Determined to get back to induction for a few days, I helped myself to some wholesome-looking liver in the lunch line today. Meat, right??

Well, guess what! According to Fitday (and other sources), beef liver is loaded with carbs. I mean, relative to other meats. As much as 10.4 carbs per six ounces. Liver isn't listed under allowed Meats in DANDR, but then, Atkins says "all meats." So..what's up with that? Is liver (or other organ meats) not a meat? Where do the carbs come from?

I've never seen a discussion of liver anywhere related to low-carb, come to think of it. Although I rarely eat it, it certainly has good nutritional value. So I'm not sorry I ate it today, but I guess I will count the carbs.

Any liverish thoughts from low-carb experts?

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

I don't know any more than you but I saw this as well when I had liver and inputed it into fitday. I am curious as well. I LOVE liver and onions, though with low carb I don't eat as many onions as I use to on it. I've had it twice since starting low carb but would love to have it once a week if I could. I guess I could if I went a bit lower with everything else.

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Noël


Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strengths.

I am surprised by the amount of carbs in liver. However, it has NEVER been an issue for me because liver is one of two foods that I have tried that I absolutely refuse to eat. I did some quick research to see if I could find any information. One article listed the nutrient breakdown for a 295 gram serving as having 15.2 carbs. The only negative comments I found related to the very high levels of cholesterol in liver, as well as concern over cadmium concentrations. Other than those, negatives, the rest of the comments on the benefits were positive. However, there was no indication of where the carbs came from.

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Henry

Liver ... storage ... glycogen, etc. I imagine most mammalian livers work more or less the same way, and most liver comes from beef or chicken - grain fed animals.

I, however, LOVE liver - especially calve's and chicken. I just keep the portions small. BTW, there's no better source of folic acid than chicken livers.

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I seem to recall reading somewhere that the reason liver is high in carbs is because it is the organ where the animal stores its glycogen to convert to glucose for use in muscles.
Not a problem for me; I don't like liver either, Henry.

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Trina

Vice-President of the Intergalactic Order of Brussels Sprouts Haters

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... and, I'm happy to report that chickens (not being mammals ... big "duh" moment for me ) don't use their livers for glycogen storage. Chicken livers ... my all time fave ... appear to be pretty much carbless.

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..i volunteer to donate any and all portions of liver alloted to me to whomEVER wants it!! ack...

and uh... i will gladly volunteer to be the test subject for what happens when you NEVER EVER EVER EVER eat that stuff...*L*

yes.. i have had it... nope it wasnt cooked to its best advantage... but still... unless someone can make it taste like it is NOT liver... i will pass...

enjoy!

one of my children hates strawberries (sick puppy)
one of my children hates watermelon (something seriously wrong with that one)
and ONE of my children hates CHERRIES...(surely clinically insane...)

my husband hates rice... (no clue whats wrong with him)
my dad used to LOVE limburger cheese..(yeah.. i came from a long line of nuts)
my sister slurps clams off the half shell.... (i would sooner take a bullet to the brain)


i guess EVERYone has things that they love and hate...

who knows ??? i USED to hate rare steaks and shrimp that wasnt breaded...*L*... theres always a CHANCE my tastes may change...

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kims SECOND journal is HERE
kims new blog
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Okay, Maggie, always LOVED chicken livers, so tell me....... how can you actually make them without all that breading? I would love to have them again........ and yes, I am a fan of liver with onions totally, but chicken livers have always been my favorite. Somehow I remember in the DANDR that he said organ meat was high carb and to be avoided...... guess I am gonna have to dig out one of my FOUR copies and look it up. Yes, I am NEVER without a copy of DANDR......... carry one each day to the office like a Bible

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196/135-135

Mmmmm...pate de foie gras!! Love them goose livers...yum. :fork:

This site gives a nice content label for goose liver...only 1gm per serving! (though I eat more than a tablespoon when I can get it!)
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-001-02s011y.html

Ugg - I'm with you Kim - I volunteer my portion to anyone else....and am willing to be part of the test group to NEVER EVER EVER have that.

My mom loves to tell the story about fixing liver, and telling me that it was chicken fried steak....'supposedly' I asked for 2nds..... I'm still in denial...

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Started: 261
Currently: 182

Ok, correction: I DO like chicken livers (real deli chopped liver...yum!). And I LOVELOVELOVE pate. It's beef liver that makes me green around the gills.
I once worked at a restaurant where I had to peel calf's livers every day 'cause it was on the menu. If I had liked it before, that woulda cured me. Brrrr.

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Trina

Vice-President of the Intergalactic Order of Brussels Sprouts Haters

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Rhonda, I'm from NY, so I never saw breaded chicken livers. I'm pretty much from the fried in schmaltz (rendered chicken fat - I save the globs of fat and extra skin that come with leg/thigh pieces in a bag in the freezer and render them when I need them - the cracklins are delicious) with onions and then coarsely chopped fan club, like Trina.

I have also lightly dredged them in some soy protein isolate (shake 'em in a bag and shake off the excess) when I'm not planning to chop them.

Another way I really like them is as rumaki. The recipe is in our recipe section:

http://www.lowcarbeating.com/recipe_...keyword=rumaki

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Oooh. Rumaki! I never thought of that! What a great lo-carb treat!

Actually, I don't like beef liver all that much, especially when it's cooked to shoeleather. But braised with onions, all gooey and juicy--that tastes pretty good every once in a while.

I did find a footnote in Atkins for Life (I think) that organ meats should be limited to no more than 4 oz. a day, for reasons suggested above.

Brussels sprouts used to be a food I refused to eat. Even so, I've discovered that when fresh and properly cooked, even brussels sprouts are delicious. I suppose that's true of almost any food.

I even like raw oysters, but I never eat them anymore because of all the pollution problems. Not to mention that in Kansas City, you're not sure how long they had to spend waiting in airports before they got here.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

interesting discussion. I only found out yesterday through a different source that liver had carbs. Tastes do change and I still don't like beef liver but the once hated liverwurst is now a favorite. And like Barb brussels sprouts, once shunned, have become an occasional guest at my table, Boiled then cream cheese and fresh nutmeg and pepper stirred in and topped with toasted slivered almonds. :cook:

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my blog

Mmmmmmm...calves liver cooked with bacon....yummy!

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Started Atkins-1/2/04
174 lbs at heaviest



5'0 154/136.5/130