Eating animal organs is a popular habit in many traditional cuisines, especially in Asian countries, Africa and part of Europe. While some people consider this a nutritious dish and brings many health benefits, nutritionists warn that not all diets are safe or have long-term benefits.
Internal organs including liver, heart, kidneys, lungs, intestines, stomach... are the main metabolic organs, which are also places where toxins, cholesterol and bacteria can easily accumulate if not treated properly.
In terms of nutrition, animal organs provide a high content of vitamins and minerals. However, because of the high vitamin content, internal organs can be harmful if eaten too much. One of the common warnings is the risk of vitamin A excess when eating liver too often, especially cow's liver or chicken liver. Excess vitamin A not only causes nausea and dizziness, but can also damage the liver, even affecting fetal development in pregnant women. According to a report in the journal Healthline, adults should not eat liver more than once a week to avoid vitamin A poisoning.
In addition, organs are a food with high cholesterol. A serving of beef liver (about 100g) contains more than 330mg of cholesterol - exceeding the daily recommendation for adults (300mg/day). Dr. David Katz, founder of the Yale-Griffin Preventive Medicine Research Institute (USA), commented: " Consuming too many foods rich in cholesterol such as liver and kidneys can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in people with a history of high cholesterol or cardiovascular disease".
Internal organs can also be a source of purine - a compound that naturally converts into uric acid in the body. When uric acid levels are high, users are more likely to suffer from or worsen gout.
The way organs are prepared also affects the safety of the dish. Dishes such as water spinach, baked intestines, or stir-fried intestines, if not thoroughly cleaned and cooked, can be a source of dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, and even worms. In addition, some types such as mind and spleen also have a potential risk of prion-related diseases such as rabies, although rare. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against consuming central neural organs in dairy animals to prevent potential infectious diseases.
