Beef organ supplements
No human research on what people take beef organ capsules for was sourced. Raw beef liver holds 4,948 µg of retinol per 100 g, and a pregnancy cohort found more birth defects above 10,000 IU a day of supplemental vitamin A. No published test of capsule vitamin A content was located. Tested glandular products held undeclared thyroid and steroid hormones.
- Status
- Sold as dietary supplements in the US. FDA rules bar prohibited cattle materials, including brain and spinal cord from cattle 30 months and older, from human food.
- Also called
- beef organs, desiccated liver, desiccated beef liver, beef liver capsules, organ meat capsules, grass-fed organs, glandulars, bovine glandular, ancestral supplements, nose-to-tail
- Taken for
- energy, iron, vitamin A, B12, ancestral nutrition, muscle, testosterone, immunity
Strong several reviews agree · Moderate one review or consistent trials · Limited one or a few small studies · Untested no study in people, listed with what it rests on
Shown to help0
No benefit shown in research yet.
Reported risks3
- LimitedLimited evidence: beef liver is high in preformed vitamin A, and pregnant women above 15,000 IU a day had 3.5 times the rate of certain birth defects.
- LimitedLimited evidence: lab tests found thyroid hormone in all 12 adrenal support and 9 of 10 thyroid support supplements tested. These were not liver or organ capsules.
- LimitedLimited evidence: 59% of 49 bovine liver supplement labels broke at least one US labeling rule, and 39% lacked a US contact for reporting harms.
What people take it for, and what was found
We haven't sourced research on this yet.
Risks
Reported risks3
Preformed vitamin A in liver
Limited evidence: beef liver is high in preformed vitamin A, and pregnant women above 15,000 IU a day had 3.5 times the rate of certain birth defects.
The numbers and sources
- Effect
- USDA lists raw beef liver at 4,948 µg of retinol per 100 g, or 16,900 IU of vitamin A [1]. In a cohort of 22,748 pregnant women, defects of cranial neural crest origin were 3.5 times as common when preformed vitamin A from food and supplements exceeded 15,000 IU a day as at 5,000 IU or less (95% CI 1.7 to 7.3). From supplements alone, the ratio above 10,000 IU a day was 4.8 (95% CI 2.2 to 10.5), with the excess concentrated in intake before week 7 [2].
- Population
- Food composition data [1]; 22,748 pregnant women [2].
- Sources
- [1], [2]
- Caveats
- We located no published analysis of the vitamin A content of desiccated liver or organ capsules. The cohort measured vitamin A intake, not organ supplements.
Undeclared hormones in glandular products
Limited evidence: lab tests found thyroid hormone in all 12 adrenal support and 9 of 10 thyroid support supplements tested. These were not liver or organ capsules.
The numbers and sources
- Effect
- All 12 "adrenal support" supplements tested, which were herbal and/or animal-derived, contained triiodothyronine (63 to 394.9 ng a tablet). 42% contained pregnenolone and 25% the synthetic glucocorticoid budesonide, and others held androstenedione, cortisol or cortisone [3]. In 10 "thyroid support" supplements, 9 contained T3 (1.3 to 25.4 µg a tablet) and 5 contained T4. At the labeled dose, 5 delivered more than 10 µg of T3 a day [4].
- Population
- Products bought in the US [3][4].
- Sources
- [3], [4]
- Caveats
- These were adrenal and thyroid support products, not liver or mixed-organ capsules. The abstracts do not say how many contained animal tissue.
Label compliance
Limited evidence: 59% of 49 bovine liver supplement labels broke at least one US labeling rule, and 39% lacked a US contact for reporting harms.
The numbers and sources
- Effect
- Of 49 bovine liver supplements whose labels were reviewed against US regulations, 59% had at least one instance of noncompliance. 39% lacked a domestic mailing address or phone number, which the authors note prevents consumers from reporting serious adverse events to the manufacturer. 31% carried a noncompliant nutrient content claim [5].
- Population
- 49 bovine liver supplements sold in the US [5].
- Sources
- [5]
- Caveats
- A review of labels, not a laboratory test of what the capsules contain [5].
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: Beef, variety meats and by-products, liver, raw (FDC ID 169451). SR Legacy. 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169451/nutrients
- Rothman KJ, Moore LL, Singer MR, et al. Teratogenicity of High Vitamin A Intake. New England Journal of Medicine. 1995. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm199511233332101
- Akturk HK, Chindris AM, Hines JM, et al. Over-the-Counter "Adrenal Support" Supplements Contain Thyroid and Steroid-Based Adrenal Hormones. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2017.10.019
- Kang GY, Parks JR, Fileta B, et al. Thyroxine and Triiodothyronine Content in Commercially Available Thyroid Health Supplements. Thyroid. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2013.0101
- Silva AJ, Dahm OJ, Hellberg RS. Bovine Liver Supplement Labeling Practices and Compliance With U.S. Regulations. Journal of Dietary Supplements. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2020.1834048