The nutritional benefits of poultry
Poultry several times a week
for a healthy balanced diet

Once the skin is removed, poultry, low in fat and naturally rich in vitamins and minerals, is one of the most balanced meats when it comes to nutrition.

Poultry is rich in high-quality proteins and essential amino acids, necessary for muscle growth, particularly among children and adolescents, but also essential in maintaining muscle mass in older people. For example, 100 g of turkey provides 50% of a 60-kg adolescent's daily protein requirements, while 70 g is enough to maintain the muscle mass of an older person when combined with three other daily sources of protein such as 150 g of bread and two dairy products.

Of course, it's also necessary to round out your diet with at least 5 fruits and vegetables per day and to carry out regular moderate physical exercice. 

Another advantage of poultry: its low fat content makes it a particularly good part of low-carlorie diets. Even the fattest poulty such as goose (19 g of fat per 100 g), duck (10%), capon or fattened chicken (18%) are still less caloric than most other meats.

But above all, poultry's main plus is the fact that its fats are low in saturated fatty acids. Moreover, nutritionists agree that the balance of the various fatty acids found in poultry are close to the perfect ratio: 25% saturated fatty acids, 55% mono-unsaturates (which reduce the level of bad LDL cholesterol) and 20% poly-unsaturated fatty acids. 

Furthermore, poultry, like every meat,  is also a good source of iron (often more than 2 mg, representing 15% of the RDA*), easily assimilated by our bodies. Poultry also contains zinc, copper and selenium which are powerful antioxidants necessary for maintaining cellular function.

Finally, poultry provides a certain number of vitamins such as B2 (15% of the RDA*) which plays an important role in transforming simple foods and which plays a part in the repair metabolism of our muscles, vitamin B3 (50% of the RDA), necessary for metabolizing carbohydrates, fats and proteins, vitamin B6 (25% of the RDA*) which ensures good communication between neurons, and vitamin B12 which ensures proper neurotransmitter production and which is essential for maintaining the integrity of the nervous system. Recent studies have shown that B-group vitamins play an active part in the development and functioning of our brain (cognitive) function. 

Loïc ROGER
General Manager of Nutrinov / LR Béva Nutrition BRUZ (35).