Is Bad Chicken Good for Health?

Let’s say it’s the middle of the week and your day has started well, progress, progress, progress! Suddenly your stomach starts growling as you look at the clock, bam! it’s 12 o’clock. Impeccable punctuality! Keep it up! Not you, sorry. I appreciated your biological clock!

Content:

The Irresistible Non-Veg Menu

You are in mood for some chicken, so you head to the cafeteria. Presenting the menu for the day: We have Chicken Kabab, Chili Chicken, Tandoor Chicken, Chicken Tikka masala, Butter Chicken, Chicken Biryani with and without dum, not to forget good old Chicken 65. (65?) Then we have Achari Chicken, Chicken Manchurian, Schezwan Chicken, Chettinad, Ambur, Hyderabadi, Awadhi/Lucknowi, Thalasseri, Dindugal, chi.. stop drooling, please.

You are putting me under peer pressure; I can not take the temptation since I have already given up meat, so thanks! Anyway, you have had a delicious low-carb, high-protein meal. You are happy you return to your desk feeling a little healthier than before.

Praise thy chicken!

We do things for a reason, to serve a purpose. Take chicken, for example, The reason isn’t only because it’s a delicious food and everyone loves it, but also because chicken is supposedly a healthy food. So healthy as propagated by health experts around the world, that it’s hard to imagine a diet life without chicken. I know people whose purpose in life is chicken!

A quick internet search on the nutritional benefits of chicken will undoubtedly save the day! And the first word that comes to mind when you ask about the health benefit of chicken is protein. Chicken is a lean protein that helps build muscle and strengthens bones. Chicken promotes heart health and aids in weight loss. It provides vitamins and minerals such as B12, Choline, and zinc which are essential for brain function and improve immunity. And then there’s chicken soup for colds.

• If you are considering to go on fitness regime, perhaps weight-loss, you might want to checkout my blog on Diet Weight-loss & Superfood

Chicken meat is also inexpensive and provides gram-for-gram more protein than red meat. No wonder many see chicken as an alternative to beef and pork. I bet you are already excited to hear so many good things about chicken. But there’s a bonus: Chicken contains the amino acid tryptophan, which has been shown to increase serotonin (the “feel good” hormone) levels in our brains. Less hunger, less stress, and happiness! This is a wonderful meal!

Speaking of great and happy meal, is then the happiest meal on the planet, honey glazed chicken with chocolate filling?

Factory made

We know for a fact that food made in a factory is probably not as healthy (preservatives, artificial colors, high heat processing, refined ingredients, etc.) as homemade (assuming healthy ingredients!). The chicken is no doubt factory-made!

Factory-farmed chickens arrive on your plate in about six weeks. For a chicken in its natural habitat, that would take at least three months to be ready to eat. Also, it would cost three times as much. Moreover, they usually have a life expectancy of 5 to 10 years!

image by Bing AI image creator

From chick to chicken, the 6-week journey is arduous! They are pushed, prodded, and stomped. They have to sit or stand on the feces-stained floor in less than a square foot space this entire time! They are crammed into crates and have to travel for hours without food or water before they reach the point of sale.

To prevent infection and disease, they are vaccinated and pumped with antibiotics from day one. That’s one dose every week until they are about a month old. Although banned, poultry farmers still use growth hormones to increase yields and protect profits. Thyroid problems, common in women today, are linked to growth hormones. And low testosterone and low sperm count are attributed to high protein consumption.

Broiler chickens are probably the most genetically engineered animals modified for accelerated tissue growth. After all, who would not want a nice, big, soft breast on their plate? (ahem, no pun intended)

au contraire – facts we ignore!

Cholesterol, carcinogens, pathogens, and even fecal matter in chicken products increase the risk of heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, urinary tract infections, and foodborne illness.

• Both red and white meat raise LDL (bad cholesterol) by about the same amount Read more 
• Carcinogens like PhIP occur naturally in chicken tissue when exposed to direct high heat Read more
• According to another published study, chicken is responsible for most foodborne illness outbreaks. Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E.coli infections.
• Chickens are also routinely fed antibiotics which contributes to human antibiotic resistance and a potential superbug.

Not to forget the many episodes of Bird-Flu and culling that happens occasionally around the globe. If you got this far, thank you! It shows your concern about health.

Closing thoughts

If you have to kill the chicken yourself,
would you eat it?

Put your thoughts in the comments

I remember a story from the Internet: A patient goes to the doctor complaining of pain in his abdomen. The doctor diagnoses his condition and prescribes a long list of pills.
The patient says, “Doctor, that’s a lot of medicine, and I am worried about the side effects”! To which the doctor replies, “Have you ever worried about the side effects of your poor diet… and now you are worried about the pills?”

It’s in our nature to be offended when someone contradicts our beliefs, so much so that we merely spread a blanket over them. I do not intend to question the life choices of others, but let me gather some courage to challenge you to know what you are feeding your children!