Top 7 Benefits of Nose-to-Tail Eating
For centuries, people have been practicing the art of nose-to-tail eating. In fact, in primal times, this was a primary practice and a focus point with the hunter/gatherer mentality.
With the addition of conventional grocery stores and the ability to have food instantly has taken away the importance of eating nose-to-tail. Nose-to-tail eating eliminates food waste and truly connects us to the source of where our meat products come from.
1) Consuming Organ Meats Supports Our Organs
The organ meats in a nose-to-tail diet have compounds in them that positively impact corresponding organs in our body. One company that has been using animal organs to correspond with symptoms people might be expiencing is Heart & Soil. An example would be their ‘Her Package’ blend that utilizes grass-fed reproductive organs to help with fertility in women.
Some other beef organs that help our organs – beef kidney contains rare amino acids that can make it easier for our own kidneys to do their jobs. Beef heart offers an abundance of B vitamins that take care of our cardiovascular health. One of the most important impacts on our organs is the primary peptide found in beef liver, Hepcidin. Hepcidin helps the body absorb and process iron – making this a great option for mamas struggling with anemia in pregnancy and postpartum.
2) Increased Energy
Like I mentioned above, organ meats (particularly liver) can be a huge asset for looking to overcome anemia. The kidneys, liver, heart and spleen are packed with heme iron – which is the most bioavailable form of iron. I have had a lot of success recommending organ meats to clients struggling with iron absorption and chronic anemia.
Iron deficiency is a root cause of low energy levels and chronic fatigue. I often work with clients experiencing extreme fatigue and low energy – who have had their lives changed by adding in organ meats and focusing on a nose-to-tail diet.
3) Increase Fertility in Women and Men
Organ meats are loaded with key nutrients that are important for maintaining fertility in both men and women. Liver is a premium source of vitamins C, D, E, Co-Q10, Zinc, Folate, and fat – all of which have been shown to play crucial roles in male and female fertility. Given the incredible amount of nutrients liver packs, and similarly beef, they are two of the best foods you can eat to support fertility health.
I often recommend organ meat consumption to my clients looking to improve fertility outcomes and optimize their fertility diets for conception.
4) Immune System Boosting
Nose-to-tail eating is important because it offers your body the most bioavailable forms of key nutrients. Supplementing with certain vitamins and minerals can be difficult for your body to breakdown and digest appropriately. Nose-to-tail provides our bodies with vitamins A, C, D and K2 – all super important vitamins for immune boosting.
I often recommend that clients supplement with beef liver /organ supplements during the winter months to up their access to these key nutrients.
5) Replaces Lost Nutrient Stores
This is most likely the thing I like most about focusing on a nose-to-tail diet. As a society, we are more stressed than ever before. And with stress, we are constantly burning through our nutrient stores and often, don’t get the opportunity to add enough minerals back in. This is especially important after going through pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, trauma, surgery, etc. Focusing on replenishing lost nutrient stores should be a huge priority.
I know a lot of people who like to rely on fruits and vegetables to get these key nutrients in – but it’s important to note that plants contain hundreds of plant toxins (which can be super disruptive to our health).
6) Helps Balance Our Amino Acids
The typical meat that we consume (muscle meats) are high in methionine, an essential amino acid that can raise homocysteine levels in the body. Homocysteine has been known to increase the risk of heart disease and cancer. However, the amazing thing about this works – the amino acid glycine is found in the connective tissue of animals (hence the importance of bone broth). This amino acid, glycine, helps protect against methionine.
Organ meats are packed full of key B vitamins, choline, folate and betaine – which all help support the body working through homocysteine.
7) Lower Food Cost & Less Food Waste
Organ meats are typically some of the lowest cost meats available in our conventional markets. In fact, it’s often difficult to find certain organ meats because they won’t even be carried by most grocery stores. Most grass-fed organ meats range from $2-10/lb (oxtails are some of the most expensive right now!). The best way to focus on a nose-to-tail diet is to support your local farmer or rancher or find a CSA.
By using the entirety of the animal with the nose-to-tail diet, it promotes less food waste overall. The illusion of what we see at the meat counter in most grocery stores, where we just see the most sought after meat cuts, isn’t actually reality. There are several other cuts (particularly organ meats, soup bones, etc.) that we have no access to! By supporting a nose-to-tail diet, you are essentially helping promote the idea of lessening food waste.
Where to Buy Organ Meats
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Always support local first – find a local grass-fed, regenerative agriculture farm or ranch
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Online outlets that I like:
Recipe Inspiration for Preparing Organ Meats
Looking for ways to add beef liver into meals to maximize nutrient-density?
This Hidden Liver Meatloaf recipe is one of my go-to recipes for my family and to share specifically with clients who are pregnant, in postpartum or looking to up their mineral stores.
Beef liver is full of key nutrients like folate, copper, B vitamins, vitamin A, iron, etc. This recipe makes the beef liver hard to taste and the whole family will enjoy it!
Hidden Liver Meatloaf
2 Ground Beef
1 lb @uswellnessmeats ground beef/liver
2 whole Carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Celery, stalks, chopped
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
1 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos
1 Egg, whisked
@primalkitchenfoods ketchup (optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the ground beef and ground liver in a large mixing bowl. Then place the carrots, celery, and onion into a food processor, and pulse until minced.
Add the veggies into the beef / liver mixture and season the mixture with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and coconut aminos. Follow by adding the egg, and mix all ingredients until well combined.
Pack the meatloaf mixture into a loaf pan like this @lecreuset pan and line with parchment paper. If using ketchup, layer this on at this point!
Bake the meatloaf for 1 hour or until it reaches 170 degrees internally. Let cool and serve with root veggies!
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