This is me - loving chicken!
I love chicken!
But there is a reason chicken is cheap.
It is inferior. There. I said it.
MANY people love chicken because it is low in fat.
And they can eat more of it on a low fat diet.
Chicken is the "Sacred Cow" of weight loss meats!
Or IS it? Let's take a closer look!
This is dark meat chicken.
The juicy stuff.
But have a glance at the PUFA's.
Dark chicken has nearly 10 grams of fat.
Not much Omega 3 there.
Almost 2 grams of Omega 6!
And a 10:1 ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3.
AND this is just the chicken...
It doesn't even count the veggie oil it was fried in!
Or the mayo it was paired with for salad.
REMEMBER:
PUFA's contain the ONLY
Essential Fatty Acids in the diet.
ALL the rest can be made from the diet.
And the Omega 6 - in excess - is thought to
be a cause of inflammation - and worse!
So we think we are "getting by" with LowFat.
MMMM chicken! However -
We are not. Not with this kind of choice, at least!
And "Organic Chicken" (link)
Free-Range Chicken...
(Keep in mind - they are not the same thing)
I can not find a source that breaks down the
PUFA information! So I wonder if it is really better!
Companies are NOT required to list PUFA info.
Compare that to white meat chicken.
HALF THE FAT
And only a quarter of the PUFA!!
Maybe a much better option!
Here's cod... the kind you get at Fast Food Places.
This data is just the fish... the cod... no breading here.
Not even a gram of PUFA !!
We think - "Oh look! YAY! No evil wicked FAT!"
However, we need some about a gram or so
Of the Omega 3's .... and MUCH less of the Omega 6's
than most of us get already!
Compare that to tuna. This is canned tuna.
About the same amount of protein...
BUT much better PUFA's...
About one gram!
And speaking of cheap proteins....
How does this compare to beef?
Well.... YOUR dark meat chicken has TWICE the fat of beef!
To be fair, this is ground sirloin... 95/5
But is it not always true that
chicken has WAY less fat than beef.
And is therefore, a better choice.
Not always!
BTW - 70/30 beef is just that - 30% fat.
With about 18 grams of total fat per 100 grams.
[All of these images are 100 grams.]
All data came from (here)
Cross-referenced (here)
I use this Paleo Tracks! (here)
So - Lots to learn here still!
At least we can all learn together!
Hope this helps. Thanks for reading!
Arghhhhhhh! So much to learn, so little time. Love the picture with the chicken. :)
ReplyDeleteI love my chickens for the eggs they lay for me (nearly) every day...I could never eat one of them. Besides, their favorite leftover food is the grilled chicken from Red Robin. ;) They are true Omnivores!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Caron - I actually raised a couple of them!
ReplyDeleteDelightful creatures. Fresh eggs! *cluck*
What Say What - EGGACTLY!
I wouldn't eat an egg making chicken!
They roost so much - they are strong and probably stringy!
And way too cute to eat. With all those golden (yoke) eggs.
But alot of people DO eat Fryers..
The good news is that I am a breast woman! TWSS!
ReplyDeleteI would like to see the numbers on any difference that may exist between most chickens sold as meat - that are raised in cages, fed soy & grains, etc and chickens allowed to roam free, eat bugs, etc, and not fed crap. I mean, it's got to be better for the chicken - and therefore better for the eggs as well as the meat of the bird, right?
ReplyDeleteLess Of Mimi - thanks!
ReplyDeleteI looked and looked and looked for such info.
Found a few link, but no real PUFA data.
I'll keep looking!
I found a great egg - with 660 mg of Omega 3 per egg!
and 1:1 ratio of 6:3... Christopher Eggs...
Maybe a step up from Egglands best ?
But not in price! It's a good egg! From KROGERS!
I love chickens too. :)
ReplyDelete