Like many people my generation, I grew up with offal being served at the dinner table. And, like many others, I hated it!
Looking back, it was the texture. Crumbed lamb’s brains and steak and kidney pie did something to my tongue that I didn’t like.
At the time I had little respect for the nutritional value of these elements of the “nose to tail” philosophy and I certainly didn’t appreciate that my mother was trying to feed a family of 5 on a miniscule budget so, I gave up these valuable sources of nourishment.
That was until my path to deepen my understanding of nutrition led me back to these unsung heroes.
My quest for nourishment (more than just nutrition) combined with my growing scepticism of the over-prescribing of synthetic supplements practitioners meant that I needed alternative ways to up the nutrition of myself and my clients.
So many people display symptoms of long-term nutrient deficiencies brought on by the prevailing dietary recommendations of our time. The low-fat message leading to Vitamin A and D deficiency then showing up in autoimmune and allergic conditions. Cutting out red meat and the subsequent iron deficiency rampant among women. High carbohydrate diets (as a result of the low protein and low-fat recommendations) leading to both protein and mineral deficiencies, to name a few.
That’s when I rediscovered liver.
Before I give you a few facts about liver, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the treatment of animals in our factory-farming-focused food industry.
It is totally heartbreaking.
How we treat animals screams cruelty. Despite this, I’m not a vegetarian.
I’m an activist for restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet. I support, as much as I can, organic and biodynamic farming, grass-feeding of livestock and community-supported farms where animals are treated with love and respect.
So, back to liver…
Practically every culture has liver specialities. Some cultures place such a high value on liver that human hands can’t touch it. Special sticks must move it. Throughout most of recorded time humans have preferred liver over steak by a large margin, even saving it for couples planning to conceive.
So what makes liver so wonderful?
Quite simply, it contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food. According to the Weston A Price Foundation* 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
- CoQ10, a nutrient that is especially important for cardio-vascular function
- A good source of purines, nitrogen-containing compounds that serve as precursors for DNA and RNA.
Pate is my favourite way to eat liver
A quick glance on the internet will reveal recipes from Russia, Japan and many other cultures.
I invite you to rediscover this “almost” magical food.
In love and health
Brenda
*https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/food-features/the-liver-files/
