Who should not eat animal organs?

Heart, liver, kidney... are very good for children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women, but people with fatty liver, gout, and diabetes should not eat them.

Animal organs that many people often eat are the heart, liver, kidney (ovary), stomach... of pigs, chickens, geese, ducks. Nutritionally, they contain a lot of protein and fat; hearts and livers contain a lot of iron and vitamin A. The downside is that they contain a lot of fat, especially very high cholesterol content, especially in the brain, liver and ovary. Just eating 100g of pig brain has up to 2,500 mg of cholesterol, 8 times the daily requirement. Each person should only eat about 250-300 mg of cholesterol per day.

However, because they contain a lot of cholesterol, they are not suitable for the elderly, people with metabolic disorders such as atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, gout, kidney disease, overweight-obese people...

According to Master Le Thi Hai, Institute of Nutrition, heart, liver, and testicles provide iron to prevent iron deficiency anemia, which is very good for children, pregnant women, and women of childbearing age. It provides a lot of vitamin A, which is good for the eyes, enhances resistance, and increases growth in children.

Dr. Vu Truong Khanh, Deputy Head of the Gastroenterology Department, Bach Mai Hospital (Hanoi), also emphasized that Vietnamese people have a bad habit of eating animal organs without knowing that they contain a lot of cholesterol. The body can synthesize cholesterol itself, so food does not need to provide much.

Therefore, the elderly should limit their intake. People with the above metabolic disorders should also not eat animal organs. Children, pregnant or lactating women, people with iron deficiency anemia, and adolescents should eat organs 2-3 times a week, 50-70g each time for adults, 30-50g per meal for children.

Experts also note that animal organs are easily contaminated and can be a hotbed of bacteria that cause cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, etc. They can also be infected with many types of parasites such as tapeworms, dog tapeworms, roundworms, etc. Eating undercooked pig organs also puts you at risk of streptococcus suis infection.

Therefore, when eating organs, you need to pay attention to the selection, careful preparation and complete cooking. When buying, choose the fresh type, press on the liver surface, the heart is still elastic, smooth surface; do not buy livers that are yellow or dark purple, have a foul smell./.

According to VNE