I recently cooked and ate a whole beef heart. I didn’t used to be the kind of person who eats offal, I've been pretty repulsed by it my whole life, but moving from California to Utah changed how I eat. In California there was a more abundant selection of organic vegetables. Living there I ate mostly meat, rice, and veggies. Here in Utah however I’ve adopted more of an animal-based way of eating. I eat primarily meat with fruit, since it’s easy to find organic and grassfed choices nearby. Some days I will just have beef heart and a small side of melon.

I started seeing beef hearts in the freezer at my local grocery store—something you rarely see in California. You can find liver readily available, but for beef heart, you'd have to order it or drive an hour or two to purchase it straight from a ranch. It’s not something you see regularly.

The transition to eating organ meats started with the supplements I’ve been using regularly for the last three years. I’ve used beef brain, uterus, kidney, spleen, pancreas, thyroid, liver, lung, trachea, intestines, cartilage, and thymus. These dried, powdered, and capsuled beef organ supplements have helped me heal things I couldn't with herbal remedies alone. As I noticed positive progress over the years the supplements became a staple in my rotation.As a result of a stressful incident that spiraled my cortisol into chaos about six or seven years ago, I developed insomnia and severe hormonal imbalance. Through a variety of methods and modalities I fixed most of my cortisol levels and eliminated the panic attacks and my insomnia. The most severe symptoms were taken care of and I felt better. I would still find myself waking up at around 4 am, tossing and turning and unable to fall back asleep.I hadn't had dreams in a long time. I couldn't remember the last time I had one. I wasn't getting the deep sleep that I wanted.

After some research I decided to try a beef brain supplement. Believe it or not I felt the difference that very night and I slept like a baby. I had dreams for the first time in years, something I hadn’t even realized up until that morning. After four months of consistent use my sleep patterns entirely resolved. I realized how powerful organ supplements were, and after a few years of taking them, I decided that maybe eating an organ itself would be something to consider.

Eating beef heart wasn’t the first organ I’ve ever eaten. Growing up in a Mexican household we sometimes had menudo on Sundays, a traditional soup usually made with cow stomach in it. I never liked it.

Eating beef heart was an amazing food experience. Believe it or not, it was delicious! I couldn’t stop eating it, it was as though I was eating something I desperately needed. This generally happens when I make chili with liver and heart, people can’t stop eating it. It was so good that I ate the whole thing, aside from the two small bites I gave to my parents, who looked at me like I was crazy. They both were impressed at the flavor and how mild tasting it was.

Beef heart is a nutrient-dense food.

Eating the heart of a freshly killed animal was a Native American tradition. By doing this, they believed that you would attain the qualities of the animal like strength, bravery, and agility. The heart wasn’t the only delicacy prized by the natives, but all organs were highly valued. In the West the stigma around eating organ meats is left over from the past when the wealthy used to enjoy the muscle flesh and the poor ate the organs. As a result there is still a stigma around eating organ meats. Some think it's taboo or gross. When you see the benefits, you might just change your mind.

Beef heart is an incredible source of vitamins and minerals and is more bioavailable than eating muscle. The highest vitamins/minerals in beef heart are per/lb listed below.

Vitamin

B12

Iron

Selenium

CoQ10

1.080

4.110

34.155

38.78

19.55

98.88

Daily Value %

90%

316%

213%

1616%

109%

180%

N/A

We all know the benefits of B vitamins; they are essential for brain, hormone, and cellular health and are vital to overall well-being.

Iron and selenium play significant roles in thyroid function, and selenium deficiency plays a role in skin conditions like acne.

Beef heart contains the highest amount of CoQ10 than any other food. This enzyme is made by the body and stored in your cells to assist energy production, and as you age your body slows down its capacity to produce it. CoQ10 protects the body from viruses and bacteria and is an antioxidant. Low levels of CoQ10 can leave one susceptible to diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and brain disorders.

CoQ10 is also excellent for heart health, and studies have shown that supplementation can help treat heart failure. In addition, any type of myocardial disorder may benefit from having a diet high in CoQ10.
CoQ10 can also restore fertility in both men and women because it protects eggs and sperm from oxidative damage.
Applied topically it restores moisture, reduces wrinkles, and prevents aging from oxidative damage from UV exposure and environmental factors.
CoQ10 protects the brain, increases brain mitochondrial concentration, and may treat neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and Huntington’s disease and will also reduce migraines.

If you don’t have access to fresh beef heart, or you want the benefits of consuming it without changing your diet, you can take a beef heart supplement as I did for many years. Here are a couple companies I love.

BUY ON AMAZON

Organ-Specific Peptides.

Bioactive peptides are short-chain amino acids that are the building blocks of certain proteins. They are smaller versions of proteins and are used by many health and cosmetic products due to anti-aging, anti inflammatory and muscle building properties. Peptides can penetrate the body’s internal membrane making them easier to absorb than protein. Peptides are in every cell in the body and are biological messengers that carry information from one tissue through blood to another. For example, collagen in the skin promotes elasticity. Every organ has specific peptides that support the overall communication of its system.

With peptides, the concept of “like treats like” applies. Support for an organ or system is found by consuming peptides derived from that specific system. For example, eating heart for heart health and heart conditions. Science is barely scratching the surface on this topic, but this has been practiced for a long time in Native American communities. I’ve read extensive reviews of people who have had similar experiences, just like my story above—taking beef brain to help my brain regulate sleep patterns and restore function.

Following my fascination with peptide specific organs I eventually came across the work of Professor Vladimir Khavinson. Khavinson spent 30 years studying the genetic effects of bioregulation from organ-specific peptides. His research revealed that organ-specific peptides extended and improved quality of life. He showed that peptides have the same binding sites and can restore physiological function and decrease mortality.

In a recent study, researchers found a micro peptide that increased the ability to pump blood and treat heart failure in mice. Using GMO mice that over-produced this peptide, they found these mice to have higher levels of calcium in their hearts which allowed for stronger contractions. Using mice engineered to show symptoms of heart disease the peptide treatment helped their hearts beat normally and also prevented the development of heart failure. It appears peptides can restore heart function and possibly prevent heart disease.

Not only is beef heart delicious and nutritious for you, it actually heals your heart.

Conclusion.

Beef heart is an incredibly nutrient-dense food, much more so than regular cuts of muscle tissue. In addition to all the vitamins and minerals, it feeds your genes and helps you age better by restoring function to specific organs. Beef heart is a longevity food. If I could eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be beef heart.

Are you ready to try adding beef hearts to your diet? Leave a comment, and subscribe.

Resources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5447911/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27285936/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6202051/

https://blog.designsforhealth.com/node/1536

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33453623/

https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Beef%2C_raw%2C_heart%2C_variety_meats_and_by-products_nutritional_value.html?size=1+pound+%3D+453.592+g

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25282031/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8241697/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26512330/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24578993/