The liver, intended as a food, is one of the best known and most widespread offal on the tables of Italians. The most common types of liver on the market are: bovine liver, pig liver, horse liver, sheep liver, goose liver and chicken liver - or livers.
Technically speaking, the liver, although considered a meat product, belongs to the whole of the fifth quarter of the animal - edible parts other than skeletal muscle tissue, such as organs, glands, rind, bones and particular cuts such as diaphragm. Read also "Heart as Food".
From a nutritional point of view, the liver belongs to the 1st fundamental group of foods. Contains high biological value proteins, minerals and vitamins specific to this set of foods; moreover, it seems to be characterized by the significant contribution of:
- Water-soluble vitamins other than those typical of the food group
- Folic acid
- Vitamin B12 or cobalamin
- Fat-soluble vitamins:
- Vitamin A or retinol
- Vitamin D or calciferol
- Other minerals: for example zinc, selenium and phosphorus
- Cholesterol
- Purine.
Note: the liver also contains small amounts of carbohydrates, consisting of reserve glycogen, and vitamin C, respectively.
The liver should be part of the eating habits of any healthy person; it is characterized by almost unparalleled nutritional inputs and allows you to easily reach some of the most hostile recommended rations - for example bioavailable iron for pregnant women - while maintaining a certain balance between energetic macronutrients.
However, we must not forget that, for the metabolic functions - which we will analyze better in the next paragraph - the liver also has more delicate health and hygiene implications than muscle meat.
