Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Liver is a nutritional powerhouse, a great source of many vitamins and minerals. In particular, it's full of vitamin A. It's something I'd love to include in my diet. I've tried cooking grass-fed beef liver a few times, but unfortunately, at this point in my life, I cannot stomach its taste, texture, or smell.

So, I'm wondering if I get enough vitamin A from the eggs and butter I eat. I usually eat 6 eggs a day; according to Cronometer, that provides me with 1488 IU, or 50% of the RDA. I also usually eat ~6 tbsp of butter a day, which provides 1940 IU, or 65% of the RDA. Both the eggs and butter are pastured, so perhaps I'm getting even more than Cronometer thinks.

100g of beef liver provides 16899 IU (338% RDA).

I often hear that the RDA amounts are too low, and are set merely to avoid deficiencies, not ensure optimal health.

Do you think I'm getting enough vitamin A? What's an optimal amount?

flag	asked Feb 23 2012 at 14:27 shtoink 588●3●12

Hidden Liver Chile: Grind up a couple of portions of beef liver, put it in a paleo "chile", along with ground up pasture-fed beef and other ingredients- voila, delicious, passable chile with liver (no one can taste it, even my liver hating friend). – Cacktus Wayfinder Feb 23 2012 at 14:40

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US Wellness Meats makes a great brauschweiger and liverwurst. I almost guarantee you will be able to eat those. I'm pregnant and eating both! grasslandbeef.com/… – gilliebean♦ Feb 23 2012 at 15:30

I will absolutely SECOND that gilliebean! Love their liverwurst! – JayJay Feb 23 2012 at 15:58

Do you buy the prepared or raw brauschweiger? – Erik Cisler Feb 23 2012 at 16:29

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Shitoink -The answers you have gotten are a huge pet peeve for me -they are almost all suggesting liver of some kind. That is so annoying. I was hoping to see answers to your real question. – Senneth Feb 23 2012 at 19:07

Joshua · Answer 1 · 2012-02-23 15:09:44Z UTC

You could always choke down some Cod Liver Oil - I get a ton of Vitamin A and D from that. One shotglass is 2 tablespoons - which is insanely high in Vitamin A.

I still eat liver, when I can get it. On the weeks where I get good liver, I just skip the CLO.

Jay · Answer 2 · 2012-02-23 15:21:09Z UTC

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Yes, despite what you hear, vegetables are also a source of vitamin A, provided you eat them with some fat.

answered Feb 23 2012 at 15:21

Jay
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More accurately, vegetables often contain carotenoids which can be converted into retinal endogenously, but at varying degrees of efficiency. – David Csonka Feb 23 2012 at 15:42

David Csonka · Answer 3 · 2012-02-23 15:22:56Z UTC

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Another alternative is braunschweiger, it's a processed meat, but is more palatable than regular liver in my opinion.

answered Feb 23 2012 at 15:22

David Csonka
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grasslandbeef.com/… – gilliebean♦ Feb 23 2012 at 15:30

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I promise I get nothing for mentioning them. I just love their braunschweiger and liverwurst so much! – gilliebean♦ Feb 23 2012 at 15:31

Yes, I've bought USWM liverwurst before, it is quite good. – David Csonka Feb 23 2012 at 15:38

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I also recommend braunschweiger. I liked it even before I was paleo. It is processed if you get it from the store, but I don't buy into nitrates/nitrites being "bad" for you. "No nitrates added" products contain many times more nitrates from sources such as celery juice, and nobody says celery is bad for you. – kashperanto Feb 23 2012 at 16:40

Dragonfly · Answer 4 · 2012-02-23 15:35:08Z UTC

Chicken liver (from pastured, free-range chickens) tastes infinitely better than beef liver, IMO!

Make some chicken liver paté. Here's a recipe (scroll down the page for the chicken one.)

IMO, 10,000 IUs of retinol is the max, I'd aim for . I like to get 5,000-10,000 IUs a day.

Many folk don't convert beta-carotene to retinol (even with fat in the diet), so I wouldn't rely on vegetables for your A.

Also, liver is full of B vitamins, folate & iron.

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Answer 5 · 2012-02-23 16:33:29Z UTC

I eat liver occasionally, but not that much (only during my menstrual period). The issue for me is that genetically I am a poor converter of beta carotene, the vegetable form of A, to retinol, the form our body uses. My strategy is usually to the 50% RDA from animal foods and then another 100% of beta carotene. So it says I'm getting 150%, but in my own body it's probably the equivalent of 100%. For you it might be different. I know some people are saying that limited conversion with increasing dose is a bad thing, but it's good thing in my book since it prevents at A toxicity. I also have seen my skin really improve with more beta carotene.

dsohei · Answer 6 · 2012-02-23 19:56:08Z UTC

well, first understand that the RDA is bullshit. it's lowest common denominator recommendations. it's not about being healthy, its just about barely not being sick.

that said, your sources of A so far are pretty good, 6 eggs, provided that the yolks are very runny, and grass fed butter are very good sources, but i would say if you are having skin issues of any kind, feeling fatigued or over-stressed, then you could use more A, D3, K2, and E.

remember that vit a and d exists in a healthy ratio: chris masterjohn thinks anywhere from 10:1 to 4:1 a:d. luckily things like offal (including but not limited to liver), yolks, and butter have d3 and k2 as well as A.

i think you are barely getting enough A, and if you like the quality of your health right now theres no need to cross the liver threshold, but if you want to improve, you might want to look at why and how you have such a negative over-reaction to a kind of food that when prepared well is actually very delicious...

greymouser · Answer 7 · 2012-02-23 14:36:06Z UTC

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Liver is a nutritional powerhouse, but it sounds like you're otherwise eating a solid diet.

Besides what you mentioned, consider carrots, spinach, kale, collards, sweet potatoes, and squashes.

Keep your food variety changing, and you'll be fine.

DISCLAIMER: I love liver! Make pâté sometime -- it's a great way to enjoy liver.

answered Feb 23 2012 at 14:36

greymouser
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I eat a sweet potato every day, and carrots and spinach frequently (because I really enjoy them). I know they provide a lot of beta carotene, but I hear it's not easily converted into vitamin A, so I'm not really sure how much it contributes to my total. According to Cronometer, on days when I eat all 3, I get 9000 IU of "vitamin A"/beta carotene (300% RDA); any idea how much of that is actually converted into vitamin A? – shtoink Feb 23 2012 at 14:45

The more beta carotene the worse the conversion according to this ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20237064 – JayJay Feb 23 2012 at 15:08

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What you get from carrots and what you get from liver are not the same thing. – David Csonka Feb 23 2012 at 15:22

I didn't mean to imply that they were "the same thing", but it does convert. Animals sources are almost certainly pure vitamin A and maximally usable by the body, but beta carotene will convert. I'm maintaining if you stick to the veggies you are already eating, it sounds like you will be fine. Stop worrying about those numbers all too much! – greymouser Feb 23 2012 at 15:36

"I'm maintaining if you stick to the veggies you are already eating, it sounds like you will be fine." I don't necessarily agree with that assertion. – David Csonka Feb 23 2012 at 15:43

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Austin · Answer 8 · 2012-02-23 15:19:25Z UTC

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I grind it up and mix it in with burgers and meatloaf. Neither me, my wife or son can tell it's in there.

Austin

answered Feb 23 2012 at 15:19

Austin
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For those of us who don’t eat liver, can we get enough vitamin A from eggs and butter?

8 Answers