Essential benefits of liver
When transitioning to a traditional diet, some changes come easier than others. Switching from using refined sugar to using raw honey/pure maple syrup as a sweetener? Pshaw, no problem. Making bone broth? Couldn’t be easier. Eating more butter and coconut oil? Yep, no problem there!
But liver. Real foodies love their liver, but the gosh-darn stuff is certainly an acquired taste.
Due to the high amounts of bioavailable nutrients in liver, it plays a key role in rebuilding nutritional deficiencies. I knew I just had to get it down!
- Liver is the highest source in nature of bioavailable vitamin A. Contrary to popular belief, we must consume vitamin A from animal sources like liver. The “vitamin A” in vegetables like carrots is carotene, and this must be converted to retinol in our body before we can use it. This conversion rate is extremely poor and virtually insignificant for children and people with health issues including thyroid disorders (source). Because the vitamin A in liver is already retinol, the body can use it.
- The high vitamin A content can help repair severe hormonal damage. In particular, it supports thyroid deficiencies so liver is a must for anyone who is hypothyroid. Vitamin A also plays a key role in liver health and detox.
- Traditional cultures considered liver a sacred food and put great stock in it’s revitalizing properties. In particular, liver was used to promote fertility. It should be consumed on a regular basis by couples trying to conceive.
- Liver contains an unidentified “anti-fatigue factor.” In a famous animal study, liver consumption prevented rats from exhaustion, even after swimming for two straight hours (read more)
- A 2-3 ounce serving of liver should be consumed at least 1-2 times per week (source).
I’ve given it the old college try, but I just cannot eat liver plain. I’m okay with it in homemade pate. I make my pate with copious amounts of butter and caramelized onions, and that does a good job of disguising the “minerally” taste. Often, I’ll grind up a pastured chicken liver and mix it into ground beef to make meatballs. Again, I add lots of heavy seasonings like garlic to mask the liver taste.
But my absolute favorite way to get a healing dose of liver? Liver pills!
Homemade Liver Pills
I swallow a couple of these homemade “pills” with every meal for a no-fuss, no-taste way to get the benefits of liver. Even better, the liver is raw so all the enzymes and nutrients are most potent. Eating cooked liver still provides your body with nutrients, but some delicate vitamins, like certain B vitamins, are decreased by cooking.
Of course, since the liver is raw, make sure you have a fresh source of liver. I buy pastured chicken livers from a local farmer who freezes the liver immediately after butchering his chickens. Liver should only be consumed if it comes from pasture-raised animals. Regular supermarket liver from CFAO animals shouldn’t be eaten!
Desiccated Liver Capsules
What if you don’t want to make these liver pills? Or what if you don’t have access to pastured liver? In that case, I recommend purchasing these desiccated liver capsules.
This brand uses very strict standards for sourcing the grassfed beef liver used in the capsules. And that’s all… it’s just purely beef liver. Gram for gram, desiccated liver contains more valuable nutrients than any other food. Take 2-4 capsules per day.
- Grassfed/pastured liver, thawed if frozen. Use only the highest quality liver.
- Rinse the liver and pat dry. With a sharp knife, carefully cut the liver into pill-sized chunks. Place the pieces, separated, on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Freeze until solid.
- Transfer the frozen "liver pills" into an airtight container and store in the freezer. Freeze for 14 days before eating to kill any pathogens in the liver. Swallow a couple of frozen "liver pills" with every meal.
I know Vitamin A is to be avoided while pregnant — like acne medication or topical retinoid creams — but is it safe to take liver pills while pregnant?
Yes! Even for pregnant women liver is great! And vitamin a in its synthetic form like acne medication is dangerous and toxic, especially for pregnant women. But vitamin a in its natural form like liver and butter is perfectly healthy and very nessasary for pregnant women. You should look into articles about vitamin A on the Weston price foundation website. They have great information for pregnant women
You can overdose on synthetic Vit A (acne pharmaceuticals,) but not natural (like what’s found in liver.)
What about freeze drying the liver? Has anyone tried this? Not dehydrating it, freeze drying it.
Thanks!
Freezing does not kill bacteria or parasites. Can we dehydrate the meat using traditional methods and get the same effect?
I’m wondering the same thing.
Anyone done this with wild game liver? Elk/deer?
We have an elk liver we need to use…thoughts?
Yes, I believe that would work.
Can you please answer the question of parasites and killing bacteria by freezing?
Pathogens are destroyed by freezing for 14 days
Any citation for this? I’ve only heard of this working with industrial freezers that produce much colder temperatures than standard kitchen freezers
I remember reading the temp has to be low (zero degrees?). The info was originally on the USDA website, I believe. I don’t know if it’s still there. I’m sticking with frozen cooked-liver ‘pills.’
Freezing for 14 days is enough to kill most parasites and certain pathogenic bacteria, but not all of them. That’s part of why there is such a big focus on high quality pastured meat: they have a minimal chemical and pathogen load. Also remember that our guts are designed to handle pathogens and parasites to an extent, so I wouldn’t be too worried for healthy individuals. If you have a compromised immune system, digestive disorder, or low stomach acid (or take an antacid) then by all means cook it before making pills. Cooked, raw, or dried, liver is still a superfood!
I just eat liver raw but did NOT know about freezing first! I buy from local farms, pasture raised, beef, chicken or turkey (I get as many as I want with my THANKSGIVING turkey from my friend’s at no extra cost! They don’t leave them in the birds with the neck or giblets)
1. What’s the danger of eating it fresh without freezing for 14 days?
2. Why don’t you have to chew the liver “pills”…isn’t it unhealthy to not chew food?
THANX for such great info!
I’m going to be eating more livers to combat autoimmune disorders that I’ve been battling since 2002 (naturally, since 2005)!
Janilynn
Freezing prevents pathogens, but many people eat liver raw without freezing. I suggest getting liver fresh from pastured animals. And swallowing these pills are helpful for people who don’t like the taste of liver. The lack of chewing isn’t a problem for digesting these.
Have you tried freeze drying the raw liver?
I buy frozen cow liver from a local grass feed farm, is it okay to thaw it so I can cut it up into the pills then Re-freeze the pills?
same question here
Refreezing animal products diminishes its quality substantially. Because of the structure of liver, refreezing it does considerable damage to its quality.
I also have the same question!
I love raw liver.
The liver pills thaw rather quickly if left out for 5 – 10 mins, is it ok to “re-freeze” them?
How do I order your liver pills??
Does it matter if it is organic grass fed beef or chicken? Is one better than the other?