The benefits and drawbacks of consuming organ meats

Despite their high nutritional value, organ meats have never achieved the same popularity in North America as they enjoy in Europe. Here are some of the benefits and drawbacks associated with consuming organ meats that you should know.

In recent years organ meats have fallen even further out of favour because some, especially liver and brains, are very high in cholesterol. And of course, the furor over "mad cow disease" (bovine spongiform en­ceph­alitis) led to fear of contracting a similarly fatal human variant of the brain disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) — but it is unclear whether CJD is actually linked to beef from cattle infected with mad cow disease.

• Dishes such as calf's liver, kidneys, sweetbreads (calf thymus and pancreas) and tripe (stomach) still appear regularly on the menus of many restaurants. Pâtés and popular luncheon meats, such as liver­wurst, are often made from organ meats.

Because the liver is a storehouse for vitamin A, iron and many other nutrients, it follows that it is also a highly nutritious meat source.

• A 115 gram (four ounce) serving of beef liver provides more than 10 times the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin A, 50 times the RDA of vitamin B12 and 50 percent or more of the RDAs for folate, niacin, iron and zinc.
• The 200 calories in a 115 gram (four ounce) serving of liver is less than in most other cuts of beef, but liver's major drawback is its high cholesterol content: there is about 400 milligrams in 115 grams (four ounces) of braised beef liver.
• However, an occasional serving of liver in an otherwise low-fat, low-cholesterol diet is probably not harmful unless you already have heart disease or high blood cholesterol.
• One of the liver's main functions is to metabolize and detoxify various chemical compounds. So the liver may harbour residues of antibiotics and other drugs fed to meat animals, as well as environmental toxins. For this reason, some doctors advise against eating liver on a regular basis.
• Liver is one of the richest dietary sources of vitamin A. When a person consumes more vitamin A than is needed, the excess is stored in the body. Over time a buildup of vitamin A can result in liver damage, fatigue and other problems.
• Studies show that consuming five to 10 times the RDA of vitamin A before and during early pregnancy can increase the risk of birth defects.
• Normally, it's difficult (if not impossible) to get toxic amounts of vitamin A from an ordinary diet. But because liver is so high in this nutrient, an individual who consumes it several times a week may develop a toxicity.

Liver is probably the most popular organ meat North America, but it's far from the only one. Here are a few others.

• Brains are higher in cholesterol than any other food; a 115 gram (four ounce) serving of beef brains has more than 2,000 milligrams and pork brains contain an even larger amount. However they are an excellent source of vitamin B12.
• Heart is also high in vitamin B12, iron and potassium; in addition, it provides high-quality protein and less fat and cholesterol than other organ meats.
• Kidneys are low in fat and high in protein. They provide large amounts of vitamin B12, riboflavin and iron, as well as useful amounts of B6, folate and niacin.
• Sweetbreads are high in fat, but they provide useful amounts of potassium.
• Tongue, also high in fat, contains useful amounts of the B vitamins, especially B12.
• Tripe provides high-quality protein, a fair amount of potassium and small amounts of some minerals.

Organ meats can be nutritional additions to any diet. Keep these tips in mind and consider the benefits and drawbacks of consuming organ meats before adding them to your diet.