How Much Liver Is Too Much Liver?

Bluebell

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If someone feels they need a lot of vitamin A (eg. for skin, or in sunshine a lot), then would it be OK to eat more than 6oz of liver a week, and what would be the limit?

How would you know if you were having too much?

This would be drinking it with coffee to block the iron.
 
J

j.

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Bluebell said:
How would you know if you were having too much?

After I while, you might acquire a distaste for it. Eggs and dairy are good sources of vitamin A, and many people take supplements in addition to liver, guided by symptoms (acne, etc.).
 

charlie

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You could watch for signs of metabolism lowering from too much vitamin A and also the amino acids. These are pretty easy to spot, digestion, energy, temp, pulse, sleep, etc etc.
 

marcar72

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It's been suggested I believe by Ray Peat himself to try to limit liver to no more that one serving per week and to eat it with some gelatin. I was eating it once per week, but I haven't had any in a little over a month now. I've been on a steak kick here lately having it a couple times a week. :D I get plenty of vitamin A drinking pasteurized/homogenized lowfat milk and orange juice. According to http://nutritiondata.self.com 1 cup of OJ has 10% RDA of vitamin A all by itself. I probably should add liver back in once per week for the copper though...
 

montmorency

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marcar72 said:
It's been suggested I believe by Ray Peat himself to try to limit liver to no more that one serving per week and to eat it with some gelatin. I was eating it once per week, but I haven't had any in a little over a month now. I've been on a steak kick here lately having it a couple times a week. :D I get plenty of vitamin A drinking pasteurized/homogenized lowfat milk and orange juice. According to http://nutritiondata.self.com 1 cup of OJ has 10% RDA of vitamin A all by itself. I probably should add liver back in once per week for the copper though...


I believe I heard Ray Peat say that white fish also has copper.

(This is the reason I occasionally eat white fish - squid specifically, because it is cheap...).
(I eat liver as well though, about once per week, but I don't agonize about the quantity).
 

marcar72

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marcar72 said:
It's been suggested I believe by Ray Peat himself to try to limit liver to no more that one serving per week and to eat it with some gelatin. I was eating it once per week, but I haven't had any in a little over a month now. I've been on a steak kick here lately having it a couple times a week. :D I get plenty of vitamin A drinking pasteurized/homogenized lowfat milk and orange juice. According to http://nutritiondata.self.com 1 cup of OJ has 10% RDA of vitamin A all by itself. I probably should add liver back in once per week for the copper though...

After posting the above quote I got to analyzing my copper and vitamin A intakes here lately and will definitely be adding liver back into my diet at least once per week. I'd guesstimate that without weekly liver my vitamin A intake on most days is about 150% RDA. I was thinking I was fine on copper without liver somehow (some chocolate), but I have noticed that I haven't been getting near enough as I should be getting. So I personally will probably go with what I had planned on before and have liver thrice every two weeks. :2cents
 
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Bluebell

Bluebell

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Thanks everyone, yes that makes sense, I guess I'll start not enjoying it when it's not right for me. I'll also check for those signs you mentioned Charlie.

There aren't any undesirable nutrients in liver that Ray says to avoid as far as I know (apart from iron which we mitigate with coffee), so I guess I'll keep upping the amount as feels good.
 

Ukall

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I think Peat's suggested something like 4-6 ounces liver weekly.
Could you put the link where he said that?

For example, the liver I'm buying weights 300 grams. So I cut it into 150 g and I eat it in two different days, however, on the same week.
But according to what you've said, 300 grams per week may be too much.

How do you guys store the rest of the liver once you open the package? Refrigerator during a whole week...? :S
 

Mufasa

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Could you put the link where he said that?

For example, the liver I'm buying weights 300 grams. So I cut it into 150 g and I eat it in two different days, however, on the same week.
But according to what you've said, 300 grams per week may be too much.

How do you guys store the rest of the liver once you open the package? Refrigerator during a whole week...? :S

I ask my butcher to put it in 100 gram air closed packages. I eat 100 gram at a time, and I store some 100 gram pieces in the freezer.
 

Ukall

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I ask my butcher to put it in 100 gram air closed packages. I eat 100 gram at a time, and I store some 100 gram pieces in the freezer.
I was thinking about doing that, the only problem is that mine already come in air closed package. I don't know if the (organic) store is willing to open and cut it since it is not a normal butcher shop. Maybe I will cut it at home and then freeze the rest. I had the idea that freezing liver was not a good thing to do though.

The Easiest Way to Eat Liver: DIY Liver Pills

Liver pills, has anyone thought about doing that?

With this idea, I think I will try to eat small amounts daily instead in one sitting. Perhaps the results may be better.
 

tara

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How do you guys store the rest of the liver once you open the package? Refrigerator during a whole week...? :S
I buy about a kilo at a time when I see it looking nice and fresh, cut it all up ASAP, freeze most of it in serving sizes or bite sizes. I usually eat ~30-60g at a time 3-5 times a week. Probably roughly 150g /week, but I mostly go by taste and craving.
Can't get through to toxinless ATM for searching Peat's writing for quote.
 

Peatful

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Quick question-

Any butchers here?

Estimation of how much nutrition is in the blood from the liver vs the organ “meat” itself?

I ask because the bloodier the more I notice benefits.
(Or I need to discern the quality of brand / source.)

I far as I see; the bloodier and darker red the better.
Maybe it’s all around freshness-
But I am curious how much nutrition is in the blood.

Thx
 
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tara

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I far as I see; the bloodier and darker red the better.
I'm not a butcher.
My observations and hunches are:
Dark red indicates freshness, and freshness makes a big difference to taste, and I think nutrition
If people are donating blood to lower their iron levels, I don't see the point in deliberately eating other mammal blood - would seem likely to have the opposite effect. I'm curious about whether this is the case. Personally, I usually soak liver before cooking it to remove some of the blood. If you are low in iron, the opposite might apply.
 

Peatful

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@tara

Right.
Along with the iron though, I wonder if that’s where the other minerals are stored?
I’ll google it; but the answers I get on here I actually trust more.
Thx for your response.
 

tara

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Along with the iron though, I wonder if that’s where the other minerals are stored?
I don't know, but I would think tat the blood is more about transport than storage. I was guessing it would be mainly like blood anywhere in the body. But maybe it will have a little more of the goodies from the liver than the average blood sample?
I'll be curious about what you find out.
 

Peatful

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tara

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VitoScaletta

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@Peatful there's no blood in Liver there's only Hemoglobin. The more rich red colour the better, indicting freshness. Ideally liver should be a rich dark red colour, and when cooked rare should be almost sweet in terms of taste.
 

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