Find out if chicken and other poultry meat is good for you and if there is any evidence to support the claim that it can improve your health
DoorStaff writer
Edited byJovan Mijailovic
Published on March 6, 2024.
Chicken has long been considered a healthy alternative to red meat. It is actually low in saturated fat, contains higher amounts of omega-6 fatty acids than other animal meats and is high in protein and essential vitamins and minerals such as B6, B12, iron, zinc and copper.
However, there is a common misconception that chicken and other poultry are involvedimprovehealth. The truth is that it is generally quite neutral.
Poultry is better for your biomarkers than red meat
In most cases yes. Many studies have found that when compared to processed meat (bacon, sausage, luncheon meat, etc.) or unprocessed meat (the cuts of meat worth dinner), poultry actually reduces real health outcomes such as heart disease, cancer, and even 'all-cause mortality'. causes' decreases. (basically the risk of dying from any cause). [1,2]
And while these findings are groundbreaking, it's important to notethese results often come from replacing red meat in the diet with poultry.
So we must ask ourselves: Is the benefit of poultry inherent in the poultry itself, or does it come solely from removing unhealthy foods from the diet? This is a question that researchers are still trying to answer, because existing evidence is not crystal clear.
For now, it's safe to assume that if you're a meat eater, swapping at least some of your red meat (processed or not) for poultry can have some beneficial effects.
But that's another story for thatscantyRed meat
Of course, the conversation doesn't end there.Is poultry better for you?scantyRed meat? Will swapping things like lamb for chicken improve biomarkers?
We wanted to explore this question by looking at the biomarker dataInsideTrackerusers. We found thatInsideTracker users who regularly consume poultry, compared to those who eat lean red meat, are very similar in HDL (good) cholesterol levels:
While it may appear numerically that lean red meat consumers have higher HDL levels, in reality that difference is not truestatistically speakingsignificant, meaning that the effects of both types of meat on HDL levels are more or less the same.
This is consistent with evidence from a randomized crossover trial (an experiment in which a group of people tried two different interventions) which found that three servings of poultry per week had no different effect on HDL cholesterol, triglycerides or total cholesterol compared to lean red. meat. [3]
So to summarize the effect of poultry versus red meat on our health:
- There is a significant amount of evidence that replacing processed or high-fat, unprocessed red meat with poultry can improve your health in the long term.
- Lean cuts of red meat and poultry have a similar effect on your biomarkers, contrary to popular beliefRed meatis bad.
- Lean cuts of red meat contain similarly low amounts of saturated fat as poultry. Because saturated fat is associated with increased LDL cholesterol levels andrisk of poor heart healthremoving some of this saturated fat can have beneficial effects.
Poultry generally seems to have a neutral effect on our biomarkers
So we know that studies have shown that moderate poultry consumption over time can improve lipid biomarkers such as total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and HDL when poultry replaces high-fat red meat.But does poultry have a negative impact on biomarkers compared to a plant-based diet?
To answer that question, we looked again at InsideTracker users: Poultry consumers saw no differences in HDL (good) cholesterol compared to non-poultry eaters:
We would also look at the level of inflammation, as some animal products have been shown to increase inflammation in the body.A 2012 study found that only processed meat increased inflammation; poultry has not increased this, but neither has it decreased. [4]We often think of lean animal proteins like chicken and fish because they are healthy for our hearts and bodies. But the truth is that this view really only applies to fish;Chicken and other poultry do not have the same anti-inflammatory benefits as fatty fish such as salmon.
Again, we wanted to see if this pattern held true for InsideTracker users. We looked at hsCRP—a marker of inflammation throughout the body– and found that hsCRP did not differ among InsideTracker users who ate poultry several times a week, compared to those who never ate it:
Long story short: chicken is most beneficial when it replaces the high-fat red meat in the diet
Ultimately, there isn't much concrete evidence to suggest that poultry is a health-promoting food in itself:
- Poultry has effects on our biomarkers that are more reminiscent of lean red meat than fish.
- There doesn't seem to be any benefit to adding poultry to your diet if it isn't already there.
- However, if you want to add some poultry to your meat-free diet, your lipid and inflammation biomarkers will likely remain unchanged.
Tips for Maximizing Poultry Health in Your Diet
- If you are an avid chicken eater, make sure you don't eatAlsoa lot of. Research shows that increased poultry intake can lead to weight gain (but this is mainly due to excess calories). [5]
- Limit your poultry intake to moderate amounts (research suggests this is about three times a week) and keep portion sizes to 100 grams (a small chicken breast or the size of a deck of cards). [3]
- Poultry breasts are the healthiest and leanest part; thighs, wings and thighs contain slightly more calories and fat.
- Be sure to remove the skin before eating it as this is where most of the fat is stored.
- The best ways to prepare poultry are frying, baking or grilling. Avoid frying as a cooking method, which can be high in saturated fat and calories.
Bonus: Easy ways to incorporate poultry into your diet
- Prep for the week with a whole roast chicken: Roast a whole chicken for Sunday night dinner and use the leftovers during the week in salads or slices for sandwiches (avoid the skin!)
- Cook a bunch of chicken/turkey fillets in a pan (you can roast them all day while you're at work!) and shred them to add to rice, roasted vegetables, etc.
- Ground chicken and turkey are good for making hamburger patties or for making pasta sauces
" Learn more aboutsoy, and whether you should include it in your diet
The impact of poultry on our health is complex
Overall, the evidence suggests that poultry can have beneficial effects in replacing unhealthy food choices in the diet.
Although it is low in saturated fat and high in essential fatnutrientsthe overall effect on biomarkers is relatively neutral. There is limited evidence to support the idea that poultry is a health-promoting food in its own right. It is important to moderate poultry intake, choose lean meats and consider portion sizes to maximize its healthfulness.
For personalized insight into the impact of poultry consumption on your health and well-being, use InsideTracker for science-based recommendations based on your blood, DNA and lifestyle.
References:[1]https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l2110
[2]https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov/pubmed/24788671
[3]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21902857
