NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF
CHICKEN
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We need food to live. Food provides us
with fuel for our body. Thorough food we get vitamins, minerals and
other nutrients which help our bodies stay healthy. It is
important just to eat, the food we eat needs to have ingredients
that are necessary for our health. This year, United States Dietary
Association (USDA) came up with new guidelines of what and how much
should we eat.They created a food pyramid so that people can choose
their food wisely.
To learn more about the USDA new
food pyramid follow this link: MY
PYRAMID
According to the new pyramid, kids our age
(around 12) should eat about 6 ounces of protein. Protein is
important because it build muscles. USDA also recommends to eat
lean protein. This means to eat protein that does not contain a
lots of fat. Chicken is one of the best sources of lean
protein:
Here is what 6 ounces of skinless
chicken contains:
Chicken has very little fat on its own.
However, people can add fat by frying and soaking it in oil. For
less fat people should usepreparation methods
that do not use as much oil.You can also notice from the table
above that white meat like breast parts have less fat than the dark
meat such as drumsticks. Also, skinless chicken has much less fat.
If you eat skin you are getting much more calories and
fat.
Here is what 6 ounces of
chicken with skin contains:
In addition to protein, chicken also has
many important vitamins and minerals. These include vitamin B that
gives us energy, zinc that is good for immune system and iron which
carries oxygen through our blood. Because chicken has great
nutritional value people use it a lot. One of the reason is that it
has no carbohydrates. Many diet plans that people use to lose the
weight cut carbohydrates. Therefore, chicken works well in these
diets.
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