NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF CHICKEN
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 use preparation 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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