"toxins we eat are stored in the liver."

One of my favorite foods over the last 8 years has been chicken liver and onions.  I boil the chicken livers, then fry them in butter, then add sliced onions.  A friend suggested adding mushrooms to the mix, and I did; the dish was excellent.  I don't eat livers often; maybe once every two weeks at most.  I liked the B vitamin effect, or at least I thought it was a B vitamin effect. 

But one thing that always bothered me, as well as others within nose distance, was the smell of livers. The truth is they stink.  Why would livers smell and steaks don't?  

It's because the liver is the organ that accumulates and traps toxins from the body.  The livers that people eat are the livers that have been inside a chicken or cow its whole life, accumulating toxins the whole time.  And farm-fed animals that get a hyped-up feed make the animal and its organs even less health for people.  Consider this the next time you're thinking about liver and onions.  This is not an easy decision for me, since not only do I enjoy the taste of the different liver pates, which always feel like elegant dining thanks to convincing packaging, but I like the Vitamin A that you get with liver.  So you will get vitamins but at what cost?

C. Thomas Corriher over at Healthwyze has an excellent article on this very topic.  He writes . . .  

Consumption of liver has been linked with increased rates of hepatitis E in the United States. Although, the condition is rarely reported. Liver consumption has also been repeatedly linked with clenbuterol poisoning in Spain, China, and Portugal. Clenbuterol poisoning consists of muscle tremors, headaches and nervousness. The condition can last for days, until the toxin is isolated by (and contained inside) the liver, where it will remain for the rest of a person's life, and impair his health forever after. Clenbuterol is administered illegally to livestock because of its ability to keep meat fresh for unnatural lengths of time. It is another reason to avoid products from the main culprit, China.

People who eat liver need to weigh the benefits of some extra minerals against the risk of permanent poisoning; both from heavy metals and other poisons that the cow has been in contact with. The poisons can come from processed feeds, antibiotics, vaccine ingredients, pesticide over-spray, tainted water, and the synthetic hormones that are frequently given to farm animals. While organic liver is theoretically healthier than its extremely toxic counterpart, we strongly recommend against taking unnecessary risks.

. . . end of Corriher's remarks.

UPDATE
Nurse friend of mine says that "Personally, organ meats can be some of the healthier meats.  Yes, the liver can be toxic if the animal was fed toxic treats.  I think the risk is worth taking.  There are no risk-free dietary choices, like it or not.  400 to 600 units or more of Vitamin E a day is a good thing.  Too much can, and will, kill you."