When I was pregnant, my iron levels plummeted, as is often the case. I started taking iron tablets, but they didnāt increase my iron as much as needed and made me uncomfortably backed up. This is a common story, spurring some people with low iron to try beef-liver supplements, which are meant to be more effective at raising iron levels and gentler on the gut too. These supplements come in trendy-looking bottles featuring pictures of cows and terms like āgrass fedā, but cost significantly more than the standard tablets. So, are they really worth it?
Beef-liver supplements are touted for their high content of natural haem iron, which is meant to be more easily absorbed than non-haem iron, the type used in regular iron supplements.
Haem iron naturally occurs in blood, meat and organ meats like liver, and consists of iron bound to a ring-shaped molecule called haem. Non-haem iron is unbound iron that occurs in salt form. It is found in plant foods like legumes, nuts and leafy green vegetables (including spinach, as made famous by Popeye). Iron supplements have traditionally been made with non-haem iron, usually in the form of iron salts like ferrous sulphate or ferrous fumarate.
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Haem and non-haem iron are both absorbed in the small intestine, but via that result in different uptakes. suggests that 15 to 35 per cent of haem iron is absorbed from food, compared with only 2 to 20 per cent of non-haem iron. Upon absorption, haem iron is broken down so that the iron can be released and used.
This is one reason why meat eaters are than vegetarians or vegans, because they consume more haem iron that is better absorbed. In theory, beef-liver supplements, which are made from dried, powdered beef livers rich in haem iron, should be better at increasing iron levels than traditional non-haem iron tablets. But this is still an assumption ā no clinical trials have actually been done to confirm it.
The best approximation is a recent clinical trial that evaluated a haem-iron supplement made from beef blood, rather than beef liver. at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and his colleagues randomly assigned around 200 babies in the Gambia, where iron deficiency is common, to receive the haem-iron supplement or a standard iron supplement of ferrous sulphate from a fieldworker every day for 12 weeks. Unfortunately, the haem-iron supplement any more than the standard iron supplement, for reasons that were unclear. In both groups, the proportion of babies with anaemia dropped from about 85 per cent to 45 per cent ā still concerningly high.
This suggests we should be cautious about viewing haem-iron supplements as magical cures for low iron. But are they any better when it comes to side effects? Some studies have found that they cause than traditional non-haem iron tablets, so people who experience these issues may find them beneficial.
Beef liver is also rich in other valuable nutrients like vitamin A and vitamin B12. In fact, the 1934 Nobel prize in medicine was awarded to a team of US doctors who discovered that people with pernicious anaemia, a cause of vitamin B12 deficiency, could be treated by eating daily beef liver.Ģż Ā Ā
A major concern, however, is that beef livers can be contaminated with toxic heavy metals. This is because the liverās job is to capture toxins from the blood and try to excrete them. Cattle exposed to pollution or contaminated fertiliser, water or feed can thus accumulate toxic heavy metals in their livers. This was recently demonstrated by a team led by Heba MostafaĀ El-Ghareb at Mansoura University in Egypt, where beef liver is a popular delicacy. They tested 300 raw beef livers, all imported from the US, which they collected from marketplaces around the city of Mansoura. The majority that exceeded maximum permissible limits recommended by many international agencies. No studies have specifically tested whether supplements made from beef livers contain heavy metals, though.
At the same time, some studies have found high consumption of haem iron is linked to and .Ģż
The beef-liver-supplement craze is part of the wider pro-beef movement encouraged by US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who ā usually twice ā and cooked his Thanksgiving turkey in beef fat. Other trending beef products include beef-tallow moisturisers and shampoos, collagen supplements made from beef hides and bone broth from beef bones.
It is certainly worth trying to find better ways to treat iron deficiencies, which are common in those who are menstruating or pregnant, as well as people who canāt afford or choose not to eat meat. About a quarter of people worldwide are estimated to be anaemic, with low-income countries worst affected. Iron is particularly important as a component of haemoglobin (made from haem iron and globular proteins), which carries oxygen in the blood. Low iron can cause fatigue, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath and pale skin, and impair childrenās growth and cognitive development.
At this stage, however, there isnāt enough evidence to say whether beef-liver supplements really are better than traditional iron supplements, so it comes down to personal preference. Since finishing having children, Iāve been able to get my iron levels back on track through diet, but I have friends with low iron who swear by beef-liver supplements for getting their iron levels up without the unpleasant gut blockages. For them, the beefy price tag is worth it.
