Why I encourage clients to eat less chicken
Posted by kathryn in Meat and Nutrition
I’m a bit anti-chicken. I know it’s popular and for many people the meat they most commonly eat. Chicken is not a terrible food. However, while it’s low-ish in fat and contains a good amount of protein, I don’t think chicken has a lot else going for it.
The average Australian eats about 36kg of chicken per year. This means chicken rivals beef (and beats both lamb and pork) in the list of most popular meats.
It was in the 1970s that chicken really took off, as people became more concerned about health and the risks from high saturated fat diets. Chicken was a lower fat meat and so many people switched from eating beef and lamb.
But compared to red meat, I think chicken is nutritionally scanty. Sure it’s high in protein and as long as you steer clear of the skin, chicken is also low-ish in fat. However, for most people meat is their main source of the minerals iron and zinc. And unlike red meat, chicken is low in both of these.
In fact, most legumes like chickpeas and lentils have more iron and zinc than chicken.
Plus meat production and retailing has changed enormously in the past decade. Concern about saturated fat has led to more and more lean cuts of meat becoming available. In Australia these are marketed as trim cuts. You can also look out for the Heart Foundation’s Tick or the Trimmed Pork label. All of these are lower in fat than your normal bog-standard steak and many of them have similar fat levels to chicken.
And the added bonus with lamb, beef and pork is they contain zinc and iron.
If you’re a chicken fiend, then think about changing some of your choices. Vary your proteins around. Continue eating some chicken, but intersperse that with lean red meat or pork. You’d also benefit from having some vegetarian meals and even some fish. You’ll be adding in important minerals, essential fatty acids and other nutritional goodies, whilst still keeping your saturated fat intake under control.
Photograph by Straymuse.
02 September, 2009
Comments
I have noticed I do tend to go for chicken almost all the time these days.
It’s not the high fat that concerns me, but rather the increased incidences of various kinds of cancer that seems to be associated with them.
I generally try to just stick with chicken, turkey or fish, and have red meat only very occasionally.
Seems like I need to whack in some more chickpeas and lentils ;)
I think the growth in chicken consumption may have been more as a result of lower prices than health concerns. In the 60s chicken was expensive – it was a special occasion food in my family. We ate chicken at Christmas, and maybe for a birthday.
Intensive farming practices have made chicken much a cheaper (and arguably less humane) option. As chicken has become cheaper, it has become an everyday dish; I don’t think people would be eating so much if it was still as expensive as it once was, no matter what their health concerns.
Hi Kathryn, heres another reason:
http://the-view-from-my-porch.blogspot.com/2009/09/food-machine-at-work.html
Cheers Steve
We eat chicken around here about twice a week. Why? The fillets are relatively quick to cook, it’s kid-friendly and it fits in the food budget. I’m hearing you,though. Seems I might need a re-think around here .
It’s nice to hear that legumes are a good source of iron. I’ve heard that veggie iron isn’t as bioavailable as meat iron. Is that true? Do you need to eat more, or is it just a matter of eating it with vitamin C. Half a kilo of spinach sounds a little daunting!
How about chicken WITH chickpeas and lentils? ;)
Yep, gotta thank The Lipid Hypothesis for helping us all jump on the skinless chicken breast bandwagon. And even though we now know that much of the commercially, conventionally bred chicken livestock in the world is pumped full of growth hormones like estrogen, it’s mind-blowing that people keep turning to the birds! I have seen chemical & hormone-free poultry popping up more and more, and the birds tend to be free-range as well (meaning they get to eat bugs and worms, their natural carnivorous diet) so things are certainly looking up.
But the main reason that I am commenting is that I’m surprised by your apparent agreement to The Lipid Hypothesis’ proposition that saturated fat is bad… Aren’t you aware that Ancel Keys’ Seven Countries Study cherry-picked data to fit his theory, and even then ignored the fact that those consuming saturated fats were also living on diets high in trans fats? In studies which have isolated the two fats, there has of course been overwhelming proof that trans fats should not be consumed, and yet there has never been a conclusive study showing saturated fat to be bad for us. It would be awkward if any study did, seeing as how humans have evolved on a diet very high in saturated fat, and if it were bad for us, we kinda wouldn’t have survived this long!
If this is new news to you, try reading the work of Mary Enig – http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/skinny.html
And if you’d prefer to look at something a little more accessible (though while objective and research-based, it does come off as biased), try Richard Nikoley’s recent post about saturated fat, which links to some other experts – http://freetheanimal.com/2009/08/saturated-fat-is-good-for-you.html
It does freak me out more than a little that a trained nutritionist is propagating poor science that has been disproved time and time again, especially when the low-fat myth has resulted in increased consumption of grains and sugars (often as fillers when fat is removed from foods – not that you should eat anything that comes in a packet). As consumption of fatty animal products has decreased, incidence of obesity has sky-rocketed, as has diabetes and heart disease. Isn’t this what you are fighting against?
I did a quick sweep of your blog to find any discussion of saturated fats, to see if you link to any studies showing a causal link between a diet high in sat fat and any health problems whatsoever, and – zip. Just a few comments claiming there’s an associated risk. I would so love it if you would go through the material as I have done, and then present your findings to your readings, whichever way your findings may lean.
great post kathryn
while I’m a big fan of your classic roast chook, I tend to give it a miss when it comes to other forms… not enough flavour.. but glad to hear there are other reasons to avoid it
I love chicken! I must admit, I do eat a fair amount of chicken. Probably about half a kilo a day for my exercise requirements. As Vireya mentioned, it’s relatively well priced and as Paola mentioned it’s quick to cook. But I try and mix other sources of protein in there, lean beef mince or lean cuts of steak, and I would never say no to lamb! As for fish, well we try and get fresh cuts twice a week, and I have tuna myself daily. Got to get the essential fatty acids up!
Thanks for all your comments, it’s really interesting to read your perspectives.
I should be clear, I’m not saying you have to give up chicken – just don’t forget the other meats and sources of protein. As always and as I’ve said before, variety is the key. I have come across people who eat chicken 4, 5, 6 times a week and if this is you, then I think you’re missing out and would be better to mix things up a bit. So add in a bit more fish, a bit more lean red meat and then some vegetarian protein meals as well.
Arwen – I’ve written some posts on vegetarians and iron before. Try this and this.
We eat a lot of chicken at our house. I thought protein was protein. So thank you for the reminder about the iron and the zinc, I wiil definitely be buying more lamb, pork etc.
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