Liver – love it or leave it alone?

Here’s an experiment to try – tell your family liver is on the menu for dinner tonight.  Watch their reaction.  You should be able to tell right away who loves liver or who doesn’t just by their expression on their face after your announcement.

Liver is one of those foods that can generate strong emotions.  It seems either a person loves it and could eat it several times a month or a person hates it and wouldn’t try it if it was the only food left to eat on the planet. 

No matter which side of the plate you fall on, liver is actually sort of a controversial food.  There are those who say liver is extremely nutritious and should not be shunned while others who recommend not to serve it and to steer clear of this organ meat instead. 

What is a liver lover to do if you really like this food and what are the pros and cons associated with it making people question their intake of it?

Pros of eating liver

Liver is like eating a whole food version of a multivitamin.  The reason for this is because one of the liver’s many functions is to store nutrients.  And that means when you eat liver, you are taking in an abundance of nutrients. 

A 3 ounce serving of beef liver provides more than the daily requirement of vitamin A, vitamin B12, riboflavin, and copper and is a great source of niacin, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, pantothenic acid, iron, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, and selenium.  That is quite a laundry list of healthy, necessary nutrients we require in our daily diet.  Liver is essentially far more nutrient dense than the typical muscle meats we consume such as a beef steak or a chicken breast.  That same 3 ounce portion also only contains about180 calories, 20 grams of protein and just 6 grams of fat.

Anyone who has had iron deficiency may have been told to eat liver.  This is because liver has more than a quarter (5 milligrams) of the daily amount of iron humans require.  Liver also has a whopping 70.7 micrograms of vitamin B12 when the daily requirement is only 2.4 micrograms for adults.

Cons of eating liver

Even though no other food can compete with liver in terms of its nutrient density, a downfall of that is too much of anything can be harmful. Everything in moderation is always key especially when it comes to food choices.  For example, liver is a great source of iron but for those with the genetic condition called hemochromatosis in which too much iron builds up in the body, eating liver would not be advisable for them not to consume.   

Another nutrient liver is packed with is vitamin A due to the fact the liver stores it.  We need vitamin A but too much of a good thing can backfire.  Over time a high intake of this vitamin, primarily from vitamin A supplements but also from a food like liver which is very high in it, may increase the risk of fractures as suggested by some studies. 

Cholesterol is another controversial nutrient liver delivers too much of.  A three ounce portion contains 324 milligrams of cholesterol – more than what is found in two large eggs. Why does liver have so much cholesterol?  The liver makes and stores cholesterol and then if you consume a diet high in saturated fat and trans fats, your liver will produce even more cholesterol.

Even though a three ounce portion of liver contains just 6 grams of fat, the fat it does contain, half of it is unhealthy saturated fat which can clog our arteries increasing the risk of heart disease.  In addition, people usually fry liver in oil or butter which can double the calories.

Should we love liver or leave it alone?

The best advice on whether to eat liver or not depends on how frequently one has it.  Even though the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans no longer puts a daily limit on dietary cholesterol, some experts still caution that for some people, consuming foods like liver high in this fat may not be prudent. 

If you love liver, you can most likely safely consume a 3-4 ounce portion size (about the size of the palm of your hand) up to a couple of times a month.  For those who would rather walk across hot coals than eat a bite of liver, then don’t.  There are plenty of other wholesome, nutritious foods to choose from to acquire the essential nutrients we need each day.

In the meantime, liver lovers can enjoy it in moderate amounts while liver haters can enjoy knowing they don’t have to eat it if they don’t want to.