Are Beef Organs Safe for Toddlers? Can My Kids Eat Beef Organs?

Yes, absolutely! Their growing bodies need real, nutrient-dense food, just like ours- maybe even more, because they are growing!

Childhood nutrition is a sensitive topic, and has become a controversial or even political topic at times! The confusion starts from recommendations from doctors, and public health organizations, which is then compounded by clever marketing from greedy food corporations.

Children’s digestive tracts are designed and better equipped to digest beef organ meats, muscle meat, butter, and eggs than the numerous processed foods strategically marketed to families with small children.  Animal foods are also crucial for cognitive development. Because infants and toddlers eat small quantities of foods, it is critical to make every bite count in the early years. Starting around 6 months of age, it is crucial
 to introduce nutrient dense first foods to meet growing demands and cognitive development. To read more please see this article in Nutrition Today.  Meat Helps Make Every Bite Count: An Ideal First Food for Infants
Compared with other meats such as poultry, pork, and seafood, or other protein sources such as nuts, beans, and soy, red meat, such as beef is higher in heme iron, zinc, choline, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6.  Chicken and turkey are the most commonly consumed meats among infants and toddlers, and other non-meat proteins consumed were cheese, eggs, yogurt, and nut butters ALL of which are lower in crucial nutrients such as heme iron and zinc than red meat.  One to two ounces of red meat per day meets heme iron requirements for healthy infants 6 to 12 months old and toddlers up to approximately 3 years old. 

Infants need a variety of nutrient-dense foods, including foods that are rich in bioavailable heme iron and zinc.  Read this article below for nourishing a growing baby from Weston A. Price. Nourishing a Growing Baby - The Weston A. Price Foundation

FIGURE 1: Dietary iron sources and requirements. Heme iron requirements drastically increase around 6 to 7 months old, increasing from 0.27 mg/d to 11 mg/d. The heme iron content and absorption are also shown for commonly consumed products in the first year of life.
The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) is the largest survey of dietary intakes of infants and young children in North America, and was conducted in almost 6000 families in 2002, 2008, and 2016. The FITS data identified heme iron as the most commonly underconsumed mineral relative to the recommended dietary allowance among infants in North America. What are the best bioavailable sources of heme iron? We suggest sourcing and consuming your organs/ red meat from grass-fed, grass-finished, and pasture raised cows. Heart and liver are commonly the most accessible options. You may also find fresh organ meat in your local butcher shop or purchase it directly from the ranch or farm.
And this is where organ meats play a crucial role. They are nutritional powerhouses! They are rich in essential, bioavailable fat-soluble vitamins, A, K2, and water-soluble vitamins like folate, riboflavin, biotin, B12, and B6, in addition to crucial minerals such as heme iron, magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, and iodine. They are also a source of peptides (short-chain amino acids, which are the building blocks of longer chain amino acids we call proteins) and coenzyme Q10.

What if you can’t you or your little ones can’t, tolerate the taste or texture of organ meats? That is why our Higher Healths founder created beef organ capsules! Beef organ supplements are a convenient, affordable, and easy way to include nutrient-dense organ meats in both you and your little one’s everyday diet. They are freeze-dried, highly bioavailable, and do not contain any fillers, binders, or preservatives.  And taste and smell are very palatable and mild for developing taste buds. Our beef organs are Canadian sourced only from regenerative ranches and farms, which raise the best quality grass-fed, grass-finished and pasture-raised cattle. 

The capsules can be opened and mixed in with yogurt, smoothies, pureed vegetables, applesauce, or any similar food option. We do recommend only adding the contents to room-temperature food, as high heat will damage the bioavailable nutrients. 

Beef liver is our most popular supplement for infants and toddlers, which contains the essential  nutrients to support your child’s overall health, vitality, and yes,energy! Most parents start with a dose of one capsule twice a day sprinkled in some food. As organs are a potent source of nutrients, less is more. 

Optimal development requires offering the right nutrients, in the right foods, at the right time! Every little bite counts!

Start their health journey right!  From the land, not the lab!