5 Reasons Why Paleo-Plex is the Best Liver Supplement of 2023
There are a plethora of liver & organ supplements these days, from all kinds of companies. These vary as much in quality as one might imagine! We’ve taken great pains at Folsom Point Nutrition to create the most impactful, thoughtfully-designed, and quality-focused liver supplement of 2023 (and really, 2021, and 2022). While there are many more than five reasons why Paleo-Plex is the best liver and organ supplement of the year, these are the Big 5.
1) bison over beef
We use 100% grass-fed & finished bison instead of beef. The reasons for this are myriad, but here are a few to consider. In nutritional bioanalyses, bison repeatedly tests higher in nutrients and minerals when compared to beef. Bison are a native species to North America, unlike cattle, and synergistically intertwine with the ecosystems here—they do better on North American grass species, they do not linger around watering holes and pollute them like cattle, and have filled the ecological niche of "grazer” for tens of thousands of years. Simply put, they’re meant to be here!
Further, bison have a higher omega 3:6 ratio than beef. Surprisingly, according to a 2022 study by Dr. Stephen Van Vliet, even grain-finished bison have a higher omega 3:6 ratio than 100% grass-fed beef. This should clue us in to the almost miraculous powers of bison to as a nutritional tool and gift to human health and optimization. Of course, we use 100% grass-finished bison, which has about double the omega 3:6 ratio of even grain-fed bison, according to Van Vliet’s most recent research at North Dakota State University.
Bison is a wild game animal. Game animals are more resilient, more athletic, more independent, and frankly more badass than domesticated animals like beef cows. When given the choice, I’d certainly like to eat athletic, resilient, and badass animals than domesticated, lazy, “feed-efficient” (a fancy term describing that they fatten easily) animals like cows.
There are fewer bison harvested per year than cows are harvested per day, making bison a relatively rare animal. It is counter-intuitive, but when we buy and consume bison, we are actually incentivizing and encouraging ranchers to produce more of them. So if we want bison to thrive and flourish here in North America, we actually need to create a demand for them by consuming them.
Bison are raised almost exclusively in North America, while many beef liver supplements are sourced from faraway and foreign lands like New Zealand, Argentina, and Brazil. The quality from these foreign places varies significantly. Don’t blindly trust the marketing hype, like imagery of a “clean, green New Zealand” when oftentimes the truth is much more complicated!
There are more reasons why bison is better than beef, and it’s really a deep rabbit hole—one I’d encourage the reader to dive into if this paragraph piques your curiosity. The deeper you go, the more reason you’ll find to prefer bison to beef! It is ultimately better for the animals (they live higher quality lives), better for the people consuming them (health reasons outlined above), and better for the land/soil they live on. What more reason do you need to prefer bison?
2) five vital & synergistic organs
Paleo-Plex is not merely a liver supplement; we’ve chosen to incorporate all five vital organs—liver, heart, kidney, spleen, and pancreas. Each of these organs confer unique benefits on their own. When combined, the total is greater than the sum of all the parts. The benefits specific to each organ are briefly summarized here, and my own experience with diet/lifestyle changes is that they work in concert, with synergy. Taking all five organs together likely offers benefit and support that taking pure liver does not.
Let’s think about this for a moment. If an overweight or obese person wants to lose weight and attain a healthy physique, we all know that diet and exercise are factors that could be changed. I’d be willing to suppose that changing diet alone would achieve certain results, while changing exercise alone would change others. If the individual made multiple changes at once, it is not conducive to scientific studies (which attempt to control specific variables). However, I think we could all assume that these individuals would see greater changes to their health and physique than either group making merely one-dimensional changes to either diet or exercise.
Indigenous peoples & cultures worldwide eat organs of all types—they do not eat the liver alone and toss the rest! People like the so-called “Liver King” have popularized liver consumption, and that’s better than not eating any organs. However, on the continuum of health, we can all be doing better by consuming a diversity of organ meats for a diverse array of benefits.
3) small businesses & small batch
Paleo-Plex is sourced from a single bison ranch in the United States. This ensures consistency of quality and integrity of product.
I have had disconcerting conversations with large scale manufacturers who label products as “grass-fed”, when the animals were finished on grain. I have spoken with ranchers who sign affidavits declaring 100% grass-fed and finished, when they use grain & molasses cakes to lure the animals onto trailers for harvest. These individuals and business entities bend (and often break) the truth to suit their needs.
As someone who was once a consumer and had 0 connection to ranching, I find practices like these unscrupulous and deeply disturbing! I want the product I am buying to be completely transparent and truthful to me, and so that is the product we have created at Folsom Point.
We support small family ranches that do things the right way—it’s as simple as that.
If you look around, you’ll see other companies that claim small-batch processing. However, this is a non-regulated and relative term. It can truly mean anything. I’d encourage you to contact these companies and ask EXACTLY what that means.
Here at Folsom Point, each batch of Paleo-Plex is under 3,000lbs of material. That translates to just a few thousand bottles at a time. Compare this to the larger liver supplement manufacturers that claim small-batch. Do you really think they’d be as successful and able to advertise the way they do, if they were doing things small-scale?
We support small family ranches and other small businesses. Even the glass jars we use for our tallow are manufactured here in the USA. We avoid Chinese and foreign businesses at all costs, and believe that business practices like this are healthy for American supply chains, American business, and enhance the resilience of our country. Contrast this to companies that get their material in New Zealand, packaging in China, and spend loads of money on advertising. That money is coming from your pocket!
4) Original whole animal ratio
While there are supplements that offer liver in addition to other organs of the animal, Paleo-Plex is the first to use the Whole Animal Ratio—the naturally occurring physiological ratio of organs in the living animal. What does that mean?
Many supplements feature equal amounts of each organ—for example, a 3000mg serving will offer 600mg each of liver, heart, kidney, spleen, and pancreas. At first glance, that seems fine….right?
On closer examination, these equal amounts are arbitrary. If you don’t believe me, ask them how they came up with these amounts.
The Whole Animal Ratio used by Paleo-Plex is not only informed by nature in the sense that it’s provided by the animal itself, but is also informed by ancestral wisdom. Some plains tribes would eat the organs raw immediately following a kill (like the Blackfeet, Commanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, and others), and some tribes would make a special stew for the tribe. They were reported to collect ALL of the organs, and place them inside the stomach of the animal (a potent and healthful organ to consume itself!). Water was added, and the mixture was boiled and distributed to the tribe. So, I suppose we can’t take all of the credit for this ratio, as humans have likely utilized the Whole Animal Ratio for a minimum of tens of thousands of years.
We believe in doing many of the things our ancestors did, like getting fresh sunlight, eating real foods, socializing in deep and meaningful ways—why would we consume organs any differently? This is why Paleo-Plex is mostly liver, followed by heart, and the other vital organs. This is the whole animal ratio, and we believe the ratio best suited for human consumption.
5) truly regenerative, not just labeled that way
“Regenerative” is increasingly becoming a hip buzz word in agriculture and on food labels. It conveys all kinds of wonderful harmonious imagery—as it should! However, it is also a completely unregulated term. This means that in practice, even feed-lot produced animals could be labeled as “regenerative” on a grocery store shelf, or supplement bottle. So, can this word really be qualified, even if it’s not regulated?
The term absolutely can be objectively qualified, and we’ve taken great pains to do so. While other products claim their animals are regenerative, they have literally 0 documentation to prove it. The ranch that Paleo-Plex is sourced from features the following qualifications:
1) American Grass-fed Association (AGA) Certified
Most ranchers simply sign an affidavit stating they feed their animals grass, and they can label it as 100% grass-fed. Our ranch is independently inspected by the AGA to ensure that our rancher is following the practices they claim to.
2) Global Animal Partnership (GAP) Certified
This certification is a difficult one to get, and like the AGA, requires an independent and on-site visit and audit. GAP certification illustrates that the animals essentially live high-quality lives, with minimal suffering. The organization has a mission “to drive meaningful, continuous improvement of farm animal welfare through multi-level standards development, application, and verification across the supply chain.” We love happy bison, and think the happier the bison, the happier the people consuming them!
3) Audubon Friendly Land Certified
The connection between Audubon and bison goes all the way back to George Bird Grinell (and prior), almost 200 years ago (for those curious, I’d highly recommend the book The Last Stand). The relevance today is that the Audubon Society certifies ranches that utilize regenerative and ecological-friendly practices like rotational grazing, and encourage ranches to create bird-friendly habitats. Audubon certified land is land that is not only producing healthy food for humanity, but also providing healthy habitat for vanishing grass-land birds here in North America. The Great Plains and prairie ecosystems have been reduced to 4% of their original expanse. Bison, pronghorn, grizzlies, birds, and other species have been reduced as a result. Audubon certifies ranches that integrate the natural flora & fauna into their ranches and create bird-friendly habitat and ecosystems. We’re very proud to source from Audubon Certified Bird Friendly Lands!
4) Allan Savory Institute Land to Market Certified
Allan Savory is a pioneer of the regenerative movement, illustrating the power of grazing in Africa. Savory was able to reverse desertification of land by introducing ruminant species and strategically (and beneficially) disturbing the ecosystems.
The Institute seeks to “regenerate the grasslands of the world and the livelihoods of their inhabitants, through Holistic Management. Since 2009, Savory Institute has been leading the regenerative agriculture movement by equipping farmers, ranchers, and pastoralist communities to regenerate land within culturally relevant and ecologically appropriate contexts.”
The ranch we source from for Paleo-Plex is restoring native grasslands, regenerating the soil underneath them, and improving the lives of both the bison and human inhabitants of that land. The soil is tested by biologists and can be shown to increase in health, fertility, mineral and nutrient content year by year. The Savory Institute has very high standards for land management practices, and our ranch goes beyond them. I’m not aware of a more prestigious certification to highlight the quality of land management and regenerative ranching.
Our ranchers go above and beyond with these four certifications. In fact, ONE of these would be above and beyond, but we’ve sourced the very best bison in the world to meet all four of these. If you’re skeptical, contact another liver supplement company and ask what certifications they can produce to illustrate that their product is indeed from regenerative ranches. My guess (and experience) is that you’ll receive a lot of words and explanation that ultimately doesn’t mean anything!
Key Takeaways & conclusion
Paleo-Plex, 100% grass-fed & finished bison liver and organ complex, is the best liver supplement of 2023
Bison is superior to beef from every perspective—nutritionally, ethically, morally, it is best for the people, the animals, and the land involved
Consuming multiple organ meats is superior and synergistic compared to liver alone
We are a small business, and support other small American businesses —we keep money in the United States to improve the American economy and supply chain
Paleo-Plex is the only liver supplement offering the “Whole Animal Ratio,” which was first intuited and used by indigenous societies. We incorporate ancestral wisdom into our recipe
“Regenerative” is an unregulated term. It really is best to know your rancher (or supplier), and to ask them many questions. We have four different certifications proving our product is actually regenerative. No other liver supplement company can do the same (we strongly encourage you to contact them and ask—as well as to contact us (info at the bottom of this page) and ask any/all questions that may concern you. Nobody is more proud of their product and sourcing than we are