A product such as chicken liver has many beneficial properties. But many argue that this is a source of cholesterol, is this true and which of the disputants is right?
Is chicken liver a source of cholesterol or a product that can be consumed without danger? A nutritionist should answer this question, but even without the help of a doctor it is not difficult to understand the problem. Many argue that the harm of offal lies in the fact that chickens are “pumped” with hormones and anabolic steroids. Is it so? Let's figure it out.
Product benefits
How much cholesterol is in chicken?
- White meat: 78.8
- Dark meat: 89.2
- Heart: 170
- Broiler chicken: 40–60
- Liver: 490
Cholesterol levels depend not only on the product itself, but also on the cooking method. Chicken liver has quite high cholesterol levels. But don’t rush to conclusions; refusing this product can lead to a lack of vitamins and microelements.
What is the benefit of the offal:
- Rich in vitamin C and B vitamins.
- Microelements and other substances.
- Improves the functioning of the nervous system.
- Helps saturate the body with calcium and phosphorus.
- Has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin and hair.
It’s worth starting with the fact that the product is easily digestible, rich in B vitamins, and accordingly strengthens the human nervous system. Vitamin C stimulates the immune system, helps avoid stressful situations and excessive nervousness.
The liver contains a large number of useful microelements. Including phosphorus and calcium. The product is recommended to be included in the diet for those people whose work involves heavy physical activity.
Important: It is enough to consume liver once a week to get rid of insomnia and excessive nervousness. The product is absolutely safe and can be eaten even by children.
Since liver contains a large amount of vitamin A and E, it is recommended for women who carefully monitor their appearance. The product strengthens hair and promotes skin cell regeneration.
Many nutritionists advise women of childbearing age to consume chicken liver, because it contains a lot of iron.
Undoubtedly, there is cholesterol in the liver, but you should not focus on just one component. It is recommended to pay attention to the beneficial properties of chicken liver dishes.
Composition and beneficial properties
Liver contains a lot of protein, so it is easily digestible. Contains substances and vitamins that are beneficial to the body. The most valuable:
- Retinol (vitamin A) is a natural antioxidant. Prevents early aging of cells and tissues. 100 g of offal contains the daily requirement of the vitamin.
- Vitamins B and C strengthen the immune system and improve the functioning of the circulatory system. Maintains energy balance. Stimulates the synthesis of good cholesterol.
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is one of the most important water-soluble vitamins for the body, necessary for most redox reactions, normal functioning of the brain and nervous system. Helps iron absorption.
- Amino acids: alanine, aspartic. Responsible for the absorption of calcium. Regulate metabolism, stimulate vascular regeneration, strengthen the heart muscle.
- Selenium improves cholesterol synthesis and cleanses the blood. Regulates the production of thyroid hormones.
- Iron increases hemoglobin, prevents anemia, improves blood chemistry.
- Copper improves the absorption of proteins and carbohydrates. Provides tissues with oxygen. Copper deficiency most often manifests itself as malfunctions of the cardiovascular system.
Compared to kidneys and heart, chicken liver contains less fat and more protein. Calorie content 100 g – 138 kcal. Recommended for dietary nutrition.
Who should include in the diet
If the level of cholesterol in the blood is low enough or is in a stable state, then you can eat liver without fear, without paying special attention to the method of preparation. But if cholesterol is unstable or its levels are too high, you must follow the diet prescribed by your doctor and avoid chicken liver altogether or only steam it.
The product in any form can be present in the diet:
- children over 6 months;
- women of reproductive age and menopause;
- people whose work involves heavy physical activity.
This product must be present in the diet of children, along with fish and meat. Since the liver is rich in phosphorus and calcium, it stimulates the child’s brain activity and promotes his intellectual development.
Since the liver contains a lot of iron, it is recommended to include it in the diet of women of reproductive age. And as a preventive measure for osteoporosis, the product is also recommended to be used during menopause.
If a person’s work is associated with heavy loads, then the body constantly experiences a deficiency of vitamins and beneficial microelements. Chicken liver will help fill the deficiency.
Attention! If the liver is cooked correctly, then no health problems will arise. But if you constantly fry it in a frying pan with a lot of oil, your cholesterol level may increase.
The product should be used with caution by those people whose health is at risk. Especially when it comes to diseases of the cardiovascular system.
Rules for selection and storage
Chicken liver is sold chilled and frozen. The best option would be to purchase a refrigerated product. And when purchasing, you should pay attention to the following points
:
- chicken liver has a smooth surface without any inclusions;
- the color of a quality product is brown with a burgundy tint;
- It is not allowed to purchase chicken liver with a loose consistency - this means not only that the product is “old”, but also that it is not stored properly;
- if the product in question is orange, this means that the chicken liver has been frozen/thawed several times;
- the color of the liver is greenish - when processing chicken liver, the gall bladder burst, and the product will be very bitter.
When using chicken liver, one should take into account the extremely short shelf life of this offal in fresh form: at room temperature - no more than 12 hours, in the refrigerator - 2-3 days.
Targeted nutrition tips
that will increase your energy level by 10 out of 10
From TOP nutritionists of the MIIN
Get tips
Since when choosing a liver the main indicator of quality is color, it is not recommended to buy frozen. Under a layer of ice, it may be impossible to see what color the liver is. But if you still decide to buy frozen, you need to remember
:
- The cut of a high-quality frozen liver is smooth, with a thin layer of ice, which should melt within 15 seconds when pressed with a finger.
- A sign of re-freezing is pink ice crystals on the liver. Don't buy this one.
- Pieces of ice in the packaging indicate that the manufacturer pumped the product with water before freezing to increase its weight. Refuse to purchase.
And for long-term storage, freezing is quite suitable. In this case, defrosting chicken liver should be done gradually, without exposing it to aggressive heat.
If you take fresh pieces and freeze them, the shelf life can be about six months. Thawed ones are recommended to be used within the next 24 hours.
Chicken liver can be an excellent addition to your usual diet and will enrich your dietary table. The main thing is to learn how to choose the right product and prepare it correctly.
For cooking, it is recommended to give preference to chilled liver, avoiding freezing it.
When choosing a product, you need to pay attention to its appearance, smell and color. Fresh chicken liver has a characteristic brown color, a faint smell of raw meat, and does not contain a large amount of separated moisture.
Before preparing any dish with the addition of chicken liver, the offal must be soaked for 30–40 minutes in drinking water or milk.
The best way is to cook chicken liver. This is done quickly - at a low boil, it will take 15 minutes to cook. You should not add bouillon cubes or any seasoning - give preference to vegetables and herbs.
In order to preserve the juiciness of the chicken liver, it should be fried over high heat for several minutes. But choose oils that are suitable for frying, such as coconut, avocado, olive and grapeseed oil.
To make it tender, you need to salt it at the very end of cooking.
Thus, in order for your dishes to be tasty and healthy, always buy only fresh and environmentally friendly chicken liver. The duration of heat treatment of chicken liver should not exceed 20 minutes, since after this time, the product becomes dry and completely loses its taste. In addition, adding salt during the preparation of chicken liver is necessary after heat treatment.
What's the harm?
When consuming any offal, you should keep in mind that they can cause harm to the body. And some people should stop using them altogether. Chicken liver is easily digested and absorbed. But despite this, it is not recommended to use it if you have the following diseases:
- Problems with hematopoiesis.
- High level of hemoglobin in the blood.
- Vascular atherosclerosis at any stage.
- Heart diseases.
- Diseases of the digestive system.
The liver contains a lot of iron, for this reason it should not be eaten if there is a high level of hemoglobin in the blood, but it can be eaten in order to restore iron deficiency in anemia.
Atherosclerosis and heart disease are considered a direct contraindication to eating offal, this includes not only chicken liver, but also pork.
It is also not recommended to eat the product if you have liver and kidney diseases. Especially during periods of exacerbation. It is worth limiting the consumption of offal in the presence of pyelonephritis in a chronic or acute form.
In addition, this product can negatively affect the functioning of the digestive system. To avoid problems, you need to check with your doctor about the possible diet and agree on the use of certain by-products.
Important: But pregnant women can and should eat liver, but you should carefully monitor the degree of frying of the product.
Chicken liver consumption rate
Chicken liver can be consumed even daily, but it is important that the amount of liver is reasonable.
To obtain benefits and to avoid harm, it is better to limit the consumption of chicken liver to 300 grams per day.
The optimal time for consumption is lunch.
If you have high cholesterol, it is better to consume chicken liver no more than 2 times a week. 100 g of product contains 280 mg of this substance, which is a lot. Abuse increases the risk of cardiovascular pathologies, such as atherosclerosis.
About the harm to the liver
Many people, speaking about the dangers of products, argue that chickens are often “pumped” with hormones so that they grow quickly and gain weight. But don't panic. Hormones, like anabolic steroids, are quite expensive today. Using them as bird food is an expensive proposition.
It is not chemical experiments that you should be afraid of, but bacteria that may be in chicken meat. For example, the bacterium salmonella can cause a disease called salmonellosis.
If the human body encounters a bacterium for the first time, it may react to it in a special way, resulting in signs of poisoning. Severe intoxication is rare. Patients mainly complain of abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea. When using absorbent drugs, symptoms quickly disappear.
If the body encounters the bacterium again, signs of severe intoxication may occur. Salmonellosis is a dangerous disease that leads to muscle paralysis and can cause death.
Attention! Usually, offal products, like chicken, are tested for the presence of salmonella, but if a low-quality product is found, health problems may arise.
Another danger is toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease. To avoid infection, it is necessary to heat treat meat and liver.
Toxoplasmosis is especially dangerous for pregnant women, as it can lead to fetal death. This does not mean that you need to stop eating offal, you just need to cook it correctly and carefully select the liver.
Culinary experts advise carefully inspecting the liver and chicken before purchasing and discarding the product if the quality is in doubt. And before stewing or frying the offal, you need to rinse it under a stream of water.
Not only water kills bacteria, but also cold, for this reason you can freeze your liver - this will help protect yourself from possible risks.
Chicken liver recipes
Chicken liver dishes are considered dietary food, as they are easily digestible and contain few calories.
Chicken pate
Ingredients
:
- 250 g chicken liver
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 onion
- 100 g butter
- 50 g vegetable oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Cooking
: Chicken liver must be washed and soaked in water for half an hour. The onions are peeled, washed under running water and cut into small cubes. The carrots also need to be peeled, washed and grated on a medium grater. Next, in a heated frying pan, pre-greased with vegetable oil, sauté the onions and carrots for 10 minutes.
Add soaked chicken liver to a frying pan with onions and carrots, fry all ingredients over medium heat for 5 minutes. All fried products are passed through a meat grinder or crushed in a blender, mixed with butter, ground black pepper and salt are added, and then mixed again.
The finished pate is placed in the refrigerator for half an hour, after which it is served.
Chicken liver soup
Ingredients
:
- 400–600 grams of chicken liver
- 4–5 potatoes
- one medium sized carrot
- one onion
- bell pepper – 1
- 200–300 grams of boiled or canned beans
- tablespoon tomato paste
- bay leaf 2–3 pieces
- herbs and salt to taste
Cooking process
:
- Rinse the liver and boil in a saucepan with a capacity of three to four liters. Then put it on a plate.
- Place chopped potatoes into the broth and cook until half cooked. Finely chop the onion, carrots and peppers and sauté in oil in a frying pan for about ten minutes. Add tomato paste to taste.
- Add fried beans to the broth and cook for seven to ten minutes.
- Add the prepared liver, bay leaf and chopped herbs 1-2 minutes before the end of cooking the soup.
Liver stewed in sour cream and onions
This dish cooks very quickly - fifteen minutes. Ingredients
:
- 1 large onion
- chicken liver - five hundred grams
- half a glass of sour cream
- salt, ground black pepper - to taste
- vegetable oil
We recommend
“How to reduce carbohydrates while losing weight: 8 steps, list of allowed and prohibited foods” Read more
Preparation
:
- Cut the onion into half rings. Then fry it in vegetable oil until golden brown.
- Wash the liver and cut into strips. Place it in a frying pan with onions and fry for seven to ten minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, sour cream and a little water. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
- At the end of cooking, add greens.
Chicken liver pancakes
Main Products
:
- five hundred grams of chicken liver
- 2–3 eggs
- rice flour - half a cup
- a pinch of soda and salt
- black pepper to taste
How to cook
:
- Grind the raw liver in a meat grinder.
- Break the eggs into the minced meat, add flour, soda, salt and pepper. Mix everything well.
- Pancakes are fried in vegetable oil. Served with sour cream.
Pots with liver
The ingredients are for a couple of medium pots. You can add a bay leaf for flavor, just be sure to discard it later.
Ingredients
:
- Chicken liver – 500 g
- Sour cream – 200 gr
- Hard cheese – 150 gr
- Potatoes – 600 gr
- Carrots – 200 grams
- Onion – 150 gr
- Salt, seasonings - to taste
Wash the vegetables and peel the skins. Cut the onion into rings, carrots into slices. Fry them over high heat for 5 minutes. At this time, cut the potatoes into strips and add to the pan. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
We recommend
“Diet for the heart: nutritional features and review of diets for cardiovascular diseases” Read more
Place half of the vegetable mixture into the pots. Wash the liver, remove films, cut into small pieces and add to pots. Salt, pepper and add the other half of the vegetables. Grate the cheese and sprinkle with the liver-vegetable mixture.
Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
There are a lot of recipes for various liver dishes, but losing weight is only possible if you choose dietary options. Salads, soups, appetizers, stews are best suited. Here are simple recipes for delicious and healthy dishes.
Pate with prunes
Stew one chopped onion and grated carrots. Add boiled liver (500 g) and several prunes, cut into strips. Simmer everything for a couple of minutes. Then add half a glass of walnuts, a little butter, salt and spices to the mixture. Beat everything with a blender.
Chicken liver appetizer
Cut the eggplants into slices, sprinkle with garlic and bake in the oven. Grind 500 g of chicken liver in a blender and prepare small pancakes. Grind the eggplants, bell peppers, garlic, and a little coriander in a blender. Grease one pancake with the resulting vegetable caviar and cover with another pancake. You can eat it like this or put a slice of cheese on top and bake it in the oven.
Chicken liver with vegetables
Chop two onions and simmer for a couple of minutes, add 300 g of chicken liver, simmer for five minutes. Add two grated carrots, two sweet peppers, simmer until tender. When serving, sprinkle with chopped herbs.
Chicken liver salad
Cut the leek into slices, chop 300 g of Chinese cabbage, cut the red bell pepper into cubes. Boil 200 g of liver and finely chop. Mix everything, season with soy sauce, sprinkle with parsley or dill.
Chicken liver stew
Boil 100 g of green beans. Stew 100 g of finely chopped liver, add a red onion, cut into rings, one zucchini and two tomatoes. Simmer for ten minutes, add green beans and cook for another 5-7 minutes.
Stuffed tomatoes with chicken liver
Wash five tomatoes and cut off the top. Scoop out the middle with a spoon. Grate the cheese on a fine grater, chop the garlic and add the tomato pulp to the mixture. Stew the chicken liver and chop it very finely. Mix the cheese mass and liver, place in tomato cups, and cover with lids.
We recommend
“Causes of malnutrition and gluttony. List of the most harmful foods and associated health problems" Read more
Chicken liver muffins
This is an original version of dietary chicken liver with vegetables.
Energy value
– 159 kcal/100 g, B – 10.7 g, F – 8.5 g, U – 9.8 g.
Step by step recipe
:
- Using a blender, grind 200 g of chopped liver, an egg, 2 tbsp. l. sour cream, 2 tbsp. l. whole grain flour. Add salt.
- Boil 2 potatoes, chop with a blender, mix with 20 g of butter or olive oil.
- Boil the carrots and chop.
- Chop onion, 1 paprika.
- Mix all the vegetables.
- Grind 50 g of cheese (fat content - up to 17%).
- Place 2 tbsp in silicone molds. l. liver puree, then – 1 tbsp. l. vegetable mixture, then again liver and vegetables.
- Sprinkle each liver muffin with cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.
Steamed cutlets are a great alternative to fried pancakes.
Even the most picky children will enjoy trying these cutlets. They look appetizing, juicy, and have a pleasant structure.
100 g contains approximately 167 kcal, B - 14 g, F - 4 g, U - 8 g.
Step by step recipe
:
- Pass 300 g of chicken liver through a meat grinder. Chop the onions and carrots in the same way.
- Salt the minced meat, add the egg, mix.
- Form cutlets, place them on a steaming container, and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Grind the paprika.
- Wash and dry the arugula.
- Place the finished cutlets on a plate, garnish with pieces of sweet pepper and arugula.
Chicken liver recipes for children
Liver soufflé in a slow cooker
Ingredients
: liver – 100 g, a small slice of bread, 1 chicken egg (preferably homemade), 50 ml of milk, salt to taste.
We recommend
“Enzyme deficiency: symptoms and treatment” Read more
Preparation
:
- Cut the liver into small pieces, place in a blender container, pour in the milk and bread pulp.
- Carefully separate the yolk and add it to the rest of the ingredients (set aside the white for now).
- Using a blender, beat all the products until a homogeneous mass is obtained - it will turn out to be quite liquid, which is exactly how it should be.
- Beat the egg white in a separate bowl - you should get a stable foam, which must be added to the liver mass.
- Pour 1 liter of water into the multicooker bowl, place a wire rack on top, and place the molds on it (if they are steel, grease them with butter; silicone ones do not need this procedure).
- Pour the liver mass into the molds, then set the multicooker mode to “steam”.
- After cooking, be sure to release the steam before opening the lid.
- The soufflé is served warm, but not hot.
If desired, you can garnish with dill or parsley.
The dish goes well with mashed potatoes, porridge and pasta.
The smell is not a problem
The nutritionist notes that modern research confirms the adaptogenic properties of garlic - that is, increasing the body’s ability to withstand adverse conditions and factors and helping to adapt to them. This wonderful vegetable prevents fatigue, its juice inhibits the development of a runny nose, and relieves ear pain due to otitis media. Eating one clove a day improves the condition of blood vessels and protects against damage to nerve tissue.
“Garlic will become more useful if it is cut into small pieces, since when the integrity of the clove is broken, a bactericidal substance called allicin is formed. It is very active against many bacteria and viruses and retains its properties when it enters the stomach and then into the human blood,” comments expert Natalia Kolomoets.
By the way, it is from the stomach that the unpleasant smell of garlic comes. Many refuse the opportunity to support immunity, fearing difficulties in communication. But the expert advises not to deprive yourself of all the benefits of this plant - it is better to buy capsules with dry extract at the pharmacy.
Not everyone can eat the product without fear. The expert does not recommend the use of the spicy vegetable for nursing mothers, those who have stomach and duodenal ulcers, as well as for acute inflammation of the kidneys. It is worth remembering that external use of garlic can cause burns.
Offal composition
Animal and fish liver contains a lot of healthy cholesterol, which makes them an excellent option when forming a proper daily diet. By eating one serving of a dish from this product, the daily, and for certain useful substances, even the monthly required vitamin and mineral intake for the human body is replenished. The usefulness of the liver is determined by the content:
- vitamins A, C and B (B6 and B12);
- folic acid;
- microelements (calcium, sodium, copper, iron, zinc, etc.);
- amino acids (methionine, lysine, tryptophan).
Cholesterol can only enter the body with animal fats!
Contraindications
The by-product has a lot of beneficial properties, but its use is strictly contraindicated in the following cases:
- stomach ulcer, duodenal ulcer;
- old age, children under 3 years old;
- high hemoglobin level;
- the last stage of vascular atherosclerosis.
The harm of by-products is often explained by their ability to accumulate harmful compounds and substances. This is unsafe if the bird was fed hormones or food additives based on them.
However, stories about mass feeding of birds with hormonal drugs are exaggerated. Firstly, it is expensive and unprofitable. Secondly, most of the substances are destroyed during soaking and further heat treatment of the offal.
If toxins do enter the body, the human liver will remove all dangerous substances.
Chicken liver is a healthy product with a valuable composition. But with constantly rising cholesterol levels, you should still stop using it.
All human organ systems are closely interconnected, therefore disruptions in the functioning of some can lead to failures in others. The main organ that destroys insulin is the human liver. That is why it is so important to monitor the functional state of this organ in diabetes mellitus. Most liver problems are associated with elevated cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that belongs to the group of animal sterols. That is why it is not found in plant products. In the human body, it is produced by almost all organs, but its main part is formed in the liver. Most organ systems cannot fully function without its participation. This is due to the fact that it is an indispensable building material for cell membranes, as it ensures their strength, performs a protective function, and is used for the formation of adrenal hormones, as well as female and male sex hormones.
An essential factor is that cholesterol takes part in the formation of complexes with acids, various proteins and salts. Being in the blood, it creates lipoproteins with protein. Low-density lipoproteins carry cholesterol to all organs. These lipoproteins become harmful if they deliver more cholesterol to cells than is required for their functioning. If the concentration of low-density lipoproteins is higher than normal, the risk of cardiovascular diseases increases.
High-density lipoproteins transport cholesterol from tissues back to the organ, where it is broken down and excreted in bile.
- “Bad” is LDL (low density);
- “Good” is HDL (has high density).
