Organ meats, whether from beef, pork or poultry, can increase the variety in your diet, and many of them are rich in essential vitamins and minerals. Some are higher in saturated fat or cholesterol than muscle meats, so eat them only in moderation. Always cook organ meat well before you eat it to reduce your risk for foodborne illness.
Liver
Each 4-oz. serving of beef liver provides 1.3 mcg vitamin D, or slightly less than half the amount in a cup of fortified milk, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Pork liver sausage has 7.3 mg iron and 31,374 international units of vitamin A, or 627 percent of the daily value, in 4 oz., but it also has 32 g fat, 12 g saturated fat and 975 g sodium. Chicken, goose and duck liver are also high in vitamin B-12, iron and vitamin A, and are high in saturated fat.
Kidney
A pork kidney has 11.4 mg iron, or 60 percent of the daily value, and 40 mg magnesium, or 80 percent of the daily value. It has nearly 4 mg riboflavin, or more than 200 percent of the daily value, and nearly 20 mg niacin, or about 200 percent of the daily value. It has 442 mg selenium, or about eight times the daily value for this antioxidant mineral. This serving size has 2.4 g saturated fat and 743 mg cholesterol.
Brain
A 4-oz. serving of beef brain provides 310 mg potassium, 142 mg sodium, 2.9 mg iron, or 16 percent of the daily value, 4 mg niacin, or 40 percent of the daily value, and 10.8 mcg vitamin B-12, or 180 percent of the daily value. Avoid brain if you are trying to reduce your intake of cholesterol, because each serving has 3,401 mg cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol raises levels of cholesterol in your blood, and healthy adults should have no more than 300 mg per day, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Heart
A 4-oz. portion of beef heart has 24 mg magnesium, or 48 percent of the daily value, and 4.8 mg iron, or about 1/4 of the daily value for iron. It has 324 mg potassium and 111 mg sodium. Heart is leaner than some other organ meats, and a 4-oz. serving of beef heart has 127 calories and 20 g protein, with 4.5 g total fat, 1.5 g saturated fat and 140 mg cholesterol.
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