Well Being: Eat your...

Liver

So, last night, we were watching a lovely documentary called Alex Polizzi’s Secret Italy on Amazon. The series has a segment on the island of Sardinia, and one interesting fact is how many centenarians live there. However, another interesting fact is that the islanders still eat a lot of organ meat of all types. Nothing is wasted from the animal, and it is all on display in the local markets, where butchers work on site. A far cry from the centralized, industrialized slaughterhouses, where such delicacies are used for pet food. The truth is that organ meat is good for you, and it is a shame that it has fallen out of favor in our so wealthy, we don’t have to eat that shat, nation.

Organ meats, what we used to simply call offal, are among the most nutrient-dense foods available. Not slightly better than muscle meat, but in many cases an order of magnitude richer in key vitamins, minerals, and biologically active compounds. When used intelligently, they can close nutritional gaps that are otherwise very difficult to address through diet alone.

Let’s start with the obvious objection, because everyone thinks it.

“Yes, but the liver filters toxins.”

True. It is a filtration and processing organ. But that does not mean it stores toxins like a sponge sitting under your sink. The liver’s job is to transform, neutralize, and export toxins. It does not warehouse them. Those compounds are either broken down and excreted through bile or urine, or they circulate and are handled elsewhere.

If you are worried about accumulation, fat is a much more likely place for persistent compounds to reside than liver tissue itself. What the liver does store, very efficiently, are nutrients. That is why predators go for it first.

So no, eating liver is not the dietary equivalent of licking a water filter. It's more like the equivalent of a multi-vitamin.

Why liver deserves a place on the plate

Liver, whether beef or chicken, is arguably the most concentrated nutritional package you can get from an animal.

It delivers:

• Vitamin A in the form of retinol, ready to use, not something your body has to convert

• Vitamin B12 in levels that make most foods look anemic by comparison

• Folate in its natural form, not synthetic folic acid

• Copper and choline, both critical and often under-consumed

Beef liver tends to be more concentrated and robust in flavor. Chicken liver is milder, easier for most people to tolerate, and still remarkably dense nutritionally. If you are easing into this, chicken liver is the gateway drug.

Energy, brain, and metabolic throughput

Liver is loaded with B vitamins, especially B12, B2, and B6. These are central to:

• Mitochondrial energy production

• Neurotransmitter synthesis

Choline, which is abundant in liver, supports:

• Brain development and function

• Liver health itself

• Cell membrane integrity

If you are running a high-demand system, physically or cognitively, these are not optional inputs.

Blood building and oxygen transport

Liver brings together:

• Heme iron, which your body absorbs efficiently

• Copper, which helps regulate iron metabolism

That combination matters. You can take iron supplements all day long, but without the supporting cofactors, the system does not run properly. Liver supports the whole pathway.

This becomes particularly relevant in:

• Iron deficiency anemia

• Pregnancy

• Growth and recovery

Immune and reproductive health

Vitamin A from liver plays a central role in:

• Immune signaling

• Maintaining the integrity of gut and lung linings

Add in zinc and selenium from organ meats more broadly, and you are supporting:

• Immune function

• Hormonal balance

This is systems biology, not isolated nutrients.

A brief word about taste and reality

Now, none of this matters if you cannot get it past your fork.

Liver has a reputation. Some of it deserved. Some of it based on childhood trauma involving overcooked slabs of something that tasted like a boot soaked in iron.

There are ways around this:

• Do not overcook it.

• Mix small amounts into ground beef. Online “ancestral” meat shops specialize in grass-fed ground organ meat and beef sales. This is an easy way to ease into eating organ meat.

• Use, or even better, make, pâté, which is civilization’s way of making liver not only tolerable but actually enjoyable. Chicken livers are cheap and very tasty in pâté. Pâté is easy to make and keeps for several days. It is so tasty, you might even try serving it at a party!

• The classic liver and onions (try using calf’s liver) is pretty darn tasty. Especially with ketchup.

Start small. You do not need a plate of it. An ounce or two once or twice a week will move the needle.

The larger point

Muscle meat gives you protein and calories. Liver gives you the cofactors that allow your system to function at a higher level.

And despite what you may have been told, you are not eating a toxin sponge. You are eating the metabolic control center of the animal. The place where the nutrients are stored.

JGM

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Brownstone Institute’s second retreat at Polyface Farms is a chance to join us (Robert and I will both be speaking) in an exciting adventure on a real working farm, to learn from the best minds on the subjects of health and food freedom, and discover what a huge difference authenticity can make to rediscover core truths. This event shows the why and the way.

The event begins on Friday morning with an early morning registration and a delicious breakfast and ends Saturday afternoon.

Polyface Farm: On Friday and Saturday, August 28th and 29th, Brownstone will host their annual Polyface Retreat at Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia.

RETREAT: REGISTER NOW.

Tickets for the VIP dinner August 28 are still available, but going fast. Eight are left. TICKETS.