No, eating chicken every day is not bad. But you should also eat other foods with your chicken to prevent diet gaps or deficiencies in your body.
However, considering the variations loaded with spices and cream, chicken is not worth a daily diet. If you want to eat chicken daily, then it is best to either grill or roast it. When you prepare chicken healthily, it is okay to eat it every day.
While chicken breasts are generally the healthiest chicken cuts, there are also wings, drumsticks, thighs, and even offals to consider. Each of these cuts has its unique nutritional profile.
In this article, I will discuss if eating chicken every day is bad, the nutritional benefits of the various chicken cuts, and which one makes the healthiest addition to your diet.
What is chicken?
Chicken is the flesh of a bird eaten as food. It is a domestic fowl bred for its meat or eggs especially.
When it comes to lean protein, chicken is a popular choice. This is because it packs a fair amount of this protein into a single serving without much fat.
Is eating chicken every day bad?
It is okay to eat chicken every day. What matters the most is the part of the chicken you eat and how you prepare it. Boiled, roasted, and grilled chicken are the best kinds to eat.
It is not ideal to eat fried chicken every day because the extra fat and calories from frying may lead to excess weight gain. But if consumed in moderation, chicken can be a good meal for your diet.
What are the different cuts of chicken?
Chicken meat comes in many cuts but the best cuts are breasts, thighs, wings, and drumsticks. Each cut contains a different number of calories and a different proportion of protein to fat.
1. Chicken breast
Chicken breast is one of the most eaten cuts of chicken. It is high in protein and low in fat, making it an excellent choice for people trying to lose weight.
A 3.5-ounce (100g) serving of chicken breast provides about 165 calories, 31g of protein, and 3.6g of fat.
2. Chicken thigh
Chicken thigh is slightly more flavorful and tender than chicken breast due to the higher fat content. This cut is cheaper than chicken best which makes them a better choice for people eating on a budget.
A 3.5-ounce (100g) serving of chicken thigh provides 209 calories, 26g of protein, and 10.9g of fat.
3. Chicken wings
Not particularly one of the healthiest cuts of chicken. However, as long as did not cook the wings in sauce or deep-fry them, they can easily fit into a healthy diet.
A 3.5-ounce (100g) serving of chicken wings provides 203 calories, 30.5g of protein, and 8.1g of fat.
4. Chicken drumsticks
Chicken legs are made up of two parts; the thigh and the drumstick. The drumstick is the lower portion of the leg, and it is one of the most commonly eaten chicken cuts.
A 3.5-ounce (100g) chicken drumstick contains 172 calories, 28.3g of protein, and 5.7g of fat.
Which cut of chicken is the healthiest?
The chicken breast is the healthiest cut of chicken. It is lean and has the most protein by weight which makes it ideal for people who want to lose weight, maintain muscle mass and improve recovery.
Fattier cuts like the thigh, wings, and drumsticks have more calories, which makes them better for people wanting to build muscle or gain weight.
What are the benefits of adding chicken to your daily diet?
1. Build your muscles
If you are looking to put on some lean muscle mass and wondering what meat is the best to eat as a bodybuilder, eat chicken. Eating chicken every day might help you hit those fitness goals.
Eating chicken breast every day is great for muscle building because it is lean and one of the best sources of protein. Plus, chicken breasts are easy to prepare and are widely available at grocery stores at a reasonable price.
Chicken is also a good source of leucine which is vital for muscle growth & repair, and for improving endurance and strength.
2. Improves blood pressure
If you take chicken daily, your blood pressure may improve because chicken is an excellent source of potassium and magnesium, both of which are essential for improving blood pressure.
Studies show that consuming potassium can help to control blood pressure by balancing the effects of sodium. The magnesium in chicken can widen your blood vessels, thereby improving your blood flow.
3. Boosts your immune system
Zinc is another super helpful nutrient chicken meat contains. Zinc works with many supplements and health products to boost the immune system.
Zinc’s immune-supporting characteristic isn’t widely known to the general population. But manufacturers of health and wellness products have been using it as a major ingredient for a long time.
4. Improves your memory
Choline, a nutrient that also plays a vital role in memory and other brain activities, is also present in chicken. Study shows that those who consume more choline perform better on memory tests.
It’s not just the choline in chicken that benefits your brain. Chicken also contains vitamin B12, a nutrient that has been linked to proper memory function as well. Therefore, consuming chicken can be a brain-boosting tool.
5. Improves heart health
According to Eatthisnotthat, as long as you choose the lean cuts of chicken and you do not fry it, load it with butter, or douse it in unhealthy seasonings, eating it may help improve heart health.
Side effects of eating chicken every day
Salmonella poisoning
Raw chicken is often contaminated with salmonella. And when you do not cook the meat properly, the bacteria remain in the meat. Excess consumption of chicken with this bacteria results in food poisoning.
Salmonella infection manifests as typhoid fever, severe diarrhea, constipation, stomach cramps, chills, dizziness, pneumonia, and UTIs.
Increase in cholesterol levels
Chicken without the skin contains less cholesterol and you may think it’s healthier. However, it is still chicken and too much consumption will raise your blood cholesterol levels. This happens when you cook the chicken in sauce or deep-fry it.
Risk of cancer
If you would rather eat grilled or deep-fried chicken, you had better watch it. Cooking chicken with any of these methods increases the level of carcinogens in the meat and makes it unhealthy.
Excess consumption of grilled or deep-fried chicken consequently increases the risk of cancer.
Can chicken help weight loss?
Yes, it can. Chicken is a lean meat protein. According to Healthline, protein intake boosts the levels of various satiety hormones, which signal to your brain that you’ve had enough to eat.
But it would better help if you resisted the urge to take more bites. Chicken is such a delicious meal and it can be very tempting to eat more. This may reverse your weight loss goal.
When you consume protein in excess, your body stores the excess protein which cannot be burnt as fat. This will undoubtedly cause weight gain rather than loss. Therefore, you must consume chicken in moderation if you must lose weight.
FAQs
How much chicken should you eat in a day?
Stick with four ounces of cooked chicken per day. Load up on non-starchy veggies and whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice to have all the nutrients in your meal.
What is the best dish to eat with chicken?
Rice with chicken is a healthy combo that also aids in weight loss.
Is chicken good for gout?
Yes, it is. But make sure you avoid fried chicken and the skin of the chicken.
Conclusion
Chicken is rich in a variety of important nutrients that can benefit your health. It is important to choose healthy cuts of chicken and opt for healthy cooking methods like baking, grilling, or steaming rather than deep-frying.
Too much of anything is bad and the same rule applies to eating chicken. Eating chicken every day is not bad in itself, but you need to be cautious by choosing the right cut, cooking it right, and eating it in moderation.
If you enjoyed this article, you should also see if those juicy chicken tenders you love are healthy for you.
Thank you for reading this article.
