What is Nose To Tail Eating

If you’ve been following my Instagram account, @livevitae for a while, you will know I am all about eating nutrient dense foods, which are primarily concentrated in animal foods, but with a more nose to tail approach. I also include locally sourced, seasonal plants as a complimentary factor, which are dependent on where I am geographically in the world.

“Simply put, Nose to tail eating is a philosophy of utilizing every part of the animal in food preparation, such as bones, organs, muscle, fat. Essentially, letting nothing go to waste. Most traditional cultures have their own unique organ speciality. It allows for a more sustainable and economically favourable approach when including meat in your diet which benefits.”

When we look objectively at the facts based in modern science research, evolutionary principles, and human physiology, it is clear that the nose to tail approach is hands down the most optimal food template to optimise your health – and also prevent disease and decline of health.

This article contains some explicit images of predator animals eating their prey.

Courtesy of https://realeverything.com/tvp-podcast-episode-347-how-to-eat-nose-to-tail/

The body runs on electrons not on calories. I always sigh when I see personal trainers telling their audience that a calorie is a calorie. This is laughable. There is no calorie receptor, gene, transporter protein, or anything else which senses calories in foods.

I repeat there is no physiological mechanism to make sense out of calories. This does not mean that calories are meaningless. It means that they have unfortunately been used to simplistically view human metabolism and energy utilisation and expenditure. These uneducated influencers and personal trainers are not personally to be blamed. The unfortunate nature of a personal trainer course makes you think this way based on energy in versus energy out. Yet, energy has never been quantified in the body or in the form of measuring adenosine triphosphate bonds available or used. The human body is not a closed system. We have a nervous system entangled to the surrounding environment interpreting it and relying  on the organisms perception of its reality via hormones and neurotransmitters to cells and tissues in response to adaptations.

Where does nose to tail eating fit in?

Quite simply, a nose to tail approach yields the maximum nutrients required to run human metabolism. It makes our bodies function more efficiently and more effectively.

With every biochemical and electrical reaction occurring in the body, it requires significant cofactors and enzymes for its disposable to make this reaction happen. Whether that is specific amino acids, vitamins and minerals, they are needed everywhere around the body, in all different organs, tissues and cells. There are various nutrients more important and dependable than others, and some more disposable and fluctuating than others. This is typically defined as essential, non essential, or conditional, meaning that we need to consume these substrates as we cannot synthesize them from our own metabolism.

Typical examples are: iron, magnesium, potassium and sodium, copper, vitamin A, all the B family and C, glycine, methionine, cysteine, sulphur, Docosahexaenoic acid and much more. They all have multiple purposes in every reaction in the body. They are constantly being utilised, broken down, and transferred.

Nose to tail foods utilise the whole animal, therefore reducing food waste and ensuring that all vital components are used and serve a purpose in nourishing ourselves. Our society believes that skinless boneless animal products are superior and have been ingrained into us by media streams, conflicted government recommendations and pseudo science suggesting that protein is protein. But simply comparing the nutritional value content of chicken breast compared to liver is astonishing.

Prior to the agricultural expansion (which does have benefits), led to the incorporation of farming practises and the promotion of grains becoming a staple. A few hundred years later, today we found ourselves engulfed with grains hidden in every product, and the idea that animal protein only plays a small role in our dietary requirements – of course when it is free from fat. This is a vital error and flaw. The most nutrient dense sources of bioavailable minerals and vitamins come from animals. They are also readily available around the world, not held to the laws of photosynthesis and mother nature to yield their growth, survival, and eventual fate on our plates. Human physiology is primed to consume animal sources with our unique digestive tracts containing gastric acid and proposional ratio of small to large intestine.

Lion eating testicles of a wildebeest. Youtube

Image courtesy of https://sites.google.com/site/themaasaiproject/diet

What does nose to tail eating look like?

Essentially it means consuming the majority of edible parts of an animal leaving little to waste. All around the world, different cultures have different specialities or uses for various animal parts. The Masai tribe consumes animal blood to allow them to be protected from the high ultraviolet radiation near the equator, as there are carotenoids found in animal blood.

Nose to eating involves leaving nothing to waste, but again, I am not saying you need to do that. I don’t. I believe that incorporating as much as possible is an effective strategy. This looks like:

Using the bones of animals to make bone broth, a nourishing liquid containing the broken down connective tissue, cartilage and bone which liberates amino acids and minerals.

Using the organ meats such as kidneys, livers, hearts, spleen, intestines, and even the brain. These are prepared in different ways. If the idea seems strange or even repulsive, that is society norms giving you that perception. If we look in the wild at other animals who can not control their emotions and food system, they consume what is available and as intuition goes. The top of the food chain predators all seem to go for the most nutrient dense parts of the animal first.

Wild bears prioritise salmon roe and livers first.

Bears consume the prized parts first, skin and eggs.

Massai consuming blood from their cows. Picture courtesy https://basia.typepad.com/india_ink/2007/09/got-blood.html

This way of eating does not mean eating an exclusive animal food, such as the carnivore diet which is trending right now. Dr Paul Saladino is leading the charge here, and has a brilliant book The Carnivore Code, which showcases the benefits of a nose to tail animal based approach and highlights the nuances around plant based eating.

I do agree with a lot of what Paul Saladino says, and it can be beneficial for SOME individuals for a period of time. However, for most people it is not a strategy I would advise for the medium to long term.

Nose to tail eating does not need to be defined by a set of rules. It can encompass a weekly inclusion of livers or could go deeper with organ meats each day with bone broths and more. Nose to tail eating is the primary way to get the most nutrients from as little effort, calories and digestive issues as possible. For example: you would need to eat a bucket load of broccoli to get anywhere near what liver contains or even eggs. There are a variety of ways including organ meats into your meals. You can start with as little or as much. The taste profile of organ meats is a different experience. You are also dealing with a lot of dogma about them tasting awful, which is not true. Organ meats have their own unique taste but again start small do not try to bite off more than you can chew.

If you are still unsure or really against trying organ meats. Then this could be the next best option to bridge the gap to the real thing.

Organ supplements

There are two supplements I recommend which depend on where you are based in the world.

For the UK and EU residents.
Hunter and Gatherer stock Icelandic Lamb liver or Liver & heart.
Click here to be directly to their store.

For the US and rest of the world (also available UK + EU but shipping and customs vary)
Ancestral supplements have the best and biggest range of organ supplements, sourced from Argentina and New Zealand. Click here to be directed to their store and SAVE 10% off your order. Use the discount code “LIVEVITAE10”.

What about you?

Have you tried organs before?

How nose to tail do you go with your food choices?

Let me know below

Check out my Chicken heart recipe here.