New Study Confirms Chicken as the Latest Superfood

The idea that chicken was some kind of amazing superfood never occurred to the millions of home chefs, moms and dads, first-time cooks and nutritionists across the country because they didn’t need to be convinced that it was the best protein for a healthy and delicious meal.

Well things have changed…

Something that had been so obvious for years, so apparent that it was left to frying pans, ovens and barbecues to do the talking, has been confirmed in a new scientific study from the Chicken Farmers of Canada — chicken is the new superfood.

The study, the first of its kind in 20 years, provides an updated look at how chicken has changed nutritionally given many advancements in how the birds are bred, raised, fed and processed. Today’s chicken is fundamentally safer, healthier and more convenient than ever before.

The study confirmed that chicken is just as awesome and nutritious as we’ve always known — and then some! It’s a veritable superfood by the number of nutrients and healthy properties it possesses.

Let’s start with protein. Protein is one of the most important macronutrients healthy humans (that’s you) need in their daily diet. Protein is an important building block for great things like muscle, hair, skin and a lot of other important organs (they’re all important really). With all that in mind, did you know that a 100g serving of chicken breast has a whopping 32g of protein! That kind of protein power puts most steak to shame. Chicken has more protein per gram than most cuts of beef and has much less fat.

So what other superpowers does chicken have? How about being low in fat (with skin removed), an excellent source of niacin, which helps regulate cholesterol, and high in magnesium – an important mineral involved in metabolic reactions that many of us are not getting enough of.

If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, you can go over to the dark (meat) side where even more great health benefits await. In addition to all of the great benefits of white meat, dark meat generally contains more zinc (great for regulating immune function) and vitamin B12 than white meat.

All cuts of chicken are also carbohydrate free, trans fat free and sugar free, naturally low in sodium, and contain magnesium, B6, riboflavin, thiamin and phosphorus. That’s a mouthful.

The nutritional benefits of chicken vary by cut and by the presence of skin — and they are numerous — and you can learn more about how each cut stacks up when we launch the official study in a few short weeks. The report also contains a great breakdown of the nutritional benefits of organic chicken vs. non-organic and the results may surprise you.

This up-close examination of today’s chicken has us more convinced than ever that chicken is the new superfood!