The livestock sector has a great mission to produce food that is affordable, good, safe and of quality. However, this function is too often not recognized and underestimating this characteristic leads to the consequence of taking for granted this function which, in fact, is also of great responsibility and social utility.
The poultry sector occupies a significant part of the system that generates nutrition for the planet, and in particular poultry meat is a strategic food that can really make a difference.
Thanks to its noble proteins of high biological value, poultry provides all the essential amino acids that our body is not able to synthesize alone, and therefore must necessarily obtain from food. Just think that this high quality protein component varies between 15 and 35% and can increase up to 60% after cooking. So 100-150 grams of ready-to-eat chicken meat can be enough to cover efficiently the entire daily protein requirement of a 70 kg adult. And this is not trivial, especially in a period when there is “hunger” of protein, with the consequent continuous search for reliable protein sources.
Poultry meat is also among the most digestible and is particularly suitable in delicate stages of life, such as pregnancy, weaning, growing children and the elderly. Poultry meat is not only high-absorption complete proteins, but also B vitamins such as thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid, fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K, essential fatty acids such as linoleic and alpha-linolenic, and minerals with high bioavailability, such as iron, zinc, copper, selenium and magnesium, which make it a valuable food and high nutritional quality.
About fat, the lipid content of chicken and turkey is very low, around 1% in the most lean cuts, such as chicken breast and turkey rump, up to a maximum of 17% in the wings and legs of chicken, composed mainly of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, beneficial for health.
Chicken meat can be considered a good source of omega-3 and especially long chain PUFA EPA and DHA, which are the very essential ones that our body fails to synthesize efficiently, biologically active and associated with numerous health benefits.
Poultry meat is not only nutritious, but also beneficial. It is recommended in clinical practice for stroke prevention to high-risk patients, as its high consumption has been found to be associated with a 13% reduction in the incidence of strokes due to the protective effect of its polyunsaturated fats.
Levels of consumption above the usual recommendations are also associated with beneficial effects: for example, an inverse association has been recorded for total mortality and cancer mortality, with a significant protective effect. In addition, no association between high poultry consumption and colorectal cancer was found, but a reduction of the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, overweight and obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus was found .
The scientific literature is rich in studies conducted all over the world that have provided solid results on the association between poultry meat consumption, balanced diet and good health.The EPICstudy, for example, showed that poultry consumption along with a healthy lifestyle is associated with a reduced risk of mortality, and also protects against certain types of cancer such as lung and oesophageal cancer, where high levels of poultry consumption have led to a total risk reduction of 53%. Thanks to increasingly innovative, sophisticated and efficient laboratory techniques, substances have been discovered that we were not aware of before, such as new antioxidants specific to chicken meat, with protective effects against various oxidative diseases related to stress, as diabetes, ischemia, cancer, ageing and neurodegenerative diseases.
The recently published reviews also confirm the state of the art in scientific literature, recommending a higher consumption of fresh (therefore unprocessed* chicken) Using healthy cooking methods and underlining the importance of advancing further experimental studies to clarify specific effects on human health. The importance of poultry meat has also been recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which claims that as a cheap food can be useful in fighting malnutrition in developing countries, Helping to efficiently address deficiencies of essential nutrients.
But even in developed western countries, the consumption of poultry meat contributes significantly to promote overall nutritional quality and good health, proving to be a key food for effectively feeding the world population.
*what are processed foods:
- https://www.airc.it/news/i-cibi-ultraprocessati-finiscono-ancora-sotto-processo#:~:text=A%20certain%20degree%20of%20processing,%20foods%20are%20processed.
- https://www.marionegri.it/magazine/cibi-ultra-processati-quali-sono
Dr.ssa Assunta Susanna Bramante
Diet and Nutrition Adviser, Meat Specialist, Science Communicator, Agronomist PhD in Animal Production, Health and Food Hygiene in Mediterranean Climate Countries – www.genbioagronutrition.blogspot.com – www.susannabramante.blogspot.com
