Nutritional Value of Calf Liver

While you wouldn't see calf livers on most menus, it is one of the world's healthiest foods according to The George Mateljan Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that seeks to deliver unbiased, sound scientific data on foods we eat. Since the liver comes from a young animal, it has fewer amounts of toxins and chemicals that usually build up in longer living cows. It also provides nearly half your daily requirements of five vitamins and three minerals with only trace carbohydrates.

Protein

• A mere four ounces of calf liver provide adults with nearly half their protein requirements for one day. This means one piece that weighs 113 grams provides 25 grams of protein.

B Vitamins

• Calf's liver is a robust source of many of the essential B vitamins. In four ounces, there is vitamin B12 (41 mcg) , riboflavin (2.2 mg), niacin (9.6 mg) and B6 (.6 mg).

Vitamin A

• Calf liver is one of the richest food sources of vitamin A. This is because the liver stores excess amounts of vitamin A, and for this reason pregnant women should avoid it as too much vitamin A is toxic for developing babies.

Minerals

• Calf liver provides copper (9 mg), selenium (58 mcg), zinc(11 mg) and phosphorous (360 mg) in a 4-ounce serving that packs 190 calories.

Considerations

• Because saturated fat and cholesterol are linked to heart diseases, this food should be eaten sparingly. In eight ounces, there is more than 400 percent of your daily cholesterol needs along with 15 percent of your saturated fat intake.