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B vitamin challenge: Brewer's Yeast and Liver products

14K views 197 replies 51 participants last post by  mamameliaISback 
#1 ·
I wrote this post the other night about taking a lot of freeze dried liver for about three weeks. Anyone else in? My mom is in with brewer's yeast.

I used liver like this for depression but right now I just need some extra energy to meet deadlines.

Quote:
experiment

I've been trying to get you all on the liver regime (and I think the everyday approach should be fine firefaery) but some have asked on the other thread about desiccated liver and about other sources of B-vitamins.

I haven't taken desiccated liver before but just ordered Dr Ron's freeze-dried liver and am going to try a regimen. In the past I've tried high doses of brewer's yeast but didn't postpartum because I was concerned about the yeast.

My mom and I spoke last night at some length about her experiences with both desiccated liver and brewer's yeast and, apparently, she was schooled in them by Adelle Davis in the early 70s (not literally, just read the books and articles).

Mother Adelle apparently used brewer's yeast (BY) and desiccated liver(DL) to get her through stressful days in her life. She said they had an "anti-stress factor" -- a nutrient that had not yet been isolated. I wonder if there is anything on this. In any case, I now need to get all of her books and figure out where my mom read this. Basically, she would take high doses of one of these things to get her through a deadline or other stressful situation. She emphasized that you shouldn't use them that way in an on-going fashion because you would burn yourself out.

But in terms of handling depression a little better, having more patience, etc. it makes sense to at least try one of these supplements as a tool. The liver 3x week does something similar (and some of you should still do that), but for people who can't, the supplements could work.

The problem is the "how much" issue. These things are all going to affect us differently and if you find yourself cleaning your cupboards out at midnight, you've had too much. One thing Mother Adelle recommended was taking them early in the day. And since B-vitamins are better in multiple doses, it makes sense to take as many smaller doses as you can manage. I actually used BY to get through my dissertation revisions and kept tablets in my pocket and took a couple every hour until about 1 p.m.

So I am going to try Dr Ron's liver supplement. Freeze-dried is better than the desiccated liver. It's expensive but I'm off of pretty much everything at this point, so I can spare some money to try it. When it arrives I am going to take the equivalent of 2 oz liver a day and if I end up working on my book revisions until midnight, I'll say "thank you God, but I won't do it again." I'm going to spread out the capsules every hour or two from morning until about 1-2 p.m.

My reason for all of this is that I've got a whole lot of work to do and just lost nearly a week to a sick boy.
 
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#178 ·
A late day b-complex vitamin always keeps me awake. All the nutritional yeast in my HFS looked like it was supplemented with chemical vitamins- b12 is what I remembered. Is it all like that? Or did I mis-read the label of the bulk bin? Now they have a new kind of liver and it is more expensive, sigh.
 
#179 ·
They do make the non-supplemented kind, but it's mixed in with the supplemented kind.

Oh, and an update on the "BY vs NY" thing: the canister I have says "brewer's yeast" even though it's the exact same thing as the "nutritional yeast" I bought from another brand- both are grown on molasses from sugar beets, not made with "beer ingredients" which apparently make for a bitter taste.
 
#182 ·
I want to tell everyone that liver is awesome!!! I started eating about 5 oz of chicken liver pate everyday and my evening time nausea stopped the day I started!(I am 17 weeks pregnant) I had even been taking B6 supplements, but eating the real thing in liver made the differnece...even dh noticed I seemed more energetic. I eat it at lunchtime or in the afternoon as a snack and it gives me a little pick me up in what is usually my slump-time. I really was not expecting it to make that much of a difference.

I got some beef liver in the freezer and after 14 days I am going to take off a little chunk and swallow it everyday. Since I can't have the raw dairy I think that I just needed more organ meats for the fat soluatable and B vitamins.

Yay Liver!!!

Jen
 
#183 ·
Well, I actually have to get myself some more beef liver. I have been feeling so down lately! Just over the first trimester hump, and morning sickness and constant fatigue are gone- but feeling somewhat depressed. All I want to do is sleep


On a high note: We had a self-imposed black out last night, lit candles,and ate popcorn and played guitar. We threw tons of brewers yeast on our organic popcorn which was cooked in a pot of coconut oil, with some sea salt.
If you have never tried this: YOU MUST! MIL used to do it, so dh grew up eating it. Better than cheese powder.

A good drink with brewers yeast, if you can actually drink it, is a small amount with equal amount of black-strap molasses in a glass of raw milk.
 
#184 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by newcastlemama View Post
I want to tell everyone that liver is awesome!!! I started eating about 5 oz of chicken liver pate everyday and my evening time nausea stopped the day I started!(I am 17 weeks pregnant) I had even been taking B6 supplements, but eating the real thing in liver made the differnece...even dh noticed I seemed more energetic. I eat it at lunchtime or in the afternoon as a snack and it gives me a little pick me up in what is usually my slump-time. I really was not expecting it to make that much of a difference.

I got some beef liver in the freezer and after 14 days I am going to take off a little chunk and swallow it everyday. Since I can't have the raw dairy I think that I just needed more organ meats for the fat soluatable and B vitamins.

Yay Liver!!!

Jen
So on the heels of the cancer thread, I am intrigued by all this raw meat eating


How tolerable/safe is a chunk of raw liver when one is preggered? I mean, I think I could swallow it down with a wash of something.
 
#185 ·
Here are some ideas on how to eat it raw
http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/liver.html

Quote:
The How-to-do-it
of Eating Raw Liver
This takes some getting used to! There are two basic methods. One calls for freezing the liver for 14 days in large chunks. (Fourteen days will ensure the elimination of pathogens and parasites.) You can then grate the liver on the small holes of a grater and add it to milk or juice, or even hot cereal. A teaspoon or two of grated raw liver can be added to baby's egg yolk, or even to mashed vegetables.

The second method turns liver into pills! Cut fresh liver into pea-sized pieces and freeze for 14 days. Swallow like vitamin pills.
For both methods, the liver should be of the highest quality available and very fresh.
I think it sounds safe and tolerable
I have also added it grated to meatloaf and things like that but then it is cooked. I have also heard of people eating it in their omlettes.

Jen
 
#186 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Leilalu View Post
We threw tons of brewers yeast on our organic popcorn which was cooked in a pot of coconut oil, with some sea salt.
If you have never tried this: YOU MUST! MIL used to do it, so dh grew up eating it. Better than cheese powder.
I like to use red palm oil instead of coconut oil, and then it even LOOKS like cheese popcorn. LOL People don't know it isn't dairy!
 
#187 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by krankedyann View Post
I like to use red palm oil instead of coconut oil, and then it even LOOKS like cheese popcorn. LOL People don't know it isn't dairy!

ooh, I will have to try that.
 
#188 ·
I've been using the yeast grown from beet molasses- I haven't actually had liver in a while, although I know I should.

I also suspect I may have a gluten sensitivity, or at least a problem with wheat in particular. The molasses grown yeast IS gluten free, right?
 
#189 ·
An article on the WAP website (by Dr. Ron Schmid) says that the B vitamins in many nutritional yeast are actually synthetic. Does anyone know of a brand of nutritional/brewers yeast that is 100% natural?

http://www.westonaprice.org/healthis...pplements.html

Labels often proclaim "natural" B vitamins, derived from yeast. But companies manufacturing yeast add laboratory-synthesized B vitamins to the food fed to the yeast during its growth, and then fortify the yeast further with additional B vitamins once it has grown. This allows the production of yeast at any B-vitamin potency desired, which is then used to formulate vitamin pills labeled "B vitamins derived from yeast."
 
#190 ·
I have a ton of beef liver in my freezer. I cooked it once and it turn out horrendous. I need to try again. Does anyone have their doubts about the 14 day freeze of raw liver killing off the parasites and pathogens? It makes me nervous, and it's definitely not something I feel confident giving my baby. How do I cook this liver when we are egg free/dairy free?
 
#192 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Taedareth View Post
An article on the WAP website (by Dr. Ron Schmid) says that the B vitamins in many nutritional yeast are actually synthetic. Does anyone know of a brand of nutritional/brewers yeast that is 100% natural?

http://www.westonaprice.org/healthis...pplements.html

Labels often proclaim "natural" B vitamins, derived from yeast. But companies manufacturing yeast add laboratory-synthesized B vitamins to the food fed to the yeast during its growth, and then fortify the yeast further with additional B vitamins once it has grown. This allows the production of yeast at any B-vitamin potency desired, which is then used to formulate vitamin pills labeled "B vitamins derived from yeast."

I know that many brands of nutritional yeast have added vitamins listed on the package- the ingredients state yeast followed by a laundry list of vitamins, and then sometimes flavors are added as well.

The kind I buy is just yeast- no other ingredients. I don't know whether or not the yeast are fed extra B vitamins while they are growing- that certainly would not need to be listed on the label. I can't imagine why that would be problematic anyway- the amount of B vitamins in the yeast is still limited by the yeast's ability to absorb them.
 
#194 ·
I too happened upon this old thread about depression and B-vitamin supplements and raw liver. I'm curious about raw liver as the natural "antidepressant"? Did you write that article and what were the 'testimonials'? Did you discern that it is amino acids or vitamins which are deficient?

Pat
 
#196 ·
Oh I'm glad you bumped this! I have been doing raw liver off and on for a while though trying to get into it now that I am pregnant. The most interesting thing for me is that I literally have to pace my dd so she doesn't eat it all! She will munch down every raw liver pill that I put on the plate. I was really shocked by this b/c she just chews it up and loves it.
 
#197 ·
I dug this thread up days ago... I think while searching for vitamin B suggestions. Now I've finally read through all of it.
:

I have tried raw liver "pills" and love how the make me feel. However, it is REALLY hard for me to get them cut up. My beef liver arrived already frozen, and has already spent an embarrassingly-long time in my freezer... but I think I'm done with the suicide mission that is trying to carve bits off the edges. So, I've got it in the freezer, thawing, so I can hack it up and refreeze. I know it'll lose a lot in the process, but it's better than nothing, right?

How on earth do the raw liver pill eaters carve them up?

And... do you weigh your portions to know you're getting an ounce? Since my liver came from a bulk purchase, it doesn't have a weight marked, so I couldn't use that as a guesstimate.

I have some Brewer's Yeast already, and some Nutritional Yeast on the way... and haven't yet tried either. I can't do dairy or coconut or soy, so smoothies are quite challenging. I don't generally drink fruit juice at all, but I'm thinking I'll get some cranberry juice to mix the yeast with, and maybe some tomato juice to mix raw liver in. Don't really like tomato juice, but... I really need some Bs and some "anti-stress factor."

I take 4 capsules of Dr. Ron's Organ Blend every day, but it's just not enough. I'm 21 weeks pregnant, under a lot of stress, and wanting to get off the synthetic Bs I've been taking.
 
#198 ·
we used to have raw liver growing up.. also raw beef (kibbeh nayi) and we are still alive..

i think i need to get back to raw liver. i'm not comfortable with raw chicken liver but raw beef liver i'm fine with. how much and for how long to get me "just" over the slump from chronic fatigue and long standing depression? i haven't had liver in 4+ years. i can easily eat 2-3 ounces of raw liver a day. we cut it up into very, very small cubes (like 1/4 of an inch) and put a plate of beautiful mixed spices in front of us (some were cinnamon, corinador, cumin, black pepper) and a tiny amount of sea salt and just sit there dipping and snacking.

it's good stuff!
 
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