I remember distinctly my Dad frying up Lambs Liver most weeks in my youth. To be honest the smell was so vile I could never bring myself to eat it. Dad on the other hand relished it with glee!
Most of us know that liver is good for you but do you know why, and if so, why aren’t you eating it more often?
Grass-fed and grass-finished liver from pasture-raised cows (and chicken) is among the most nutritionally dense foods in existence. Gram for gram, liver contains more nutrients than any other food and affords each and every one of us an abundance of benefits.
A high-quality liver that is ethically and sustainably sourced is loaded with vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fat-soluble vitamins that support optimal collagen synthesis (think skin, hair, and connective tissues), strong immune function, energy levels, heart, brain and liver health.
Our early ancestors knew this, which is why their traditional diets included the frequent and nourishing consumption of this nutritional powerhouse. The liver was prized amongst traditional civilizations and never discarded, quite the opposite, it was offered to the leaders of the Tribe and the best huntsmen.
Unless you are experimenting with the Carnivore Diet, most folks just can’t muster up the courage to eat liver in its raw or cooked state so most find liver capsule supplements are the best way to consume it without tasting it. If you ARE brave enough to give it a go raw, try our favourite hack of freezing it and then shaving the raw frozen liver into a chocolate smoothie. Seriously you won’t even know it’s in there and you’ve totally just turbocharged your smoothie in a way that your ancestors would be proud of.
If the smoothie idea sounds totally gross to you, try sneaking it into the likes of your Bolognese sauce or turning it into Pate, everyone loves Pate right?!
GRASS-FED BEEF LIVER IS HIGH IN…
- Preformed Vitamin A (aka retinol) which is the most bioavailable form for your body
- Contains all the fat-soluble vitamins D, E, K
- Choline
- Folate
- Vitamin B12
- CoQ10
- Bio-Available Iron
- Hyaluronic Acid
- Heme Iron of which up to 33% is absorbed compared to 2% of non-heme iron.
GRASS FED BEEF LIVER SUPPORTS…
- Healthy Teeth, Gums, Skin & Hair
- Healthy Joints, Ligaments & Tendons
- Collagen Production
- Energy Metabolism
- Immune Function
- Methylation (Consuming liver helps your liver function better & aids in detox)
- Heart, Brain & Liver Health
- Anti-aging!
- Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women
- Healthy Iron Levels or those with Anemia
Liver is an outstanding food or supplement to include for all pregnant and breastfeeding women because not only does it support energy levels and iron stores but it provides critical Vitamin A, Choline and Folate necessary for a growing baby’s brain and nervous system development. A deficiency in Choline during pregnancy can significantly lower a child’s IQ!
Vitamin A has gotten such a bad rap over the years but thankfully, it’s falling into favour again and rightly so. It is one of THE most critical nutrients for preconception and throughout pregnancy to ensure cell signaling takes place correctly when cells are rapidly dividing during the first trimester. Without adequate levels of preformed Vitamin A, cells may not differentiate correctly into the required organs and tissues at the correct times. Without Vitamin A, heart, optic nerve and kidney deformations can occur.
Vitamin A is also essential for the health of our skin, hair, and nail health as it plays a key role in supporting robust collagen production which not only helps us age backward and wards off the wrinkles, it also keeps our connective tissue systems (e.g. cartilage, ligaments, tendons, gums) strong, flexible and robust.
50% of us have a genetic polymorphism that impairs our ability to convert carotenoids to retinol Vitamin A which is what our body uses. This is a big reason why we cannot rely solely on plant-based sources of carotenoids for our Vitamin A.
One other important point to make is that the conversion process of carotenoids to retinol is so inefficient and poor that only around 3% of carotenoids are actually converted for use by the body. Crazy hey. In contrast, 80% or more of preformed vitamin A from animal sources (i.e. liver) is absorbed.
Just going back to the topic of boosting iron stores briefly, what we have found is that many, MANY women who have suffered from chronically low iron and been unable to obtain stability through any other supplement have had GREAT success with Beef Liver!
We can attribute this success to the fact that the iron contained in beef liver is in the most recognisable and bioavailable form – heme iron in a wholefood package. Our cells just drink it up in a way that no non-heme iron source can ever come close to.
Honestly, we could riff on the benefits of Beef Liver for days but hopefully, we’ve given you enough motivation and inspiration to give it a shot yourself with the content above.
It’s not just for the adults though friends, please do be brave and experiment with opening up a couple of capsules and adding them to bolognese sauces, smoothies, and soups for kids of all ages to reap the health benefits. They won’t even notice it is there!
We love and recommend the Gelpro brand of Organic Beef Liver formulated in partnership as the quality is exceptional, there are no excipients used and it is made from all Aussie grass-fed beef liver that is sustainably and ethically sourced.
We’d love to hear your thoughts if you decide to give it a go friends. What positive changes do you notice when Liver is in your life?
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