and contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress and maintenance of normal connective tissues.

It’s an unfortunate fact that many beef liver tablets are processed, including fortifying or concentrating to artificially increase the nutritional numbers on the label, bulked up protein content or reduced fat. This means that even though the original liver was sourced from grass fed cattle the supplement can be denatured, defatted and heavily processed.

Below are some important checks to make when sourcing a beef liver supplement for you and your family. As always, asking questions can reveal much useful information. Why not ask your supplier if the beef liver is:

Grass fed organic beef
Hormone free
Pesticide free
Antibiotic free
Non-defatted (i.e. no fat removed)
Processed with minimal low heat processing (high heat destroys nutrients)
Free of additives, solvents, deodorisers, bleach and refining agents.
Without added iron

Sources:

Pregnancy and Lactation Alter Biomarkers of Biotin Metabolism in Women Consuming a Controlled Diet

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4230210/

EU Health Claims For Vitamins And Minerals

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02012R0432-20170822

Buy Hirsch Organic Beef Liver Supplement

Hirsch offer an organic beef liver supplement that is sourced from independent organic UK farms and the liver is delicately processed to preserve the integrity of the organ meat. No synthetic nutrients or other ingredients are ever added.