Liver: the Paleo Superfood You Should Be Eating

Liver. Just the mention of the name sends shudders down people's spines. It functions as a vital organ in animals and humans, but is it really something we should be eating? Let's take a look. 

Chuck Norris rarely ate, but when he did, it was liver

LIVER: A NUTRIENT POWERHOUSE

You may not realize it, but eating organs is one of the best things you can do for health and longevity. Hunter-gatherers even favored the organs while throwing muscle meat to their dogs. Rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals, organ meats may not be palatable, but they are certainly good for the body. Liver in particular is one of the best organs to chow down on. It's a great source of CoQ10 (important for heart health), contains high quality protein, and is one of the best sources of iron and vitamin A. If you were to compare the amount of vitamins in liver to fruit and vegetables, it's like comparing a Ferrari to a Dodge Neon. Both will get you what you need, but one is supercharged. Case in point: check out the chart below from Paleo Cafe. You'll see that liver has 3x potassium compared to an apple, 4.5x the amount of vitamin C compared to a carrot, and a whopping 1,335x the amount of vitamin A compared to red meat. The next most concentrated source of vitamin A is carrot juice (source: USDA)

holy nutrients, Batman!

WANT TO RUN/SWIM/WOD LONGER? EAT LIVER. 
 Liver is also known for its mysterious anti-fatiguing effect. A 1975 article published in Prevention magazine described the experiment as follows:

"After several weeks, the animals were placed one by one into a drum of cold water from which they could not climb out. They literally were forced to sink or swim. Rats in the first group swam for an average 13.3 minutes before giving up. The second group, which had the added fortifications of B vitamins, swam for an average of 13.4 minutes. Of the last group of rats, the ones receiving liver, three swam for 63, 83 and 87 minutes. The other nine rats in this group were still swimming vigorously at the end of two hours when the test was terminated. Something in the liver had prevented them from becoming exhausted. To this day scientists have not been able to pin a label on this anti-fatigue factor." (Weston Price Foundation) 

Are you kidding me?? Swimming 9x longer and having the experiment actually end before they could find out what happened with those remaining nine rats is astonishing. If you are a triathlete, CrossFitter, or just a HUMAN BEING, this should inspire you to eat liver.

NOT ALL LIVERS ARE EQUAL

In high school and college, you probably saw those pictures of human livers from alcoholics compared to healthy person's. The same can be considered for animals. Make sure you're choosing healthy, vibrant, red liver when about to chow down. If reading this is not enough to convince you, check out this picture.

I know which one I'm picking

MAKING LIVER TASTY

Yes, I realize the thought of eating liver is still gross. There are a lot of recipes out there in the paleosphere and beyond that can help with your aversion to this superfood. Two of the main things you'll usually find in a liver recipe? Bacon and butter. Yum. Knowing this, I made my own liver pâté. (yes I searched how to get those symbols over the "a" and "e.") The liver is from a shipment from PhillyCowShare. They had a box of cow parts that no one really wanted (liver, heart, tongue, tail) so I took it. Score!

1. Gather tasty ingredients. Amount is up to you, but here is what I used: 

3 strips of bacon

1/4 chopped onion

4 cloves of garlic

2 Tbsp. butter + another 2 Tbsp. later

1/2 lb. grass fed beef liver

2.  First, I cooked the bacon. Then I took the strips out, but kept the bacon fat to saute the onion.

3. Then, I added the strips of liver in with the onion to cook. It probably took about 2 minutes each side. Then I added the bacon back in. (Note: At this point you can eat the liver like steak. I will most likely do this next time)

4. If you're going for more of a pâté, then throw all of this in a food processor or blender and whirl away. Store in a refrigerator for 30 min. or so to let it cool down, and then serve on carrots, peppers, or if you're not 100% paleo, on crackers or chips.

So now you know why liver is so good for you AND you have a recipe to make it a little more palatable. Bacon and butter truly make everything better. But if that's still not enough, check out the links below for more information about liver and some recipes too.

Links:

Chris Masterjohn: The Benefits of Liver, Cod Liver Oil, and Dessicated Liver

Mark's Daily Apple: Quick Guide to Purchasing, Preparing, and Eating Organ Meats

Weston Price Foundation: The Liver Files

Chris Kresser: Liver: Nature's Most Potent Superfood

Balanced Bites: Chicken Liver Pate

Thoughts?

Trader Joe's Food

Trader Joe's - a paleo/primal friendly supermarket

Whenever I read other nutrition blogs or websites, I'm always wondering "Ok, that's great that you know the science behind nutrition, but what food do YOU buy?" I've done posts like this in the past (see below links), but here's one from Trader Joe's. Hit up the comments for questions or...comments!

On the Road with Chris P.

Sometimes we go away for a weekend for a vacation or a work-related event, but the food that is offered is less than ideal. With a little preparation, you can do pretty well in a pinch. Check out the video for what I did on a recent trip to Pittsburgh.

-What do you do in a pinch?

-Any tips or tricks for those on the road?

How to Maintain a Healthy Weight

Note: The box to the right is an anonymous way of asking for certain topics to be covered here. This is a post in response to someone's request. 

adipose tissue (fat) can easily be observed in the cross section of a woman on the left

Losing weight. Come New Years or spring break or summer vacation or a 20th reunion, you can always find someone who wants to "lose weight." What does this really mean though? If I take off my shoes, I've just lost weight. If I cut my hair, I've just lost some weight. Of course people don't think of these things when they say "lose weight;" they mean "lose excess fat." When people want to "get in shape" (another very loose, relative term) the hope is that they want to increase muscle mass and decrease body fat. Let's be honest folks, YOU WANT TO LOOK GOOD NAKED.  Maybe you don't want to be shredded like Ahhnold back in his prime and hopefully you don't want to be twig-thin like these models.  But you DO want to maintain a healthy bodyweight. So how do we go about this? I can tell you right now, Diet Coke and rice cakes is NOT going to help you be lean and strong (but they can help you be emaciated and weak). Let's take a look at some factors and how to actually do this.

Food Rules

Not only does food RULE, but everyone has different food rules for themselves. Some people will have dairy, some not; some will have real fruit juice, others will not; some will have 10 chips with guacamole and not consider it having grains, some will not. So what do YOU do and what are YOUR rules? Do you have rice with sushi? Do you have sugary drinks like Vitamin Water? Do you drink alcohol? If you observe the Catholic season of Lent, are you giving anything up? Post thoughts to comments.

Michael Pollan's Food Rules: An Eater's Manual

Produce Junction, What's Your Function?

Eating paleo/primal is not necessarily cheap when it comes to grass-fed meat, but you can probably find some SUPER deals on veggies/fruits. Instead of going to Genuardi's and paying $81.47, I just got back from Produce Junction in Glenside, PA and paid $25.25. Yes, $25.25 for:

Where's the (dried) Beef? Homemade Jerky

Jerky. Portable, nutritious, and downright delicious. But so expensive! A 3oz. package could be $3-$5 PLUS it has a ton of nitrates and preservatives in it.  So what do we do if something is worth having, but not always worth buying? Make it yourself! Don't have a smoker or dehydrator? Me neither. If you have an oven or a box fan, you can make your own jerky.

The Chris P. Chronicles

If any of you have the CrossFit Journal, you know it's a worthwhile investment. For $25/year, you get access to a ton of great PDFs and videos about everything ranging from how to deadlift to interviews with firebreathers like Tanya Wagner. You also are probably familiar with CrossFit HQ's Pat Sherwood's "Zone Chronicles." These are a series of videos where Pat tapes his meals and explains why he eats what he does. I'm always fascinated by these because as much as people will give guidelines on how to eat, I want to see how REAL people eat and WHAT they are eating. This inspired me to take pictures of our fridge and cupboards to show you what KDitty and I eat. So here we go.

THE FRIDGE

 

Almond Butter on the Cheap

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If you've ever been 5 years old, (and I bet you have) you've probably had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As benign as you may have thought it, the classic PB&J could possibly symbolize everything that is wrong with Conventional Wisdom.

	what CW says	the reality
bread	"grains are the base of the food pyramid, therefore they are good. Whole grains are even better!"	Grains are gut irritants and cause an insulin response promoting fat storage, no matter how "whole" they are.
jelly	"made from all natural fruit. Fruit is good for you. Therefore jelly is good for you."	One word: sugar.
peanut butter	"Smooth or chunky, it's a great source of protein and vitamins."	Peanuts are not actually nuts, they are legumes. Legumes are gut irritants and can literally cause small perforations where bad stuff can leak into your system, aka leaky gut.

If you would like more in-depth posts on any of the above topics, post it in comments

So while you can pretty much rule out bread and jelly, there ARE great substitutes for peanut butter, namely, nut butters. Almond butter, walnut butter, pecan butter, macadamia nut butter...the list goes on. Loaded with good fats, they are not ideal for someone looking to lean out, but a great portable way to get some fat in. But if you've ever looked in the store, nut butters can either be too expensive, or not even available! So what is a CrossFitter/Paleo/Primal eater to do??