Why You Should Buy And Consume Beef Liver
Table Of Contents
YouTube Version
Intro
Nose To Tail
Nutrient Dense
Bioavailability
Where To Buy
Preparation
What This Means For Our Training
Wrap Up
Intro
I always disliked buzzwords. In meetings upon meetings while in the Corps, a good chunk of the words being said were buzzwords. They were often used to either try and ease the concerns of the commander before an operation or signal to everyone else that you knew what you were talking about. Sometimes I catch myself using these words in front of other people in the civilian world. Don’t wanna look weird now…
Dig deep enough, most buzzwords and slogans have no meaning to them.
“Superfood” is one of those terms I hear thrown around a great deal. And given that our current dietetics system has a product bias to it you can bet your bottom dollar what it will most likely be.
As I briefly mentioned in a different post about various forms of biohacking that most of the things that claim to give us superpowers are just bringing us back to baseline. Living on this planet had never been a walk in the park but something definitely happened over a century ago that guided us down this path we are on now. Your average teenager to 40-year-old is dealing with issues that historically were never present. I chose this specific demographic as some(not all) believe our health problems are due to us living longer. Just in case any of you people are in here…
Forget, “Superfood” I’m going to create my own slogan. How about, “Baseline Food?”
One of the baseline foods that have been a part of my diet for a few years now is liver, specifically beef liver.
Nose To Tail
This concept I stumbled on during my short journey into the carnivore diet. This phase is meant to guide a person towards using all the parts of an animal for a purpose like a modern-day or olden-day hunter-gatherer.
But in this case, this is mainly in the realm of nutrition. I grew up mainly eating the meats the supermarket or the restaurant gave me, particularly muscle meats. It was only a few years ago did I understood that there was value in eating organ meats.
Before this, there was one occasion in which I prepared organ meats. When I was in Okinawa I befriended a restaurant owner and got into cooking some of my own Japanese food. One of the recipes I tried out was called, “Reba Nira” which is a pork liver/garlic chives stir fry.
Now I cook mainly beef liver. I get it from the farmer's market as I like to support as many local farmers as I can. These days farmers are getting pressured by most governments around the world. There’s been this trend toward centralized food control that’s been increasing over the past few decades which is weird. The only other times in history in which food was being controlled by those in power…
I’m sure it’s nothing. So I like to support as many farmers as I can. Vote with your dollars.
Nutrient Dense
The “Nutrient Dense” buzzword can be a good sign depending on who is using it and it's used to describe food items that are a one-stop shop. You focus on a handful of nutrient-dense foods and you’re set and will be brought back to baseline. They contain a higher concentration of the right vitamins so you don’t have to spend hours of math calculating the amounts of magnesium you’ll get from x and vitamin B12 you’ll get from y as you write your grocery list.
Compared to most plant-based foods beef liver contains higher amounts of
Protein (Cell Repair)
Vitamin A (Vision, Immune Function)
Thiamin (Energy Metabolism, Prevents degeneration of the heart)
Niacin (Energy Metabolism, fights dementia)
Folate (DNA & RNA Synthesis, Red Blood Cell Synthesis, Prevention in Cancer)
Viatmin B12 (Energy Metabolism, Nerve Signaling)
Iron ( Energy Metabolism, Transport of Oxygen)
Zinc (Wound Healing, Immune Health)
Copper (Energy Metabolism, Iron Absorption)
And many more
Now how much of each is necessary for a healthy lifestyle? I’m a little jaded from my time in the gym as a trainer forcing people to buy supplements and knowing the daily amounts of each vitamin.
Part of me wants to ask, “Who established these daily amounts and what was their worldview/goals? Were any of their homeboy’s oligarchs?”
But anyway beef liver will help you to feel more energetic and on top of the world. Whatever course of action you take with food or your workouts should leave you feeling better over a long period of time. I’ve known family members who inserted beef liver into their diet to get their iron levels back on track. True story bro.
I don’t prepare much I usually buy a pound from my farmer and make it last three to four days within my week.
“Bioavailability”
Although some elements of our food are high in their concentration of nutrients one needs to be aware of what’s called, “Bioavailability.” It's the ability of the average human body to extract the needed nutrients from those food sources.
Not all iron is created equal.
Not all protein is created equal.
Not all calories are created equal
One of the diets that some are adopting, many out apostatizing from, and is heavily funded; across the board is low when it comes to bioavailability.
Sorry yall, had to say it.
Luckily enough this is reflected in the literature and I was surprised that my personal training certification study material acknowledged this. But my own experience reflects this as well. Most of what comes in goes right out.
But with beef liver, this will be different.
Where To Buy
The best place to buy liver is straight from a farmer for the reasons I talked about prior to. Buying them from your local grocery store might be a toss-up. I prefer Wild Folk (They aren’t paying me for this) as an alternative to buying it straight from a farmer. Not sure how legit they are though I do need to look into that sometime soon. I once bought liver from Walmart but parts of it turned blue as I was cooking it but it turns out that that’s just oxidized bile. I don’t like going inside Walmart anyway so that narrows down my decision-making.
If you have the time and resources to buy it fresh see how that works out for you. I at the moment can only buy it frozen and have only ever bought it frozen.
Beef liver is very cheap as are most organ meats. People don’t want them due to the fact that they taste weird and I believe most are unaware of the benefits. If you are on a budget and you wish to get animal products into your diet. Ground beef, eggs, and beef liver will go a long way.
Preparation
The texture of the meat when I made that Reba Nire way back when was very weird for me. It didn’t taste too bad which can relate to any organ meats you prepare. I believe the average person's pallet is so used to muscle meat, good vegetables, and sweets that the taste of organ meat feels out of left field. But, due to their strong taste, some organ meats might be difficult to eat on the first try. Therefore, I recommend either soaking it in some of your favorite BBQ sauces or showering it with some of your favorite spices. I can’t tell you the exact amount. Your tastes and preferences are different than mine. And our tastes are definitely different from someone who enjoys Jimmy Johns…
After a while, you will be able to eat it with very little spices and sauces. Sometimes I just throw it on the skillet and let it brown for a minute and a half, turn it over for about the same time, and then take it off to eat. The thickness of the slice will determine how long you cook it though. The farmers I buy it from cut it into thin slices a little thicker than bologne.
Most liver comes out of the package looking like the color purple. By the time it's done on the skillet, it should be brown to dark brown. Sometimes I mess up and there's a little char. The longer you cook any meat the more well done it will be but this runs the risk of the nutrients getting scorched before you can consume them.
Usually, I prepare it with something else. I like to make a beans and rice base with beef liver and some other type of meat(ground beef, chuck roast, etc) and throw it all together.
Preparing beef liver is very simple. If you can cook an egg you can cook a piece of beef liver.
What This Means For Our Training
The better quality of food that we eat, the better our training. What incorporating liver into your diet will mean is that you go into each of your workouts with more energy. Due to the elements in the beef liver, that contribute toward your energy metabolism and the delivery of oxygen in your blood, you will also be performing at a slightly higher level as well. Not too high, you won’t become like the winter soldier.
But you’ll notice a very subtle increase in what you can do because you will be slowly brought back to baseline.
I love coffee like the next guy and supplements are all right. But with beef liver you a provided the benefits of both straight from the field as nature intended.
Some days you feel it. You wake up, pray, go out for a walk, and come back to get ready for your workout. The only problem is that you feel sapped of energy. With progressive calisthenics, it's easier to go through the motions but you need laser-like focus for your overcoming isometrics. You need fuel, the right fuel to level the playing field and get you toward your goals faster.
Wrap Up
“Each one of the substances of a man’s diet acts upon his body and changes it in some way and upon these changes, his whole life depends, whether he be in health, in sickness, or convalescent.” (pg 78 Hippocratic Writings)
Folks back in the 5th century BC did not have to deal with some of the environmental problems we have today. But, I still believe food is an important component of one’s health though not as much as in the past. Listen to enough carnivore gurus they’ll tell you how carbs are the enemy and if you’re not careful you’ll get sucked into this paradigm. There is truth in some of the things they say and I believe having a “Nose to tail” focus/ eating organ meats can be part of the equation in bringing us back to baseline.
Thank you for making it to the end and the comments are below.
Until next time.
