# Eating Raw Liver



## SD (Sep 3, 2004)

Been a few threads on here lately mentioning liver so I decided to share an old Bbing practise with the new guys and give a little info about liver, its benefits, its toxicity and how best to eat it!

Liver is an organ meat and is commonly available in most supermarkets. The most common livers available are chicken, Pork, Beef, Lamb and finally Duck, although this is commonly used for Pate as is Goose.

Liver is filthy cheap, currently less than £2 per kilo on Tesco.com, it is a by product and a lot of people are squeamish about eating it, so it stays nice and cheap!

The liver is a detoxifying organ in the body, cut & paste from Wiki:

The *liver* is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion. The liver is necessary for survival; there is currently no way to compensate for the absence of liver function.

This organ plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body, including glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, hormone production, and detoxification. It lies below the diaphragm in the thoracic region of the abdomen. It produces bile, an alkaline compound which aids in digestion, via the emulsification of lipids. It also performs and regulates a wide variety of high-volume biochemical reactions requiring highly specialized tissues, including the synthesis and breakdown of small and complex molecules, many of which are necessary for normal vital functions.

People, particularly vegetarian and vegan societys abhore the ingestion of liver as a filthy organ filled with toxins. The poisons can come from processed feeds, antibiotics, vaccine ingredients, pesticide overspray, tap water, and the synthetic hormones that are frequently given to non-organic meat. They also proport that the ingestion of liver is responsible for a rise in Hep E in the US and Clenbuterol poisoning!?!?! (Clenbuterol is appraently given to cattle in the US to preserve their meat?)

While the liver does detoxify, it does not store the toxins which are mobilised into the body fat, tissues and bile of the animal to be excreted. Even so, if you have organic liver available it may be best to cover yourself and buy that instead.

Benefits of eating Liver:


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.


Nutritonal Breakdown of Liver

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy 561 kJ (134 kcal)

Carbohydrates 2.5 g

Fat 3.7 g

Protein 21 g

Vitamin A equiv. 6500 μg (722%)

Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 3 mg (200%)

Niacin (Vit. B3) 15 mg (100%)

Vitamin B6 0.7 mg (54%)

Folate (Vit. B9) 212 μg (53%)

Vitamin B12 26 μg (1083%)

Iron 23 mg (184%)

Sodium 87 mg (4%

So how do you eat it?!

You can cook it by any of the popular methods but I wanted to share a method that preserves the natural goodness of this organ..........Eat it RAW!

*Eating Raw Liver. . .Good Heavens!*

Eating raw liver is definitely not a Standard American Dietary (SAD) practice! So why in the world would a sane person even consider eating their liver raw? Most of the reasons are anecdotal with the primary one being that people who do consistently report how good it makes them feel.


Southern hunters have a tradition of eating the liver of their freshly killed deer as a "manly" thing to do.

In Argentina, cowboys eat liver (and meat) raw or very lightly cooked.

People who grew up on farms tell of eating the liver freshly warm from the animal and only lightly cooking it (and all the organs and glands)

Weston Price reported on the consumption of raw liver among African hunter-gatherer tribes. Liver was considered so sacred that they never touched it with their hands, only with their spears. They ate it both raw and cooked.

The physician Max Gerson used raw liver juice, extracted with a special juicer that pressed out the liquid, in his original healing protocol with pancreatic cancer patients. His daughter, Charlotte Gerson, later dropped this part of the protocol because of the unavailability of fresh clean liver without bacterial contamination. Now a crude liver extract injection or desiccated liver tablets are used in the current protocol. However, Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez, a New York doctor who treats cancer holistically, insists that all his patients eat raw liver.


*The How-to-do-it of Eating Raw Liver*

This takes some getting used to! There are two basic methods. One calls for freezing the liver for 14 days in large chunks. (***Fourteen days will ensure the elimination of pathogens and parasites.*) You can then grate the liver on the small holes of a grater and add it to milk or juice, or even hot cereal. A teaspoon or two of grated raw liver can be added to baby's egg yolk, or even to mashed vegetables.

The second method turns liver into pills! Cut fresh liver into pea-sized pieces and freeze for 14 days. Swallow like vitamin pills.

For both methods, the liver should be of the highest quality available and very fresh.

** A STUDY done on diets containing Raw liver have shown increased rates of parasitic infections and toxocariasis infections.(the study is fairly weak tho!)

Raw Liver Drink Recipe

1/2 - 1 ounce grassfed liver, cut into tiny chunks and frozen (it must be still frozen to blend well)

1 cup organic tomato juice

juice of 1/2 lime

dash hot sauce

1-2 raw pastured egg yolks

2-4 tablespoons fermented young coconut juice

1 tablespoon raw cream

Blend everything together in a blender. You can follow with some fresh papaya if the drink gives you a livery aftertaste. You can also soak the liver chunks in sour milk or lemon juice before freezing to reduce the strong flavor.

*A WORD OF CAUTION!*

Liver is a concentrated source of Vitamin A in its Retinol form which can be toxic!

This is another reason why liver isnt a popular food and probably why its lost popularity in the bbing community.

The way to avoid toxicity is to limit your liver portions to 200g per week, if you need more protein then get it from other tissue meats.

Liver has been said to contain parasites that if eaten raw may transmit to humans. Follow the freezing advice given, 14 days minimum.

Hope someone found this interesting, I eat liver occasionally and I love it! Not convinced either way whether it is toxic or not yet so more reading required.

SD


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## SK-XO (Aug 6, 2009)

The toxicity and the paracites bit is a bit of a put off. And liver in general is pretty rank. However it has clear cut good benefits and I suppose at the end of the day you could eat any type of food that could be harbouring some sort of bug/infection.

Personally I'll stick to chicken n steak lol.


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## kaos_nw (Jul 9, 2008)

I was thinking of putting raw liver in jelly or something and swallow chunks of it, but the toxicity and the whole parasite/freezing part has put me off


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## Prodiver (Nov 14, 2008)

Being brought up on a farm I've always eaten offal - sweetbreads, kidneys and liver - and very good they are too if prepared correctly.

Beef liver can be rather strong, but pork and lambs' liver are delicious.

I've never been tempted to eat liver raw, but usually have it cut thin, soaked in milk, floured and seared quickly in a hot pan till just cooked through, the pan then deglazed to make a rich sauce. Great with bacon and mashed potato or salad.

MMMMM! Excellent bodybuilding food.

I don't think parasites and toxins are a problem in UK animals, and anyway any parasites should be neutralized by cooking as above.

When I was young liver tablets were just about the only available bodybuilding supplement.


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## Rbjk (Aug 5, 2017)

I will have to say that you have forgotten so regions that eat raw liver such as Lebanon where I myself live and we eat raw liver as a occasional breakfast or lunch item all we do is dip it in some salt and pepper and eat it with a small peace of bread usually lamb but the point is if you know the butcher you can get it fresh and clean ready to eat on the spot.

trust me you should try it sometime it is really good.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Rbjk said:


> I will have to say that you have forgotten so regions that eat raw liver such as Lebanon where I myself live and we eat raw liver as a occasional breakfast or lunch item all we do is dip it in some salt and pepper and eat it with a small peace of bread usually lamb but the point is if you know the butcher you can get it fresh and clean ready to eat on the spot.
> 
> trust me you should try it sometime it is really good.


 You've just replied to a thread from 7 years ago...

I'd wager liver is digested/absorbed better cooked though, in addition to the health concerns raised above.


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## Rbjk (Aug 5, 2017)

I don't disagree but if you know the butcher is good and the product is fresh it is worth it because it tastes good


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Rbjk said:


> I don't disagree but if you know the butcher is good and the product is fresh it is worth it because it tastes good


 I'll take your word for it. Tastes good cooked too  .


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## Rbjk (Aug 5, 2017)

It's not bad cooked either


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## anna1 (Mar 22, 2014)

I make the best liver in lemon and wine sauce 

wouldnt dream of eating it raw though ..


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## Rbjk (Aug 5, 2017)

I honestly wouldn't blame you it is hard to find clean product but I have this rule that says try everything at least once.


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## anna1 (Mar 22, 2014)

Rbjk said:


> I honestly wouldn't blame you it is hard to find clean product but I have this rule that says try everything at least once.


 True .. but like you say I'd have to know the butcher well


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## Rbjk (Aug 5, 2017)

Know well or has a reputation for good product hard to find when the butchery process is industrialized and not manual and live cutting not freezer meat but fresh from the slaughterhouse every morning or at least that is what I do.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Rbjk said:


> Know well or has a reputation for good product hard to find when the butchery process is industrialized and not manual and live cutting not freezer meat but fresh from the slaughterhouse every morning or at least that is what I do.


 Do you mean you eat liver every day? That would probably a bad idea because of the vitamin A content.


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## Rbjk (Aug 5, 2017)

Oh boas I said in my original comment it is more of an occasional meal not everyday because it is a bit expensive here and like you said not too healthy.


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## Rbjk (Aug 5, 2017)

Btw liver is not the only meat we eat raw in Lebanon such dishes are considered delicacies


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Make sure it's fresh from a butcher you can trust. Undercooked liver that's not quite fresh is no joke, as I found out after my mum managed to f**k it up once a few years ago :lol:


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## jd (Aug 16, 2015)

My best mate eats raw liver every week, he's as fit as a butchers dog


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## Rbjk (Aug 5, 2017)

I always make sure it is fresh and sadly I am not that fit??


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## anabolik (Aug 19, 2010)

Tasty with some fava beans and a nice Chianti


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## Jack of blades (Apr 2, 2017)

Jeez I wouldn't eat raw liver


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## Frost_uk (Sep 1, 2014)

I'm guessing where eating liver is a delicacy you will find majority of butchers will have specially treated/prepared/stored liver for this purpose.

I used to hate liver as a kid but now I love it cooked with onions mmmmm.... think might have to buy some for the weekend as usually eat turkey or beef currently as chicken getting less and less fond of... supermarket chicken is becoming more and more rank  suppose a trip to the butcher on a weekend for any chicken maybe needed.


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## Rbjk (Aug 5, 2017)

Exactly like I'm my town alone there are at least 5 butchers all only sell the kill of the day which makes it incredibly fresh in the morning and for various raw meat dishes we have in my country they pay extra attention to clean it and make sure it is save to consume raw


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