When was the last time you ate some organ meat? Chicken hearts, beef liver, lamb kidneys? Even if you can remember the last time, you probably don’t eat these foods often. This is why most of us could benefit from an organ meat supplement.
The importance of including organ meat in your diet is not just a Paleo fad. They are right when they point out that we used to eat the whole animal, but today, when we pick and choose the “best” bits (chicken breasts and pork ribs), we miss out on the important nutrients that we used to get from organ meat such as hearts, kidneys, and, perhaps most importantly, livers.
All of these organs are rich in vitamins and minerals that are essential to our overall health and can also boost our athletic performance. The liver is a particularly rich source since it is essentially a store house for these elements.
But there is no denying that many of us have lost the art of cooking organ meat in a way that makes it tasty and appetizing. Plus, a lack of demand means that it is not always the easiest thing to come across. For this reason, for many people the best and easiest way to fill this gap in their diet is with an organ meat supplement.
Read on as we take a closer look at why we should all be getting our organ meat, and why it is especially important for athletes looking to boost performance. We will also share our list of the best organ meat supplements that you can order online today to start boosting your health and performance immediately.
Why Is Organ Meat a Dietary Essential?
Organ meats, sometimes collectively referred to as offal, are simply the organs of the animal, as opposed to the muscle meat that we eat more often today. These meats used to be prized in communities as they are more nutrient-dense than muscle meat, not to mention still a great source of protein and collagen.
The most commonly consumed organs are the liver, heart, kidneys, brain (a rich source of omega fatty acids), and the pancreas.
Organs are particularly rich in B vitamins, including vitamin B12 and folate, as well as minerals including iron, magnesium, selenium, and zinc, plus the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. On top of all that, let’s not forget that they are high in protein and contain all nine of the essential amino acids.
It is not difficult to see why everyone should be thinking about including a bit more organ meat in their diet to make up for some of the deficiencies common in the modern diet.
But what additional benefits does organ meat offer athletes in particular?
Rich in Iron
Organ meat isn’t only rich in iron, it is rich in heme iron, which is the most bioavailable for of iron and easier for our bodies to absorb and utilize than the iron found in plant-based foods. Iron is essential for making haemoglobin, which helps the body carry oxygen around the body, and myoglobin, which carries oxygen specifically to the muscles, where athletes need it.
Increases Energy
Organ supplements, and in particular liver supplements, contain more vitamin B12 than any other whole food supplement. Vitamin B12 is a rich source of energy. Organ meat also contains coenzyme Q10, which helps you body access stored energy as fuel, and to do so without producing excessive amount of harmful free radicals. This is probably why organ meat has been recommended for athletes since the times of the Ancient Greeks.
Source of Nucleic Acid
Nucleic acids are the primary constituent of all living organisms and a good level in your system is essential for your genes to express correctly. Over time our body’s ability to produce nucleic acid diminishes, and it is increasingly important that we can find it from a dietary source. If you are trying to transform your body in any way, a stable source of Nucleic acid can make a difference.
Organ Meat Supplements
Once you dive into the realm of organ meat supplements you will find that there is no limit to what you can find from pure pancreas to curative colostrum – this is the milky fluid released by mammals that have recently given birth.
But by far the most common supplements are liver, heart, and kidneys, usually taken from beef, but also from other animals such as lamb.
The make supplements the organs are freeze dried or desiccated, and then ground into a powder that is delivered in a gelatine capsule. This process not only preserves the meat for longer, but also makes it easier to consume large amounts if you want to supercharge your body with the nutrients in organ meat.
The best choices tend to be desiccated liver capsules, or a combination capsule that contains a variety of organs from the same animal combined.
Best Organ Meat Supplements
Hunter & Gather
The Hunter & Gather mark offers a range of organ meat supplements, all coming from grass-fed, free ranging Icelandic lambs. Choose heart, kidney, liver, or liver & heart.
The capsules contain only freeze-dried organ meat in a gelatin capsule, with nothing added either to the capsule, or the sheep, which are free of hormones & antibiotics.
Two capsules a day provide a range of healthy nutrients but are particularly strong in Vitamin A and B12. You will also find lots of healthy Vitamin D, E, K, B1, B2, B6, Choline, Folate, Bioavailable Iron, Copper, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese, Niacin, Biotin, and essential fatty acids. Plus, a big does of mitochondria boosting CoQ10.
- £0.32 per capsule
- Choose from heart, liver, kidney, or liver & heart
- Grass-fed, ranging Icelandic lamb
- No antibiotics or hormones
- GMO-free
Ancestral Supplements Grass Fed Beef Organs
This supplement contains desiccated organ mean, specifically from the liver, heart, kidney, pancreas, and spleen, from pasture-raised been in New Zealand and Australia.
Each capsule contains 100mg of each organ type, and the recommend daily serving is six capsules.
The capsules don’t contain any additives, and the animals are raised in an environment that is pesticide, hormone, and GMO-free.
- £0.29 per capsule
- Liver, heart, kidney, pancreas, spleen
- Hormone, pesticide and GMO-free
- Grass-fed New Zealand and Australian beef
- No additives
APE Beef Organ Capsules
These capsules from APE contain desiccated heart, liver, and kidney organs from 100% grass-fed cows, offering an organically certified ancestral superfood blend.
The liver is rich in vitamins A, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, and B12, as well as iron, phosphorus, zinc, copper, and selenium. The heart organ offers a big dose of CoQ10, which supports heart health, plus vitamin A, B12, folate, iron, selenium, phosphorus, and zinc. The kidney supports immunity, blood flow, and thyroid function with more B vitamins, selenium, iron, and copper.
Six capsules per day are recommended to optimize your health and energy levels.
- £0.22 per capsule
- Heart, liver, and kidneys
- Grass-fed cows
- Trusted British brand
- No additives
CodeAge Grass-Fed Beef Liver Supplement
This powerful supplement from CodeAge delivers freeze-dried and non-defatted beef liver from grass-fed cattle pasture-raised in Argentina. The animals are raised in a human, natural, non-GMO, and no stearate cold processed environment.
Nothing is added to the supplement, including colouring, so batches can have slightly different colours when they arrive. The colour of the liver itself depends on a variety of factors, such as time of year, but this does not change the quality of the product.
- £0.16 per capsule
- Desiccated and non-defatted liver
- Pasture raised Argentinian beef
- Non-GMO environment
Berserker Desiccated Beef Liver
Named for the fearless Berserker Viking warriors that communed with the spirit of the bear before heading into battle, each capsule contains 750 mg of desiccated beef liver in a vegetable-based capsule.
Liver capsules are a particularly good energy supplement, containing Vitamin A and most of the B complex vitamins, as well as Vitamins C, D, E, and K, calcium, chromium, copper, heme, iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, zinc, and arachidonic acid.
The liver is sourced from cattle pastured in the Netherlands and is free from GMOs, antibiotics, and other substances banned by the IOC (International Olympics Committee) or WADA.
- £0.08 per capsule
- Desiccated liver
- Grass-fed cattle from the Netherlands
- Free from GMOs and antibiotics
- Free from substances banned by the IOC and WADA
GBeverly International Ultra 40 Beef Liver Concentrate
No products found.
This desiccated liver supplement is made with 100% Grade 1 Argentinian beef liver obtained from grass-fed, pesticide and hormone-free cattle. Designed specifically for bodybuilders.
The recommended daily dose for body builders is one tablet for every ten pounds of bodyweight, so a 180-pound man should be taking 18 tablets per day. If you aren’t looking to bulk up, four capsules a day should be sufficient.
No products found.
When & How to Take Organ Meat Supplements
Organ meat supplements should be treated less as that protein shake that you down before of after your work out, and more like the carbs that long distance runners take in before a race.
You want to be taking your supplement on a regular basis to ensure the optimal balance of nutrients in your body, and you might increase your intake in the few days before an important athletic event to give you an edge.
They are best consumed with food for better digestion. But if you are consuming a large quantity of the supplement, it is better to spread your intake throughout the day rather than take them all in at once. If you need to consume them between meals, be sure to wash them down with a glass of water to aid digestion.
Your average capsule should contain around 1,000 mg of desiccated organ meat. If you are looking to maintain balance and general performance, four capsules per day is probably sufficient. If you are looking to transform your body significantly, then you can up your intake to one capsule per 10 pounds of lean muscle mass.
However, it is not a good idea to consume the supplement in this quantity for extended periods of time as organ meat can be high in cholesterol.
You can find all our guides on supplementing for better performance here.
FAQs
Why is organ meat bad for you?
Organ meat is not bad for you, but they can contain a lot of cholesterol, which can increase your risk of heart problems and stroke. For this reason, organ meat is best consumed in moderation.
Eating too much organ meat can also lead to vitamin A toxicity if you are consuming more vitamin A that your liver can manage. Symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, dizziness, drowsiness, and rash.
What is the healthiest organ meat?
Liver is considered by many to be the healthiest organ meat because it is the most nutrient dense, so you get more benefit from consuming less.
Which animal’s liver is the most nutritious?
Beef liver is considered to be the most nutritious and dense in essential nutrients.
How often should you eat organ meat?
If you want to eat fresh organ meat, rather than use a supplement, it is recommended to eat the meat twice a week. You may want to eat it more often if you are a performance athlete.
The Verdict
Organ meat supplements are not just “one more” supplement in the endless list that promises to change your life. Organ meat has been an essential part of human diets for millennia, and it is only in recent years that many human beings have almost completely stopped eating them. This is one of the factors responsibly for the major nutritional deficits in many modern diets.
Organs, and in particular the liver, are repositories for the vitamins and minerals that we need and are highly bioavailable to us when eaten in this form.
This doesn’t mean that you need to become comfortable with frying cow livers and stewing chicken hearts. Supplements made from freeze dried or desiccated organ meat are entirely natural and can offer a highly concentrated source of the nutrients found here.
Try any of the organ meat supplements on our list for a few weeks and see how you feel afterwards. It won’t be long until you are placing another order.
References
- Organ Meats are Incredibly Nutritious and Healthy – Healthline
- Are there health benefits to eating Organ Meat? – WebMD
- Organ Meats: Benefits and Risks – Medical News Today
Last update on 2024-06-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
