Abstract :
Over the last two or three decades meat and especially liver have been looked upon as unhealthy food with high fat content and
carcinogenic potential. In addition, its content of highly valuable micronutrients has mostly been ignored. As a result, the mean
uptake and serum levels of several micronutrients in the population are below the recommended levels. In the meantime, the
contamination of liver with heavy metals and other contaminants has fallen far below the allowed thresholds and sometimes even
below the detection limit while its content of micronutrients like iron, folate, selenium or zinc are still high. As a further
advantage, the bioavailability of many micronutrients often is better from meat and liver then from plant sources. Considering
these advantages and the low content of contaminants in meat and liver leads us to propose that meat – including liver –
should be a regular part of a mixed and balanced healthy diet along with vegetables and fruits as the major components to
ensure an optimal supply of micronutrients.
