How often do you eat animal organs?

Reply:

Organ meats include the organs of animals that humans use as processed and consumed foods, commonly beef, pork, sheep, goat, chicken, and duck organs. Organ meats in the diet provide many benefits, including iron supplementation, providing a feeling of fullness for longer, and maintaining the body's muscle mass.

However, animal organs contain a lot of protein, saturated acids, and cholesterol. When the body absorbs a lot of these substances, it causes vascular diseases - arteriosclerosis (especially coronary artery disease), high blood pressure.

Therefore, recommendations show that adults should only eat animal organs 2-3 meals/week, equivalent to 50-70g each time. Children eat 1-2 meals/week, equivalent to 30-50g. In addition, if you have gout, you should limit it because organ meats are especially high in purines, eating a lot of them can increase uric acid, making the disease worse.

When eating, you should choose fresh organs from animals that are not sick, prepare them carefully, wash them with salt, and blanch them in boiling water before cooking. Cook them thoroughly, do not eat them raw. The elderly, obese, and people with heart disease should not eat them.

Dr. Tran Duc Canh
Department of Endoscopy and Functional Exploration - Central Cancer Hospital