In a message dated 7/21/03 10:38:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Andrew <
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(Maddy wrote:)
> <Liver (and maybe other organ meats as well) are high in Tyramine, a known
> trigger of migraine headaches in sensitive people. This doesn't make sense
> to me from a Paleo perspective.>
>
> I think tyramine may not be present in fresh liver.  Liver seems to be the
> first thing eaten by hunters, perhaps for this reason.
> Also i think if we cook it the tyramine is rendered inactive, though we
> would
> have to check that.
>
> Tyramine presence is a matter of amount, not yes or no. So the idea is to
> eat as little as possible if you are sensitive to it. But that's the tricky
> issue, since amounts vary greatly in the same foods, tested at different times
> by different labs. But you are right, in that the older a food is, the more
> tyramine it develops, and liver seems to develop it at a very fast rate, even
> refrigerated. So liver from a freshly killed animal would probably have
> negligible amounts of Tyramine. Unfortunately, very few of us have access to liver
> that is that fresh.
>
> Tyramine is not rendered inactive through cooking. Otherwise the crisp bacon
> I so much enjoy would not be one of the most dangerous foods for me to eat!
> All smoked, cured, preserved, aged, fermented foods contain varying degrees
> of Tyramine, and those people very sensitive to it must eat only foods as
> fresh as possible. And it's not only protein foods that contain it, but some
> fruits and vegetables as well. Spinach, Sauerkraut, very ripe bananas and
> avocados are also high in Tyramine.
>
> Maddy Mason
> Hudson Valley, NY