QUALITY, COMPOSITION AND NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF CHICKEN MEAT

Chicken is the second most consumed meat in the world, behind pork. That’s why we’re going to use this post to talk about the properties and nutritional value of chicken, which, in addition to be a meat adapted for almost every pocket, has multiple benefits. Do you want to know them?

BENEFITS OF CHICKEN MEAT

Chicken meat is one of the most recommended by experts to incorporate high quality proteins and nutrients into our diet. In addition, it has a low-fat content which makes it ideal for any type of diet.

What are the main nutritional benefits of this meat?

LOW-FAT MEAT

Without skin, chicken is one of the meats with the lowest fat content, especially in the breast part, with a proportion of approximately 2% fat. Therefore, especially the lean part, is a food often recommended in slimming diets.

RICH IN PROTEIN

Chicken provides proteins of high biological value, i.e. those containing the 9 essential amino acids found in food of animal origin.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS

Chicken meat provides vitamins mainly from the B complex, including Niacin or vitamin B3, which is essential for the metabolism of fats and sugars in the body, as well as for maintaining healthy cells. It also contains minerals such as magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and zinc. In addition, its cholesterol content is low, with the exception of the skin.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF CHICKEN

Chicken has a caloric value of 145 kilocalories per an edible portion of 100 grams (with skin).

As broken down by the Spanish Nutrition Foundation and Fedecarne in its nutritional guide of meat, in 100 grams of chicken 70.3% is water, 9.7% are lipids or fats and 20% protein. Therefore, protein, not counting water is the most prominent macronutrient in the nutritional composition of chicken.

One of the advantages of chicken meat is that the fat is very visible, so if you remove parts such as the skin, the caloric value of the piece will be lower. Chicken also has a remarkable content in phosphorus (mineral present in bones and teeth), selenium (with antioxidant action) and contains vitamins such as B3 and vitamin B6.

PROPERTIES OF CHICKEN BREAST

In chicken meat, the nutritional properties of the breasts are among the most valued. As it is one of the leanest areas, it provides low fat concentrations (approximately 2% of its composition is fat). Much of the value of the chicken breast is also given by its high protein content, which amounts to 21.8 grams for a piece of 100 grams.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHICKEN MEAT

To conclude, we remind you that the characteristics of this poultry meat depend on the different parts of the chicken. As we have mentioned, the chicken breast is one of the parts with the lowest fat content, so the average fat value in the chicken is higher and much higher in the case of skin.

That’s why you can choose the best piece for your diet or enjoy the benefits of whole chicken: easy to digest and so versatile in the kitchen.