“More than 8000 years ago, “More than 8000 years ago, humans started domesticating chickens for the first time in South America.” Based on this fact, you can conclude that chicken has always been an essential food in most meals, and even the ancient humans decided to raise it and feed on it mainly.

When we talk about poultry in general, please be careful not to be confused, because the word poultry includes all kinds of birds that humans raise or feed on. And among the many types of poultry, chicken meat has always been the best. Continue with us to learn the reasons.

What will you gain when you eat 200g of chicken?

No! You cannot determine the nutritional values ​​in chicken meat in this way, you must divide the chicken into its known parts, and then you will be able to know the values ​​of each, as 200g of chicken breast differs in its calories from the thigh or the wing.

As it is commonly known, chicken breast is the healthiest and most beneficial part, so many diets rely on it as a primary low-in-fat source of protein.

By eating one boneless, skinless chicken breast (172g) you will get:

• Calories: 284
• Protein: 53.4 gr
• Carbohydrate: 0 gr
• Fat: 6.2 gr

Paying attention to the nutritional values above, you might notice that the protein level is high, the fat is low, and there are no carbohydrates!

But if you add a boneless and skinless chicken thigh (52 gr) to your dish, the nutritional values ​​of your meal will increase to the equivalent of:

• Calories: 109
• Protein: 13.5 gr
• Carbohydrates: 0 gr
• Fat: 5.7 gr

After doing simple calculations, you can notice that chicken thigh has a higher fat content.

But what is frequently excluded from most diets aimed at losing weight is chicken wings!

Eating one boneless and skinless chicken wing (21gr) will give you:

• Calories: 42.6
• Protein: 6.4 gr
• Carbohydrates: 0 gr
• Fat: 1.7 gr

Pay attention, my dear, to the quantity of fat in it.

Two important factors affect these nutritional values:

1. Adding the skin: as it contains a high percentage of calories and fat.

2. Cooking method: You can cook chicken in many ways, but the best one is boiling or grilling it, you can also roast it in a pan with little oil.

The USDA recommends that you eat 2 to 6 ounces of protein-rich foods such as chicken daily, and this amount increases with your activity during the day.

Points for you to note:

• Cooking: Cook the chicken very well before you eat it, because raw meat contains a lot of bacteria that will cause you serious and dangerous diseases.

• Freezing: Freeze the chicken for at least two hours in the refrigerator, also to kill the bacteria it contains, and the more freezing hours, the better the result. It is recommended to let frozen chicken gradually defreeze before cooking, take the chicken out of the refrigerator a while prior to cooking, use warm water for a faster melting process, Putting it in a bowl of warm water that is renewed every half hour, will help you a lot.

• Do not leave chicken meat in high temperatures for long periods of time, as this is the ideal environment in which bacteria can grow quickly.
• When cooking chicken, pay attention to heat it to the ideal temperature, not just for the duration of cooking. Chicken meat with bones generally take longer to cook, and adding a filling to it increases the time needed to cook your chicken.
• The knife: Be careful that the knife with which you cut meat in general and any kitchen utensils that touch raw meat should not be used again until you wash and sterilize them very well from any bacteria that may be stuck on them.

Here are some ideas for adding chicken to your dish in a variety of healthy ways:

• Cubes added to salad dishes.
• Grilled slices with rice.
• In sandwiches.
• With pasta or lasagna.
• With many types of sauces and dips.
• In a nutritious and delicious soup.

And as for your health:

Chicken is a healthy and beneficial source of protein as well as a low-fat and low-sodium meal that you can use to enhance your workout results.

It helps you build strong muscle mass and generally strengthen your bones.

In addition, containing these amounts of protein will help you to overcome the constant feeling of hunger, especially if you follow diets such as intermittent fasting.

And when you buy chicken, you should read the “Label” on its plastic bag carefully and pay attention to several points identified by the US Department of Agriculture:

• Free range: That is, the producing company allowed the poultry to access clean natural areas outside and to feed on what they might find in them of natural, unprocessed food.

• The product is natural: that is, it does not contain any added chemicals, colorings, or artificial preservatives, and it is minimally processed.
• It does not contain hormones: which many farms use to increase the weight and size of the chicken in unhealthy ways.
• Without antibiotics: This phrase is added by poultry companies to show you that they raise their chickens without giving them any industrial antibiotics.
• Organic: If you see such a phrase, it indicates that the chicken has been raised according to several specific conditions, such as that its food be 100% organic.

If you are a meat lover in general, we advise you to consider chicken meat and try various healthy recipes and ways to cook it. You will find many of them on the Sara PopFit website for free.

Written by: Mai Majar

Sources:

healthline

webmd

verywellfit