To eat or not to eat assorted meat

Last week, we highlighted the benefits and disadvantages of eating game (also known as bush meat), and the responses we got from all over the world was phenomenal. I want to use this medium once again to thank every reader of the HEALTHWISE page from Monday to Friday every week. Today, we will be talking about a topic similar to that of last week’s. We will be looking at offals popularly called ‘assorted meat’ (entrails and internal organs of an animal used as food). Examples of offals are the brain, heart, kidney, liver, tongue, stomach, intestines, testicules, and so on. Benefits Organ meats are nutritional power houses. In fact, nutritionists confirm that these portions carry wholesome nutrition that is far more superior to the muscular flesh of the same animals. Little wonder why, by instinct, hunters such as lions and jaguars go straight for the internal organs of their captured beast. I guess the reason for this action is because, over time, these predators instinctively know where the bulk of the nutrition lies. Organ meat carries the richest sources of B vitamins and vitamins such as A, D, E and K. Additionally, minerals like phosphorus, iron, copper and magnesium are also present in abundance. Let us take the cow’s organs as an example to observe all the nutrients that are present. A cow’s liver is known to be one of the most concentrated sources of natural vitamin A, compared to any other natural foods. The liver is also a good source of vitamin B12, arachidonic acid, folic acid, zinc and iron. These vitamins play several roles in the formation of haemoglobin and proper brain development. The heart of a cow has high quality protein, less fat and cholesterol content than other organ meat. It is also said to contain twice as much collagen and elastin as regular meat. This makes it specifically good for maintaining a good skin because it helps prevent wrinkling and ageing. The heart also contains Vitamin B12, iron, potassium, selenium, phosphorus, zinc and other essential amino acids. The kidneys are low in fat and high in protein. They provide large amounts of vitamin B12, B6, riboflavin, iron, folic acid and niacin. The tongue also contains useful amounts of B vitamins, especially vitamin B12. Dangers Despite the enormous benefits of consuming organ meat, we also need to know that there are always two sides to a coin. A few implications of consuming the liver are that, firstly, it has a high level of cholesterol. This implies that caution should be taken by persons who already have high blood cholesterol levels and are at a high risk for coronary heart disease. Secondly, the liver contains high levels of iron and overconsumption can lead to excess levels of iron in the blood. A mere intake of over 200 mg of iron per day can result in iron poisoning. High levels of iron in the body can also lead to liver damage. (This is because when the iron carrying capacity of the serum has been exceeded, free iron is deposited in the liver where it damages mitochondria, leading to the necrosis of the periportal hepatocytes). Another major reason to be cautious when consuming the liver is because a major role the liver plays is in the body is detoxification (The removal of toxic substances from a living organism). The liver carries out this process by converting any ingested toxic substance to non-toxic forms that the body can easily eliminate. For example, when humans consume alcohol, the liver using some enzymes produced by its cells will convert alcohol first into acetaldehyde, then into acetate, and finally into carbondioxide and water. If an animal ingests toxic substances, especially heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, etc., and it is slaughtered before the process of detoxification is complete, residues of the toxic substance may be present in the liver and may result in serious health implications if the liver of such an animal is ingested. Great caution should also be taken when consuming any offal that is part of the central nervous system (like the brain). You need to be aware of diseases such as Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), also known as prion diseases. These diseases are a group of progressive conditions that affects the brain and nervous system of many animals, including humans. Transmission of these disease can be through air or contact with infected body tissue or fluids. Normal sterilisation procedures such as boiling or irradiationon fail to render prions non-infective. Finally, offals such as the stomach and intestines may contain a high load of micro organisms and dirt. They should thus be carefully and properly rinsed to ensure that all the dirt is removed. They should also be properly boiled or subjected through other forms of heat so as to ensure that the micro organisms are destroyed. In conclusion, this article is not meant to scare you from eating offals such as shaki, edo, tinu eran and so on. Rather, it is meant to encourage you to ensure that it is properly rinsed and subjected to a good measure of heat that will kill the micro organisms present. Have a blessed weekend!