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7. Beef Liver Supplements: Nutrition, Benefits, and Best Products

Beef Liver Supplements: Nutrition, Benefits, and Best Products

Beef liver is one of nature’s top superfoods. It’s rich in highly absorbable varieties of hard to get nutrients like iron, B vitamins, selenium, choline, and zinc. But beef liver isn’t exactly palatable or convenient for everyone. That’s where beef liver supplements like Dr. Kiltz’s very own Beef Liver supplements come in. You get the superfood benefits of beef liver in the convenience of a tablet, and without torturing your taste buds.

As nature’s original multivitamin, beef liver has been used to support numerous health factors from fertility to athletic performance. 

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at beef liver supplement nutrition, benefits, and a comparison between the top beef liver supplements on the market.

What are Desiccated Beef Liver Supplements?

When talking about beef liver supplements, the term “desiccated” just means“dried.” The best beef liver supplement manufacturers use a gentle freeze-drying process. This transforms raw liver into a convenient powder that can be stored in gel capsules. Voila, beef liver tablets!

This freeze-drying method retains much of the nutrition of the fresh meat, unlike high-heat processes that can degrade mineral quality.

Beef Liver Supplement Nutrients 

Beef liver is incredibly rich in vitamin A, vitamin B12, copper, and more.

Benefits of Beef Liver Supplements

Thanks to its superior nutritional content, beef liver possesses benefits that even the best muscle meat just can’t match. 

The possible health benefits of beef liver supplements include:

1. Supports fertility
2. Improves energy
3. Promotes exercise performance
4. Provides hard-to-get nutrients

Benefit 1: Improves fertility

Long before food scientists knew what a B vitamin was, our ancestors were busy supporting their fertility with B12-rich beef liver. 

The pregnancy diets of many traditional cultures provided just the right amount of liver to their moms-to-be. In addition to animal liver, these diets often included grass-fed beef, full-fat dairy products, and fish roe.

Author and traditional foods expert Sally Fallon describes this practice well: “Without knowing the names of the vitamins contained in these foods, isolated traditional societies recognized their importance in the diet and liberally ate animal products containing them. They rightly believed such foods to be necessary for fertility and the optimum development of children.” [4]

More recent research reveals that beef liver’s vitamin C, E, D, and B12 are largely responsible for its fertility-supporting effects.

Benefit 2: Improves Energy

Quality beef liver supplements contain more vitamin B12 than any other food in existence.

How much? Just 4 ounces of liver supplies 40,000% — 400 times — your B12 RDV.  B12 contributes to cell division, nervous system function, and ATP generation.

Many people feel a tangible increase in energy within an hour of eating beef liver. After the B vitamins have done their job of mobilizing unused energy, any excess simply gets excreted through the urine, so don’t be surprised if your pee turns bright yellow following any liver-rich meal.

Liver is rich in other B vitamins, too. The same 4-ounce serving contains over 100% of your biotin RDV. Biotin regulates inflammation and immunity and also contributes to the conversion of food calories into usable cellular energy.

CoQ10

Beef liver supplements contain another energy-promoting compound you should know about: Coenzyme q10 (CoQ10). This important enzyme helps regulate everything from energy to skin regeneration. Studies hint that it may also support heart health.

Benefit 3: Boosts Exercise Performance

Liver and physical fitness have gone hand in hand since at least Grecian times when a champion runner named Dromeus popularized the use of animal meat among athletes.

These early athletes and their trainers viewed eating the organs of animals as a powerful way to support various functions of their own bodies. The Greek anatomist Galen, explained that “the liver is the source of the veins and the principal instrument of sanguification.”

Beef liver came back into athletic vogue around the turn of the 20th century. Physical culturist Arthur Saxon used a beef organ supplement called Bovril during his preparation for the ‘two hands anyhow’ lift. He hoisted an incredible 448 pounds overhead in this movement — a feat that hasn’t been replicated to this day.

Bodybuilders have also identified the benefits of beef liver. 1950 Mr. America Armand Tanny, ate generous amounts of liver as part of his all-raw, mostly-meat diet.

Other bodybuilders followed suit after hearing about Dr. Benjamin Ershoff’s successful experiments with desiccated liver tablets, which showed that beef liver boosted exercise performance. 

“It was Ershoff who conducted the famous liver study wherein rats fed 10 percent desiccated liver swam far longer compared to controls,” the Weston A. Price Foundation explains.

Liver supplementation was promoted by the best natural bodybuilders of all time. Mr. Olympia’s Steve Reeves and Reg Park both took beef liver in various forms. Here’s the story in Park’s own words: “Step up your protein intake. Soft boiled eggs, cheese . . . lean beef, veal, liver, and all kinds of shellfish are good” [18]

Benefit 4: Provides Hard-to-Get Nutrients

Pound for pound, beef liver is as much as 100 times higher in vital nutrients than muscle meats. [19] 

Many of these nutrients are hard to get from so-called ‘healthy’ plant sources — making their presence in beef liver supplements even more important. 

Beef liver’s ability to restore nutrient deficiencies and imbalances is largely to credit for the benefits we’ve mentioned earlier. 

Research from Indiana’s Purdue University has found that pregnant women are deficient in several important vitamins and minerals. Potential deficiencies include :

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12
• Calcium

Beef liver offers highly bioavailable forms of many of the above nutrients, making it perfect for people who want to support their fertility naturally. 

Benefit 5: Oxygenating Nutrients

Some people need more oxygenating nutrients than others. Pregnant/nursing women and athletes (yes, the two groups we keep mentioning) both require greater than average amounts of B12 and iron. 

As a holistic approach to boosting these vitamins and minerals, beef liver is so effective that Geoge R. Minot later won the Nobel Prize for identifying it.

Here’s the method in his own words:

“By May of 1926, we had fed liver intensively and daily to 45 patients. In many of these patients symptomatic improvement was obvious within about a week. Soon they craved food, and color appeared in their faces. Tongue and digestive symptoms rapidly lessened. Within about 60 days the red blood cell counts had risen on the average from low levels to approximately normal […we conclude that] by feeding liver, significant improvement had been obtained.”

Why People Don’t Eat Beef Liver

There’s really only one type of problem with organ meats like liver: they’re not accessible to everyone. Some people can’t stand the taste; others don’t mind it but can’t find high-quality liver. 

Taste

Taste is the most common objection most people have about liver. Even when properly prepared, liver tastes radically different than the muscle meat you’ve probably grown up with. 

Convenience

Then there’s the convenience factor. Liver can be difficult to prepare properly. It can also make your kitchen smell bad.  Bringing liver’s nourishment to your family or friends can be inconvenient and off-putting. 

Sourcing Problems

Finally, there’s the problem of sourcing. Even if you like liver’s taste and don’t mind the time involved in preparing it, you may not be able to find high-quality liver in the first place.

How to Choose A Beef Liver Supplement

If any or all of the above apply to you, you may be interested in supplementation. 

Supplementing with beef liver capsules provides all the benefits of liver in a much more palatable and convenient format. When choosing a beef liver supplement, however, it’s important to know what to look for. 

Grass-Fed and Grass-Finished Beef Liver Supplements

Grass-fed, grass-finished beef is more nutritious than grain-fed varieties.

Even the fatty acid profile of grass-fed beef is better: it contains fewer inflammatory PUFAs (polyunsaturated fatty acids).

Grass-fed beef organs also contain more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid ) than grain-fed beef does. CLA, in turn, may foster weight loss and improve body composition.

Pasture Raised

Remember that old phrase about happy cows making happy milk? It might actually be true. Research implies that the stress an animal undergoes can make or break its overall nutrition. [29] Organ supplements from happy, pasture-raised cows are probably more nutritious than other alternatives. 

Freeze Dried 

Freeze-drying preserves the integrity of the nutrients as if they were found in fresh meat. 2

Beef Liver Sourced from New Zealand Cattle 

New Zealand cattle are among the world’s healthiest. This is due in large part to New Zealand’s pristine climate of mild and wet winters, and sunny summers providing the perfect conditions for year-round pasture.

Most ranchers in America have to keep their cattle indoors during winter months. And even if these cattle are grass-fed, they have to rely on dried hay for significant periods. 

It’s no surprise that the healthiest and most nutrient-packed liver comes from New Zealand cattle. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, New Zealand beef liver provides significantly more nutritional value than U.S.-raised beef liver.  Some of the key nutrient differences include:

Vitamin B12 – New Zealand beef liver has 43% more than U.S.-raised beef liver.

Vitamin B5 – New Zealand beef liver has 44% more than U.S.-raised beef liver.

Iron – New Zealand beef liver has 72% more than U.S.-raised beef liver.

Thiamin (Vitamin B1) – New Zealand beef liver has 96% more than U.S.-raised liver.

Vitamin A – New Zealand beef liver has a staggering 459% more than U.S.-raised liver.

Other Ingredients: Fillers, Additives, Flow Agents 

Supplement purity is paramount. Your supplement’s beef organs should be delivered in an additive-free, filler-free beef liver tablet. 

Dosage

You may be thinking that 3000 milligrams isn’t a whole lot of liver. But keep in mind that liver used in supplements is desiccated or dried. In its fresh state, the majority of liver’s weight is water content.  

That means 3000 mg, or 3 grams of dried liver is actually nutritionally equivalent to roughly 1 oz (28 g), a standard serving size of beef liver. And keep in mind that micronutrients in dried liver are more densely concentrated.

Price

The pricing of a beef organ supplement is yet another important consideration. We’ve found that moderately-priced products are often the best. 

Best Beef Liver Supplements

Our three favorite beef liver supplements are all high-quality products that contain 3000 mg (3 grams) of freeze-dried beef liver per serving of . 

As mentioned above, this 3-gram serving contains the nutritional power of roughly 1 oz of fresh liver in 6 beef liver tablets. 

Beef Liver Supplement Comparison

Each brand sources their liver from grass-fed, grass-finished, pasture-raised, New Zealand Cattle. And they contain nothing but pure beef liver. 

These qualities are the hallmarks of any high-quality beef organ supplement. If you come across another beef organ brand, make sure it checks all of these boxes.

If you want to learn a bit more about each of these products you can see further individual highlights below.

Doctor Kiltz Nutritional Solutions

Doctor Kiltz’s grass-fed, grass-finished organ supplement is a true nutritional solution. Each 500 mg capsule contains pasture-raised New Zealand beef liver goodness and is totally free from additives. 

Key Features:

• 3000 mg of Grass Fed and finished beef liver, pasture-raised in New Zealand
• Freeze-dried to preserve optimal nutritional profile
• No fillers, additives or flow agents
• 6 easy to swallow pills per serving
• $40 one time purchase
• $35 + free shipping with subscription
• Free Shipping

+ Shop Doctor Kiltz Nutritional Solutions Beef Liver Supplements

Ancestral Nutrition Beef Liver Supplements 

Ancestral Nutrition’s beef organ supplement features 500 milligrams of premium grass-fed liver per capsule. 

• 3000 mg of frass fed and finished  beef liver pasture-raised in New Zealand
• Freeze-dried to preserve optimal nutritional profile
• No fillers, additives or flow agents
• 6 easy to swallow pills per serving
• $48
• Free Shipping if you have Amazon Prime

Vital Proteins

Short bit about this product

• 3000 mg of grass-fed and finished beef liver pasture-raised in New Zealand
• Freeze Dried to Preserve Optimal Nutritional Profile
• No fillers, additives or flow agents
• 4 larger pills per serving
• $38 one time purchase
• $32.30 + Free Shipping if you subscribe

The Bottom Line

Beef liver can be a vital part of any well-rounded diet. And for people eating keto or carnivore diets, beef liver can be a one-stop source for crucial vitamins and minerals that are hard to get elsewhere. 

But finding — and eating — high-quality beef organs isn’t feasible for everybody. 

If you’re having trouble fitting in fresh beef liver, consider supplementing with beef liver tablets. They provide the nutritional essence of this superfood in the palm of your hand.