# what do folks think about eating liver? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2010, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158 "2010-06-06T11:37:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/1 "2010-06-06T11:37:41Z")
when i was young my mother served liver and i had to eat it cause it was good for me. i learnt to like it… ok, i think liver has all sorts of vitamins and minerals and protein etc, but it is also the body’s detoxifying gland. so, does this mean it is chock full of toxins, toxic agents that it has filtered from the bloodstream? does this mean that when you eat (cow, sheep, goat, pig etc.) liver you are in fact consuming toxic materials? PS. the liver i do eat is from home grown pastured goats, we live in the mountains. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/2 "2010-06-06T11:45:57Z")
The liver detoxifies by converting toxic organic molecules into non-toxic ones (or ones that can be, and are, easily excreted). It does not _store_ toxins (at least, no more than any other part of the body does). ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/3 "2010-06-06T12:20:34Z")
I love liver. Liver is GOOD. Especially certain kinds, like, I dunno, duck and geese livers… ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/4 "2010-06-06T12:23:46Z")
Good with some fava beans and a nice chianti. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/5 "2010-06-06T12:25:39Z")
My mum was also a huge “eat liver” person. Of course she and my dad ate all kinds of organ meats. Yech!! I must admit I love the smell of liver and onions, but I’ll pass on actually eating it ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/6 "2010-06-06T13:38:52Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The liver detoxifies by converting toxic organic molecules into non-toxic ones (or ones that can be, and are, easily excreted). It does not _store_ toxins (at least, no more than any other part of the body does). well that makes me feel better; i just had some fresh liver for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/7 "2010-06-06T13:58:27Z")
I prefer it cooked. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/8 "2010-06-06T14:03:34Z")
I knew a guy named Johnson who ate it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/9 "2010-06-06T14:22:57Z")
Also a good source of cholesterol. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/10 "2010-06-06T14:32:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Also a good source of cholesterol. The worst food for cholesterol is brains. Which is why zombies end up going around moaning “Lipitor! Lipitorrrr!” ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/11 "2010-06-06T14:42:54Z")
Same as OP. But when I learned about the function of liver I stopped eating it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/12 "2010-06-06T14:47:10Z")
I love my mother’s liver and onions, but never met another version that’s not overcooked and mealy. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/13 "2010-06-06T14:56:33Z")
I prefer my liver in pâté form, but I’ve no worries about its function. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/14 "2010-06-06T15:03:08Z")
It’s the Fram oil filter of the body. Not eating it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/15 "2010-06-06T16:17:18Z")
Likening it to a filter is daft. If it was like the oil filter in your car, it would need changing frequenttly. It doesn’t, because it’s not a filter. Are we fighting ignorance here or just parroting it? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/16 "2010-06-06T16:27:10Z")
I like liver. I call them ‘filtration units’. I like filtration units with onions, and maybe some bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/17 "2010-06-06T16:28:29Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Are we fighting ignorance here or just parroting it? I say ‘filtration units’ because I think it’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/18 "2010-06-06T17:39:52Z")
In regard to my original query, i am reading one theory which says that a liver turns toxic material into non-toxic matter which is then eliminated through the organs of elimination. The other theory states that the liver accumulates these toxins as in “automobile oil filter”. Which would mean eating liver is not a good idea. any clarification possible? ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/19 "2010-06-06T17:42:21Z")
I love liver, but one caveat: The liver stores vitamin A. Vitamin A in too large doses is toxic. Carnivore livers (and omnivores like humans who eat lots of meat) have toxic levels of vitamin A. Never eat a carnivore’s liver, and if you are a cannibal, only eat the livers of vegetarians! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158/20 "2010-06-06T17:59:03Z")
The theory supported by scientific research is that while the liver is the most important detoxification organ in the body, its function is to break down toxins to molecules or compounds that can be excreted through urine. There’s not storage of toxins in the liver that is not also performed by fat cells throughout the body. The theory supported by vaguely remembered lessons on the liver, combined with an aversion to the taste and texture of liver, and/or by the random imaginative process of proponents of various subsets of alternative medicine, is that it functions as an oil filter. I know what type of support I like my theories to have. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-folks-think-about-eating-liver/542158.md?page=2)