HEALTH BENEFITS OF ADDING ORGAN MEAT INTO YOUR DIET

Read along as I share some of the many positive health benefits associated with adding organ meat into your diet. I also give you some tips and tricks to more easily add it into your daily repertoire.

Since I started my holistic nutrition course, every book I have read about nutrition I have noticed a theme. Pretty much any vitamin, mineral, amino acid or fat is always found in liver or some organ meat. Plus it is always very bioavailable and easily absorbable. I have known this for a while and understand how amazing these delicacies are for your health but always have held back. I have tried liver in the past and yikes the texture is hard to get over plus as a nurse working in a surgical/cardiovascular area the smells seemed eerily similar…

So fast forward a few months, my husband tells me he is listening to the book, The Carnivore Code by Paul Saladino. Over the weeks that he is listening to the book he is filling me in on little tidbits. I would sit nodding knowingly about the benefits of many of these meats and organs but also  feeling a bit squeamish at the same time. And so he finished the book and I start  listening to said book. Low and behold we decided maybe we should give this ago. So in the meantime here are some benefits and tips of including organ meat in your diet. Don’t worry I will report on our food experiment in the next few months!

Benefits of organ meat

• They are the most concentrated source of the majority of important vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fat and they contain no anti nutrients or toxins like many plants do.

• There is a lot of heme iron (only found in animals) which is more easily absorbed than non-heme iron (only found in plants). This will help prevent anemia and in turn give you more energy and can decrease risks of infection.

• There are very high levels of Vitamin K2 that are highly bioavailable. K2 helps with cardiovascular health as it prevents calcium deposits from forming in artery walls which can cause blood clots or heart disease. K2 also helps with bone health as it activates a protein to help calcium bind to our bones improving bone density and decreasing risks for fractures.

• Can boost brain function and improve mood due to increased levels of choline.

• Improves dental health by decreasing dental plaque which can lead to cavities, gum disease or tooth loss. Promotes remineralization of teeth because of  high phosphorus levels which can help remineralize enamel. Helps prevent gum disease due to excellent source of B12 which helps with tooth health.

• It’s more affordable to buy good quality grass fed beef organs compared to muscle meat.

• Decreases the impact on the environment by decreasing food waste because you are eating the whole animal.

• Helps detoxify the body d/t coenzyme Q10 antioxidant effects and molybdenum which improves metabolism of drugs and alcohol d/t conversion of sulphites to sulphates.

• Benefits for skin health due to high levels of Vitamin A1(retinol)  which are important for antioxidant properties.

• Improves energy levels because of  high levels of coenzyme Q10, heme iron and vitamins.

Tips for adding organ meat to your diet

• Just start with little bits and ounce or two a few times a week.

• Start with chicken hearts. For many years my husband would randomly bring home a pack of chicken hearts. He would fry them up and down the hatch they would go. I would always try a few here and there and actually think they taste quite good. They have the texture of muscle meat that most people are used to with a slightly stronger but not over powering flavor. Once you have mastered chicken heart give cow heart a try. It is just a bigger version with a similar taste.

• You can buy organ meats mixed into you ground meats. You might have to search for a source but many butchers and farmer’s markets will have them available.

• If you have trouble adjusting to the taste and texture of liver cook it with bacon! Start with chicken liver or calves liver and work your way up to cows liver.

• It is much more affordable to buy a part or whole cow in bulk. When we bought ours we added in the organ meats option as well.

I hope you enjoyed learning some of the benefits of eating organ meat. I’m sure there are many more that I will uncover over time. Here’s to organ meats!! I am still quite new at this organ meat thing, so we have not sampled all of the many organ meats. We have been able to enjoy liver and heart from both chicken and cow. We have kidney sitting in our freezer just waiting to be eaten. Let me know what I could add to my list! Would love to see some tasty recipes ideas.Thanks for the read!!