Chicken v Turkey – What is the best Poultry dish? It’s a foul battle
When it comes to dieting, chicken and turkey are two very popular and versatile meats, with them being able to feature in just about any sort of dish for the average meat eater, but which one is better? We’ve performed a brief research assessment from studies across the internet, so you don’t have to. Just give this article a read, then come to your own conclusions as to which poultry meat you’d prefer in your dish, which could make a big difference to your physical goals.
According to Fox News’ article on the ‘5 healthiest meats’, chicken ranks third with turkey one place behind it in fourth. The main reason that they’re both so high in the list is that they claim that red meat is bad for your colon, and can lead to all sorts of nasty illnesses within the intestines, as well as being worse for you when it comes to weight management. However, this article doesn’t really delve into which is the better of the two, with only mentioning two specific individual traits of them. The trait about eating turkey was that it’s believed that post consumption it can leave you feeling tired – which is different to most white meats – so it may not provide you with as much energy as chicken. Whereas the one stand out comment about chicken being about how dangerous it can be for you if it’s not cooked properly, which is known by most people already.
Heathline’s article however have pinpointed some important elements when it comes to comparing meats, and have a number of different talking points for when it comes to the two poultry options, including their own opinions at the end in a very ‘still on the fence’ based conclusion styled paragraph. The first on their agenda is the breast meat, which is one of the most popular cuts of poultry, especially among fitness enthusiasts and dieters due to its high protein and low calorie content – this see’s chicken edge it with 1 extra gram of protein per ounce of roasted breast meat (9g v 8g per 28g). The next discussed is the wing meat, which has a very similar nutritionally value to breast meat, and sees both chicken and turkey contain around 9g of protein per ounce of meat cooked, which is the exact same amount as the meat found on the leg of the farm animals, which are also known as drumsticks. Working the way back towards the body of the animal, the thigh of a turkey slightly edges the chickens value, which sees it contain an extra gram of protein per ounce (9g v 8g), making the overall scores equal as of so far. So, to conclude in terms of the protein amounts for chicken and turkey, they contain very, very similar, if not equal, amounts of protein for each body parts. However, there is more to nutrition than just protein, and you need to think about calories, fats and carbohydrates when it comes to working out what you need, as each physical goal will require different amounts of each, as well as vitamins and minerals being very important.
When it does come to vitamins and minerals within chicken and turkey, there is no significant difference, but there are some variations of these nutrients between white and dark meat in general. So when it comes to planning what food to eat based on your vitamin and mineral needs, then maybe plan the colour of the meat first and foremost, with being able to decide upon which of each type then afterwards, as both white and red meats have beneficiary contents. Heathline’s ultimate bottom line is that both turkey and chicken are rich in high-quality protein, with chicken breast having slightly more protein than turkey breast, only to be matched by turkey’s slight increase with the thigh region; with the remaining body parts being equal.
The third article we studied was that by 220Triathlon, a magazine based media talking about all things triathlon related, so they looked more into the external elements than just the protein contents (before we fact checked them and looked more into detail of what they were saying). 220T uncovered that there is a slight different in the leanness of the breasts of both animals, with skinless chicken breast containing 3-4g of fat, whereas turkey is 2-3g, and also slightly more calories as expected. One brilliant bit of information that 220Triathalon uncovered was to do with the nature of how the body works with the macronutrients found within the meat; “Beyond basic macro-nutrient content, turkey also has high levels of a compound called beta alanine, which acts as an antioxidant and potentially allows athletes to train at a higher intensity for longer.” To summarize, 220T sees turkey as slightly more advantageous than chicken due to its slightly higher protein level and lower fat content. However, both are lean meats that provide athletes with all-important proteins for muscle growth, and good levels of B vitamins and minerals for energy production.
If you’d like to read the full article of what these sources have said regarding our discussion, then you can visit their pages via the links below;
https://www.foxnews.com/story/5-healthiest-meats
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/turkey-vs-chicken#is-one-healthier
https://www.220triathlon.com/training/nutrition-training/chicken-versus-turkey-which-is-best/
And we would like to thank those that have conducted the research and taken the time to help write up about the nutritional benefits of both chicken and turkey, as well as other dishes, which helps us to create our tasty, well balanced meals and help you with your physical goals.
