rationTracker

Is Liver Healthy? The Most Nutrient-Dense Food, With Caveats

Why organ meat tops the charts for several nutrients, and who should be cautious.

Written by Ration Editorial Team · Updated July 18, 2026

Key takeaways

  • Liver is among the most nutrient-dense foods, especially for vitamin A, B12, copper, and iron.
  • Its vitamin A is so concentrated that pregnant people are advised to limit it.
  • A small serving once or twice a week captures the benefit without overdoing vitamin A.

A nutrient outlier

Beef liver ranks at or near the top for several nutrients at once. Here is its full measured profile per 100 grams:

Beef Liverper 100 g, raw
Calories
135 kcal
Protein
20.4 g
Carbs
3.89 g
Fat
3.63 g

It leads the database for vitamin A and is among the richest sources of vitamin B12 and copper.

Vitamin B12, µg per 100 grams
  1. 1Lamb Liver90 µg / 100 g
  2. 2Moose Liver71 µg / 100 g
  3. 3Veal Liver59.8 µg / 100 g
  4. 4Beef Liver59.3 µg / 100 g
  5. 5Goose Liver54 µg / 100 g
  6. 6Lamb Kidneys52.4 µg / 100 g
  7. 7Veal Kidneys28.2 µg / 100 g
  8. 8Pork Liver26 µg / 100 g
Ranked by vitamin b12 per 100 grams (so dense, dry foods like flours rank high). Computed live from the Ration database.

The vitamin A caveat

Liver concentrates preformed vitamin A, which unlike beta-carotene can accumulate.

Pregnant people are advised to limit liver because high preformed vitamin A intake is linked to birth defects.[1] Everyone else can enjoy it in moderation.

How much

A serving of about 50 to 100 grams once or twice a week delivers the benefit while keeping vitamin A within a sensible range.

Bottom line

Liver is genuinely one of the most nutrient-dense foods available. Eat it in small, regular portions, and skip it if you are pregnant unless your clinician advises otherwise.

Sources

  1. Rothman KJ et al. Teratogenicity of high vitamin A intake. N Engl J Med. 1995. · PMID 7477116