The Chicken Is Good for Health?

One of the most consumed meat here in Canada, a meat with white flesh, juicy, tasty, which requires little preparation, that pleases the whole family and that even if we still have remnants of what makes this does not bother us much since freezing is very good and it's easy to make various other meals yet with the same meat.


We see that in recent years, the media link (sometimes too) the finger at the evils of red meat, this is not all that specify that the problem is not so much to eat red meat but the quantity and frequency of consumption of such meat. It is true that these meats are not very healthy for health when consumed too but that's the problem, thousands of people find it very hard to limit consumption of red meat to once a week. The same media however give pride of place to fish and alternatives, which is quite normal because they are healthier and more nutritious than red meat contains less fat, saturated fat, nitrites and sometimes of preservatives.


However, putting all the emphasis on the meat or alternatives, we do not know what to really think of chicken and other poultry to whether they are safe for health and weight loss.


We must say here that we are talking strictly of natural chicken, I'm not talking chicken that is undergoing a transformation as chicken cooked in oil, breaded, fried, in croquettes, fried chicken in, in a sauce rich in fat, marinated chicken with a marinade commercial frozen chicken breasts and stuffed chicken fingers, etc..


I speak only when the chicken is prepared with healthy foods, ingredients, low fat, skin and cooking methods that require no or very little fat.




The Chicken Is Good for Health?


Like all foods that exist in this world, even if some who are considered less safe and nutritious as is the case of food pleasures (chocolate, chips, cakes, fried foods, breaded foods, ready-to- -eating, etc..), all food is "good" health. Here, it does not mean eating chocolate at will but any food is not unhealthy in itself. What I mean is for example if a person, his great guilty pleasure is chocolate but this person wants to lose weight, prevent it from eating but it would be better for his physical (discouraged and fall into old bad habits) and take a mental small square of chocolate maybe once a week.


There are always pros (sometimes many, sometimes less) in all foods. As for chicken, even if we have less and eat the fish, legumes and tofu (because they bring more good for health benefits and weight than other meats), it must still regularly consume even more than red meat.


What I really like the chicken is that if you remove the meat before cooking (which is much better), then your meat contains virtually no fat and saturated fat and less calories (the chicken is low in calories) since it is mainly in the skin that we find all the fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. We really need you to take it a habit to get spare chicken without the skin or to remove it yourself (which is not complex and takes little time) for the consumption of this meat is safe and if your goal is to lose weight is by making this small change that makes a big difference.




All depending parts of the chicken


This is the same for beef, for example. All depending on the parts of the animal, the meat does not have the same nutritional value and therefore, certain cuts of meat are much less healthy than others such as ground beef versus the net-mignon. Although these two cuts are from the same animal, they do not come from the same part of the beef and then, the nutritional value is changed. In animals as in humans, we have parts of our body that naturally contain more fat than other parts, transpose it on us. We generally have more fat on the thighs at the torso, more fat in the arm than the forearm, etc..


This is the same for the chicken, the nutritional value is not the same of the thigh to the chest and thigh with a pestle.


Here is the brief Nutrition Facts table to help you know what cut of meat is best for you but it depends on your goals but also your budget, knowing that the thighs are more expensive than the breast and drumsticks cheaper than wings .


The nutritional value of the chest, thigh, drumstick, wing and thigh of chicken


Chicken breast (100 g of white meat) without skin



    Calories: 170 calories
    Fat: 4.5 grams of fat
    Saturated fat: 1.3 g
    Trans fat: 0 g
    Cholesterol: 80 to 90 mg
    Sodium: 125 mg
    Carbohydrates: 0 g
    Sugars: 0 g
    Fiber: 0 g
    Protein: 30 g
    Vitamin A: 0%
    Vitamin C: 3%
    Calcium: 0%
    Iron: 5%

 Chicken leg (100 g of dark meat) without skin



    Calories: 210 calories
    Fat: 10 g fat
    Saturated fat: 2.7 g
    Trans fat: 0 g
    Cholesterol: 90 mg
    Sodium: 130 mg
    Carbohydrates: 0 g
    Sugars: 0 g
    Fiber: 0 g
    Protein: 30 g
    Vitamin A: 0%
    Vitamin C: 3%
    Calcium: 0%
    Iron: 5%


 Chicken Wings (100 g) with skin



    Calories: 300 calories
    Fat: 10 g fat
    Saturated Fat: - g
    Trans fat: 0 g
    Cholesterol: 90 mg
    Sodium: 130 mg
    Carbohydrates: 0 g
    Sugars: 0 g
    Fiber: 0 g
    Protein: 25 g
    Vitamin A: 0%
    Vitamin C: 3%
    Calcium: 0%
    Iron: 5%

 Thigh without skin


    Calories: 150 calories
    Fat: 6 grams of fat
    Saturated fat: 3.4 g
    Trans fat: 0 g
    Cholesterol: 75 mg
    Sodium: 130 mg
    Carbohydrates: 0 g
    Sugars: 0 g
    Fiber: 0 g
    Protein: 20 g
    Vitamin A: 0%
    Vitamin C: 3%
    Calcium: 0%
    Iron: 5%

 Chicken Drumstick (100 g) with skin



    Calories: 215 calories
    Fat: 16 g fat
    Saturated fat: 3.6 g
    Trans fat: 0 g
    Cholesterol: - mg
    Sodium - mg
    Carbohydrates: 0 g
    Sugars: 0 g
    Fiber: 0 g
    Protein: 16 g
    Vitamin A: 0%
    Vitamin C: 3%
    Calcium: 0%
    Iron: 5%

 As you can conclude, there are parts of the chicken that are healthier than others and slimming. Personally, I prefer the taste of white meat in chicken even though I know that many people find it dry. It then suffices to take the time to cook slowly over low heat and it is just as juicy as dark meat (thigh) but has more nutritional value.

 If your goal is to lose weight or be healthier, then I invite you to watch this classification of the best to the worst parts of the chicken to eat in my opinion, not in terms of taste but the Nutrition Facts . But here I speak of parties without skin because I do not recommend you eat chicken parts with skin, it is far too rich in fat, calories and saturated fat and it does no good, it's just for taste.



    Chicken breast without skin
    Chicken leg without skin
    Thigh without skin
    Chicken drumstick without skin
    Chicken wings (they are always with skin)

 Although the nutritional value of different cuts of meat, it must be said that they are all rich in many minerals, vitamins and other nutrients essential for healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. The problem is that if your piece of chicken is very rich in fat, it somehow cancels the other nutritional benefits naturally.


 High in saturated fat

 Unfortunately, the chicken, if it has not consumed if you will, is very rich in saturated fat. In fact, whether turkey, chicken, quail, etc.. all contain at least 10 grams of saturated fat for only 100 g, whereas we need as much as possible avoid the consumption of saturated fat. Why? Because an excessive consumption of saturated fat actually increases the risk of cardiovascular disease as they are responsible, as well as trans fats, the increase in bad cholesterol, which is a precipitating risk factor of hypertension pressure, diabetes and heart disease as well.

 This is why I advocate the consumption of chicken (and cooking) but preferably without the skin you can also cook the chicken with the skin and simply do not eat the skin, which aside from providing some taste and texture, adds nothing good for your health and weight gain.


 Low in calories

 Typically 100 g of skinless chicken (I must say that the piece of meat consumed also changes the calories so I'll go more generally) makes about 100 to 150 calories, which is very similar to the value energy of 100 grams of lean fish. This is not consuming hundreds of calories by eating poultry that you will grow, several other meats or fish provide more calories than chicken so for me it's a very good solution to eat protein , low in fat and calories in order to lose weight.




Rich in protein


All poultry are high in protein. However, proteins are major allies in regard to weight loss as well as dietary fiber, they help give a feeling of fullness more quickly and extensively thereby reducing the risk of overeating at meal times but between meals. By eating less at mealtime and decreasing or ceasing altogether snack between meals, you will help decrease your daily energy intake. To lose weight, there is no magic solution, your energy intake must be less than your energy expenditure. Average (but again, each part of the chicken provides a different amount of proteins) chicken provides about 15 grams of protein which is very good.



 Mineral-rich

 Chicken is rich in many minerals and that is why it is healthy to consume at the expense of red meat but not fish, beans or tofu. Being rich in minerals, it gives you all the essential elements every day that your body has needed and thus reduce the risk of diseases that are caused by some deficiency in these minerals, as is the case anemia or osteoporosis.



 Zinc

 Dark meat of chicken, beef that we find in the thigh, thigh, drumstick and wings (although it is not always easy to know the color of the meat in this cut of meat as There are so many but not too much chicken skin). However, we also find it in the white meat that fills in part, needs this mineral for men and women.

 Zinc plays an important role in the immune system which helps to strengthen our system and less risk of bacterial or infectious, it is very important in the metabolism of our body, it can play a role in sexual maturation and the genetic and promotes wound healing.



 Phosphorus

 Chicken is rich in phosphorus, one of the most abundant mineral in our bodies, after all the calcium which is the mineral in larger quantities in our bodies. It keeps bones and teeth healthy, like calcium, it is essential to metabolism and zinc as we find him in the enzymes.



 The iron

 Iron is a very important mineral in our body because in case of deficiency of it, therefore it causes iron deficiency and this can also cause disease or anemia quite disturbing. It has many roles as precisely to prevent diseases related to iron deficiency, it is a component of hemoglobin and thus allows the distribution of oxygen through our body.SeleniumSelenium is a trace element that familiar role as an antioxidant when combined with vitamin E, which protects cells against oxidation but also the free radical damage which cause cancer.



 My Personal Opinion


I have expressed my great affection for the chicken, in fact, I eat two meals a week in general but little specification, I do not eat the skin of poultry, except sometimes when I eat wings Chicken then, I say consumes half the skin of chicken wings, the rest I can delete, I do not consume.


Since I was little I have to say that we have always had the habit of eating frequently enough poultry meat since it is a fairly economical and everyone was crazy at home. I've never been prevented from eating the meat and when we go to a restaurant, I often look to poultry or grilled fish or roasted unlike red meat that is less present in my diet for many reasons.


It's hard not to like this lean meat so it is for this reason that if you follow my recommendations, you should not fear to eat for better health or in order to lose weight because yes, chicken is good for you and yes, it promotes weight loss.