Ask Dr. Gourmet

Why do you say chicken livers are 'great for you' when they contain so much cholesterol?

I love chicken livers, usually broiled in butter with bacon and mushrooms. But it's a dish I allow myself once or twice a year because I'm also trying to keep my LDLs in check. So it was a surprise to see your recipe for Cajun Chicken Livers, and the statement that "It is quick and simple, tasty and great for you."

Looking at the nutrition facts, it shows a reasonable amount of cholesterol considering it's liver, plus high in iron, vitamins A & C and potassium. Is that the trade-off to make chicken livers "great for you?"

Dr. Gourmet Says...

Liver has gotten a bad rap because it contains a lot of cholesterol. There was a time when we thought that eating dietary cholesterol was a factor that raised serum cholesterol levels (the blood test that your doctor takes).

We now know that a minority of people see an increase in their cholesterol levels when they eat high-cholesterol foods. That small group is less than 20% of the population and are called "hyper-responders" by scientists. That means that for the majority of us, consuming foods that are high in cholesterol such as liver, shrimp and eggs is simply not a problem. The challenge is that we don't know how to tell who is a hyper-responder and who is not.

Generally speaking, if my patients have difficult to control cholesterol, I will discuss limiting the amounts of cholesterol rich foods. It is important for diabetics to discuss this with their doctor or dietitian also, but generally speaking, having liver once or twice a month can be a great choice for most of us.

As such, for the majority of us the cholesterol in liver is not a problem. Beyond that it is low in calories, low in saturated fat and fat and has tons of great vitamins.

Here are some more chicken liver recipes:
Lebanese Chicken Livers
Pate
Chopped Liver
Tuscan Risotto with Chicken Livers

Thanks for writing,

Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS
Dr. Gourmet