From soup preparations to fried and
roasted forms, chicken is a popular food in India that is cooked in
multitude ways in every household. Chicken is one of the most valued
foods among people of all ages, throughout the world. Not only it forms a
crucial part of various culinary traditions but it is also highly
nutritious and delicious to taste. Here are some amazing health benefits
of eating chicken.
Helps boost testosterone levels
Men should consume foods rich in zinc as it helps regulate testosterone levels as well as boost sperm production.
Helps build muscles
Chicken is one of the best
non-vegetarian sources of protein. It is lean meat, which means that it
contains more amount of proteins and less amount of fat. A 100g serving
of roasted chicken offers you 31g of protein, making it great for those
who want to bulk up and build muscles.
Keeps their bones healthy
Apart from protein, chicken is rich in
several minerals like phosphorus and calcium, that helps keeps bones in
mint condition. Also, it has selenium which has been known to cut risk
of arthritis.
Relieves stress
Chicken has two nutrients that are great
for reducing stress – tryptophan and Vitamin B5. Both of them have a
calming effect on your body and this makes chicken an excellent option
after a stressful day. Also, it tastes great and that too adds to its
stress releasing, happiness inducing properties. Read our mega guide on
how to deal with stress.
Reduces PMS symptoms
Magnesium, a nutrient present in chicken
helps soothe symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome and fight the various
mood changes that a woman might experience during her periods. Here are
more tips on dealing with PMS.
Boosts immunity
Chicken soup has long been used as a
home remedy for relieving cold, flu and other common respiratory
infections. The hot steam of chicken soup helps clear nasal and throat
congestion while the thick fluid coats the throat to prevent invasion of
respiratory linings by microbes to cause infection. A study evaluating
this effect suggested that chicken soup inhibits migration of
neutrophils, a type of immune cells, thereby preventing inflammation
during common infections and boosting immunity.
Promotes heart health
Chicken, being rich in vitamin B6, plays
an important role in preventing heart attack. Vitamin B6 helps by
lowering the levels of homocysteine, one of the key components linked to
an increased risk of heart attack. Besides, chicken is also a good
source of niacin that helps lower cholesterol, a risk factor for heart
disease development. The American Heart Association also recommends
consumption of chicken over red meat since it contains less amount of
saturated fats and is also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids that
exhibit beneficial cardiovascular effects.
How to cook chicken in a healthy way
Different parts of chicken have
different levels of fat and cholesterol. The breast meat is the leanest
with 28g containing just 1g of fat. This is followed by the chicken’s
legs which has 2g of fat per every 28g.
–thehealthsite.com
Before you decide to cook chicken, make
sure you cut of all the visible fat as it isn’t good for your heart.
These fat deposits usually look white in color, and you can ask your
vendor to point it out for you if you have trouble identifying it. To
make it healthier, you should first marinate it with healthy spices like
turmeric, coriander along with curd so that the chicken absorbs all its
nutrients and becomes tastier. After that, you could try cooking it in a
pressure cooker so that the chicken is soft and tender to eat. Baking
or grilling it in a microwave is also an healthy option that you can
consider.
Frozen chicken
These days with the advent of
cold-storage a lot of people have started consuming frozen chicken.
After removing it from the freezer, thaw it in the refrigerator. Doing
this anywhere else will cause bacteria to build-up. Also, once you’ve
thawed a frozen chicken you should never refreeze it. So, thaw only the
amount of chicken you need at that point in time.
–thehealthsite.com
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