Chickens are no longer a lean alternative to red meat

In 1976, the Royal College of Physicians and the British Cardiac Society recommended eating less fatty red meat and more poultry instead because it was lean. However, recent research has shown that this may not be the case today.

A new paper published in the journal Public Health Nutrition by Cambridge University Press describes analysis of the chickens as sold in 2004-2006, compared to historical data.

First the content of omega 3 DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) has fallen to less than a third of the value in the 1970s. Secondly, the fat content of the chicken carcass has risen; now providing about three times the calories compared to protein. Such chickens are no longer a protein rich food but a fat rich food, and the organic chickens analysed fared little better.

These chickens are fed largely on cereals and whether organic or not, the cereals contain little omega 3 fatty acids. The value of the omega 3 DHA is that it is utilised for the brain and vital organs. Traditionally, chicken meat and hens eggs would have been valuable land sources of omega 3 DHA. Fully free range chickens would get the omega 3 from the green foods (grass, leaves and small animals that eat plants). However, feed areas maintained 24 hours a day with omega 3 deficient food destroys the incentive of the birds to search for such foods, even if they are allowed out of doors.

In addition, the denial of exercise and again 24-hour availability of energy dense and omega 3 deficient food provides exactly the recipe for weight gain which means fat gain. Genetic selection for fast weight gain makes that situation worse. The biochemical analysis of the meat of the birds is not only consistent with the loss of omega 3 and increase in fat, but also the lack of exercise and the selection for fast weight gain which exacerbates the loss of omega 3.

Omega 3 DHA is important for the brain, its growth and function and to get the same amount of DHA from a 1Kg chicken today, you would need to eat about 4 chickens at a cost of £12 which at the same time would be associated with 5,000 calories of fat. Many scientists also consider that the rise in mental ill health is due to the loss of omega 3 DHA in the diet.

Abstract from the paper ‘Modern organic and broiler chickens sold for human consumption provide more energy from fat than protein‘

Objective: In 1976, the Royal College of Physicians and the British Cardiac Society recommended eating less fatty red meat and more poultry instead because it was lean. However, the situation has changed since that time, with a striking increase in fat content of the standard broiler chicken. The aim of the present study was to report a snapshot of data on fat in chickens now sold to the public.

Design: Samples were obtained randomly between 2004 and 2008 from UK supermarkets, farm shops and a football club. The amount of chicken fat was estimated by emulsification and chloroform/methanol extraction.

Setting: Food sold in supermarkets and farms in England.

Subjects: Chicken samples.

Results: The fat energy exceeded that of protein. There has been a loss of n-3 fatty acids. The n-6:n-3 ratio was found to be as high as 9:1, as opposed to the recommendation of about 2:1. Moreover, the TAG level in the meat and whole bird mostly exceeded the proportion of phospholipids, which should be the higher for muscle function. The n-3 fatty acid docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22 : 5n-3) was in excess of DHA (22 : 6n-3). Previous analyses had, as usual for birds, more DHA than DPA.

Conclusions: Traditional poultry and eggs were one of the few land-based sources of long-chain n-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, which is synthesized from its parent precursor in the green food chain. In view of the obesity epidemic, chickens that provide several times the fat energy compared with protein seem illogical. This type of chicken husbandry needs to be reviewed with regard to its implications for animal welfare and human nutrition.