BIRDS FOR STRONG BLOOD
Prevent iron-deficiency anemia
Prevent vision loss
Maintain a healthy nervous system
Prevent energy and memory problems
Keep immunity strong
Americans have long considered poultry to be a sign of prosperity. During the Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a chicken in every pot. And every Thanksgiving we gather around a dressed turkey and show appreciation for our blessings.
A bird on the table is more than just a symbol, however. Properly prepared, poultry is an important part of a healthful diet. Without the skin, it not only is a low-fat alternative to fattier meats like beef and pork but also provides a host of disease-fighting, energy-boosting vitamins and minerals that are difficult to get from plant foods alone.
Of course, there is one caveat: That healthful piece of poultry may become a permanent part of your waistline unless you remove the skin before taking a bite. This is particularly true when buying fast food or chicken with the skin on, doused in gravy, at popular chain restaurants. For example, researchers found that a half-chicken platter at Boston Market rivaled a Big Mac, served with large fries and a chocolate milk shake, in fat, sodium, and calories.
Most of us understand the importance of getting our daily fill of the vitamin all-stars, like vitamins C and E and beta-carotene. But ask someone what the B vitamins are good for, and you’ll likely get a blank stare. That’s because these unsung heroes of the vitamin world don’t directly prevent major health problems like heart disease and cancer—though they certainly may lend a helping hand. Mostly, they’re maintenance workers; in a lot of little ways, they keep our minds and bodies working smoothly. Take away the B vitamins, and you’d find yourself fumbling through life, depressed, confused, anemic, and nervous—or worse.
Luckily, poultry is bursting with three essential B vitamins: niacin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12.
Depending on the part of the bird you pick, chicken and turkey provide between 16 and 62 percent of the Daily Value (DV) of 20 milligrams for niacin. (Chicken breast is at the high end of the scale, and turkey dark meat is at the low end.) Studies show that it may reduce cholesterol and cut the risk for heart attacks.
Poultry also contains 0.3 microgram of vitamin B12, or 5 percent of the DV. Vitamin B12, which is found almost solely in animal foods, is essential for healthy brain function. Get too little B12, and you may find yourself feeling fatigued and experiencing memory loss and other neurological problems.
Another B vitamin, B6, is critical for maintaining immunity. It’s also necessary for making red blood cells and maintaining a healthy nervous system. Poultry provides between 0.2 and 0.5 milligram of vitamin B6, or 10 to 25 percent of the DV.
Chefs agree that the trick to making perfect poultry is to cook the bird in the skin. The melting fat from skin acts like a natural baste, keeping the meat flavorful and moist during the long cooking process.
“Poultry can be horribly dry when you cook it without the skin,” says Susan Kleiner, PhD, RD, owner of High Performance Nutrition in Mercer Island, Washington. “And studies show that as long as you remove the skin when it’s done cooking, the fat content of the poultry is about the same as if you had removed it beforehand.”
In a hurry? Grab a rotisserie bird at the supermarket. The National Chicken Council estimates that 700 million rotisserie chickens were sold to hungry Americans in 2006 alone. True, they’re higher in fat and salt than a home-cooked chicken could be, but if you remove the skin and discard the drippings, 3 ounces of white meat has just 102 calories and 2 grams of fat. And it’s versatile. Dress it up by chopping the breast meat and mixing it with corn, black beans, and salsa in a microwaveable casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese and reheat for a few minutes. Or create quick curried chicken salad: Toss chunked breast meat with canola oil mayo, curry powder, sliced almonds, pineapple chunks, chopped mango, and raisins.
When knights went into battle, they donned suits of armor to make them stronger. Though none of us are jousting these days, we still need iron for the everyday battles of life. We just need to eat it, not wear it.
Iron is one of the most important nutrients for maximum energy and vitality. Yet many of us, especially women, fall short of the 15 milligrams needed each day, says Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD, owner of High Performance Nutrition in Mercer Island, Washington, and author of The Good Mood Diet and Power Eating: Build Muscle, Increase Energy, Cut Fat.
You can get between 5 and 16 percent of the iron you need each day by eating a piece of poultry. About 3 ounces of chicken leg or white-meat turkey breast provides 1.2 milligrams of iron, 8 percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for women and 12 percent for men. Three ounces of roasted turkey dark meat will give you 2 milligrams, 13 percent of a woman’s RDA and 20 percent of a man’s.
Although iron abounds in fortified cereals, tofu, beans, and other nonmeat foods, it’s not always easy for the body to absorb. By contrast, the iron in poultry (called heme iron) is easily absorbed, says Dr. Kleiner. Your body can absorb up to 15 percent more heme iron than nonheme iron, she explains. Plus, when you eat heme iron, it helps your body absorb nonheme iron. That way, you get the most iron from all your food, says Dr. Kleiner.
Have you eaten so much chicken that you’re starting to resemble Frank Purdue? Maybe it’s time to leave that poultry behind and take flight with some birds of a different feather. Although they tend to be higher-priced, birds like pheasant and quail add variety to your diet while providing the same nutritional benefits as chicken or turkey.
Here’s how two of the less common varieties of poultry add up. All nutritional information is based on 3-ounce servings, and the percentages of the DV or, in the case of iron, the RDA, are given.
Pheasant
Calories: 113
Fat: 3 grams
Calories from fat: 25 percent
Iron: 1 milligram (10 percent of RDA for men and 7 percent for women)
Niacin: 6 milligrams (30 percent of DV)
Vitamin B6: 0.6 milligram (30 percent of DV)
Vitamin B12: 0.7 microgram (12 percent of DV)
Zinc: 0.8 milligram (5 percent of DV)
Riboflavin: 0.1 milligram (8 percent of DV)
Vitamin C: 5 milligrams (6 percent of DV)
Quail
Calories: 123
Fat: 4 grams
Calories from fat: 31 percent
Iron: 4 milligrams (40 percent of RDA for men and 27 percent for women)
Niacin: 8 milligrams (40 percent of DV)
Vitamin B6: 0.5 milligram (25 percent of DV)
Thiamin: 0.3 milligram (20 percent of DV)
Zinc: 3 milligrams (20 percent of DV)
Riboflavin: 0.3 milligram (18 percent of DV)
Vitamin C: 7 milligrams (12 percent of DV)
Consumer Reports magazine shocked the nation in December 2006, when it announced that 83 percent of the chicken sold in supermarkets may contain bacteria that cause food-borne illness. They found bacteria in brand-name birds, store-brand birds, and organic chickens alike. “We think it’s really startling,” said Jean Halloran, a policy director for Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports. “It’s a very significant deterioration in food safety.”
While the USDA disputed the findings as “junk science” (government studies have found that 26 to 60 percent of chickens harbor bacteria), no one disputes the fact that raw poultry is a playground for salmonella, campylobacter, and other organisms that can cause diarrhea, tummy cramps, and fever. There’s no way to eliminate bacteria entirely, but these updated rules can help you keep your poultry safe and healthy:
When you buy: Choose packages that feel cool and have no tears or punctures. (Skip poultry stuffed at the store, it’s too vulnerable to bacterial growth.) Put each pack in a plastic bag, so that poultry juices can’t contaminate other foods. Buy poultry last; store in an ice chest if you won’t be home to refrigerate it within an hour; and when you get home, unload and fridge it first.
Storage: Use or freeze poultry within 2 days. Whole birds and parts will keep, frozen, for 6 to 9 months. Ground poultry and giblets, for 3 to 4 months. (Never thaw poultry at room temperature—place it in fridge to thaw or microwave.)
Prep: Don’t wash poultry—this just splashes germy juices around your kitchen (and on you). Cooking heat kills any bacteria. But do scrub tools, cutting boards, and your work area thoroughly with hot, soapy water after preparing raw chicken to prevent bacteria from multiplying. Wash your own hands frequently and dry with paper towels. Marinate birds in the fridge and toss the marinade afterward—it’s a swimming pool packed with bacteria.
Cooking: Find—or buy—a food thermometer. Checking the internal temperature of poultry is the only way to ensure that it’s fully cooked (going by color, texture, or juice color is unreliable, according to the USDA). Target temperatures: All poultry should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F throughout. For whole chicken and turkey, you should check the internal temperature on the innermost part of the thigh and the thickest part of the breast.
Hectic day, hungry family? When the only sane meal option is the drive-thru, order grilled chicken sandwiches—not the nuggets—all around, says the American Institute for Cancer Research. “Chicken nuggets can include not just the chicken meat itself but also the skin, with several types of flour, starches, and oils,” the group notes. “That makes nuggets higher in calories with about half the protein compared to an equal portion of plain cooked skinless chicken.” Nuggets have four times the saturated fat and trans fats, too. (Worried that the tykes in the backseat will howl when their kids’ meal doesn’t come with a toy? Most chains will sell you the plastic doo-dads à la carte. Costs more, but may be worth it.)
In order to stay in the pink—free from infections, colds, and other health problems that keep us home in bed watching bad daytime TV—we need strong immune systems. Getting enough zinc in the diet is critical for immunity because our infection-fighting cells require adequate stores of this trace mineral to do their job.
In addition, studies show that getting enough zinc can help slow the progression of a prevalent eye disorder called macular degeneration, which can cause irreversible vision loss, especially among the elderly.
As with iron, zinc is found in foods besides meat, like whole grains and wheat germ—but again, your body has a harder time absorbing it from plant foods than from meats, says Dr. Kleiner. “Women especially are at risk for not getting enough zinc,” she says.
Eating poultry will help keep your zinc supply at the necessary levels, Dr. Kleiner says. Most poultry provides 6 to 25 percent of the 15 milligrams of zinc you need each day.
Grab a drumstick. Lots of people pick around the dark meat of poultry because it’s higher in fat. And that’s true, concedes Dr. Kleiner, but it’s also a lot higher in minerals and worth digging into occasionally.
“If you’ve removed the skin, you’ve removed the mother lode of fat anyway,” she says, “and a lot of the iron and zinc are in the dark meat.”
Read chicken labels carefully. Think “free-range” chicken means a friendly flock of hens pecking in the farmyard—and getting natural food, air, and sunshine that make the meat healthier? Think again. The USDA poultry labeling standards allow any bird that has outdoor access for a few minutes a day to be labeled free range. And the words “natural” and “hormone free” aren’t really guarantees that a chicken was raised organically and without unnecessary medications. (The USDA already prohibits the use of hormones in the raising of chickens for home consumption.) Your best bet for finding a chemical-free bird? Look for labels that say “USDA organic,” which means the chicken was raised without hormones, antibiotics, or feed grown with synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. If you’d like a happy chicken raised on grass, not a concrete-floored coop, look for labels that say “Certified Humane Raised and Handled”—a claim that’s verified by a third-party group before poultry farmers can use it on the label.
Rinse the turkey and pat dry.
On a plate, combine the flour, ½ teaspoon of the oregano, and salt. Mix with a fork. Place the turkey cutlets in the flour mixture, turning to dust both sides evenly. Shake off any excess.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the cutlets in a single layer, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until golden and cooked through. Check for doneness by inserting the tip of a sharp knife into a cutlet. Remove the turkey to a plate.
Add the garlic to the skillet, and cook for 10 to 12 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the broth, lemon juice, and the remaining ¼ teaspoon oregano. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until hot. Pour the sauce over the turkey.
Makes 4 servings
Calories: 184
Total fat: 4.6 g
Saturated fat: 0.8 g
Cholesterol: 77 mg
Sodium: 124 mg
Dietary fiber: 0.3 g