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I really don't like vegetables and I'm thinking of incorporating liver (goat or chicken) into my diet. My diet primarily consist of animal fat, meat, butter, and a little bit of milk and fruits.

According to this: http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/nutrition/All_Foods/Poultry/Goat_liver_fried_or_broiled_no_coating.html

3oz serving has a lot of copper, vitamin B and vitamin A. How many times should I be eating it weekly?

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I shoot for 3-4oz a week. – Phoenix Sep 2 2011 at 18:59
Me too, and I alternate between calf and beef liver. – Korion Nov 9 2011 at 16:57

12 Answers

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I don't buy into the idea that liver is dangerous for someone who doesn't have other deficiencies (particularly the other fat solubles). If you consider that a lamb (sheep less than 1 year old) yields 2 pounds of liver, then we would have had, in our somewhat recent Pleistocene past massive amounts of liver to consume or discard, the latter being highly unlikely. A modern day elephant's liver is 170 pounds. Were there human die-offs every time a mastodon or mammoth were killed? I imagine the aurochs, megatheres, elk, rhinoceroses etc. were yielding fairly substantial amounts of liver, that, even if split among a tribe are going to greatly exceed 100g a week.

There would almost certainly be times where particular individuals would have subsisted purely on liver. I think using the arctic explorer (who was very likely deficient in vitamin D) polar bear story to determine how much liver we should eat is misguided.

That all being said, I think a pound a week is completely safe.

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Yeah but how often were a small group of hunters able to bring down game of that size? My guess would be a few times a year, relying on deer, large rodents, poultry, fish, wild boar etc in the meantime... – Nemesis Sep 2 2011 at 23:00
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If we were talking about Neanderthals with spears, I'd say rarely, but if we're talking about Cro-Magnon with projectile weapons, I'd say frequently enough that they would be poisoned by liver if it were toxic in large amounts. – Travis Culp Sep 3 2011 at 0:13
@Travis: how much liver do you eat per week ? – majkinetor Oct 21 2011 at 8:55
Ideally, I would eat a pound+, but I often forget or just don't want to. I think it's really misguided to miss out on the amazing nutrition of what it really the only "superfood" because of toxicity fears. – Travis Culp Oct 21 2011 at 16:42
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Its seems that your Vitamin A intake in the form of retinol (the type found in liver and eggs; not the beta carotene version found in many vegetables) should be proportional to the amount of vitamin D you are getting. So are you getting a lot of natural sunlight, taking D supplements, or eating vitamin d rich foods (salmon, sardines)?

I get the impression that you want to limit liver to about once a week but I think depending on your vitamin d intake you can play with increasing or decreasing the amount.

From what I have read I would recommend beef or bison liver (even though it is higher in retinol)

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can you link to this info please. i've not read this anywhere before. – sage_ Sep 3 2011 at 0:02
Heres a link to another paleohacks discussion: paleohacks.com/questions/16329/… I know the discussion ends up pretty inconclusive. I also spent an hour or two reading around other sites, however, and get the impression that you want to reduce retinol in the winter (when you aren't getting as much vit d) This is also why you may keep hearing about the arctic explorer (as Travis mentions below) who ate way to much Retinol from Polar Bear liver and was not getting any vitamin D and died. – JS Paleo Sep 3 2011 at 2:44
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i eat calf's liver twice a week, a half pound a sitting.

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I agree, I eat it at least once a week! – dooliemcjules Sep 4 2011 at 22:01
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Probably no more than twice per week. Vitamin A and iron can be toxic in large amounts.

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I am on a similar diet - I have been told by the provider I am working with, that once a week is the limit. (But no details on how much quantity wise). It is supposed to be functioning as a multivitamin of sorts).

I eat about a large tablespoon worth of organic beef liver cooked in butter. (Did I say eat? I meant choke down, then feel grossed out big time, followed by a bit nausea, then paranoia that I can still taste it, fervent wishes I never had to eat it again, and concluded by dread for the upcoming dose...)

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I saw a couple of PH'ers suggest cutting up some liver into pill-sized pieces and freezing them, so they could swallow them whole without having to cook it (cutting down nutrient value) nor taste it (saving taste buds). I just got some grass-fed beef liver, thawing, cutting and re-freezing is my game-plan :D – Nemesis Sep 2 2011 at 22:34
Believe me that was my option -ouch! scraps down the throat, can taste it forever. – Senneth Sep 4 2011 at 17:36
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I eat about 6oz of fresh, raw liver 1-2 times a week. No ill effects, tastes better than cooked and little fuss.

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I eat about 150grams of liver (lamb or beef) twice a week. I feel strong.

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Veal liver, once a week....FTW!!

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You could look at liver as a percentage of total usable body part weight to get a rough estimate of how much paleolithic people would likely have been eating. This doesn't necessarily indicate how much is safe to eat (and "safe" may depend on other factors, such as the species or the animal's diet), but liver is a fairly limited commodity compared to the rest of the body, and I find it unlikely that every paleolithic person would have been eating large amounts of liver on a regular basis.

(I love liver and will happily eat it in whatever quantity is available, so I'm not trying to be down on it, but the idea that there was tons and tons of liver lying around for everyone to feast on doesn't seem right to me, and my understanding is that liver was commonly saved for those with greater nutritional need or higher status.)

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I sautee a whole onion in butter, then fry slices of liver in butter, cover with onion slices and eat--it is wonderful! I eat 1 pound, every 2 weeks. I get the calf liver that is already sliced and frozen in individually wrapped baggies. You have to cook it when it is still a little frozen, if you thaw it out it falls to pieces.

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I am eating free range organic chicken liver once or maybe twice a week, but I am not sure how much fat soluable Vitamin we need per day or week.

It is confusing and I do eat a high amount of beta carotene which converts into fat soluble Vitamin A in smaller amounts.

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I'm somewhere in the middle, I guess. I fry up a whole package at a time; when I cook it, I eat a full 6-8 oz serving although I usually have other meat as well.

I cut the rest up into 2-3 oz portions and grab one when whenever I feel hungry for it; there have been times when I ate it for a week straight and other times when I grabbed it once per week or less.

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