By: George
Cranston
Chicken is a great source of protein that’s
highly bioavailable but also lean and low in fat. If you’re training for an
athletic or sporting event, or if you’re trying to build lean muscle, then
there are few better meals than lean chicken. At the same time it’s also
delicious and very quick and cheap to prepare when compared to other meats like
pork or beef.
However despite its many benefits it is also
highly important that your chicken be properly cooked, and if it isn’t it can
potentially be a course of illness and actually very dangerous.
Bacteria
Unfortunately white meat is much more likely to
contain bacteria. This means pork to a degree, but chicken is arguably the main
culprit being infected with salmonella, campylobacter and many other kinds of
bacteria in many cases. In fact in a study examining 382 samples of chicken
(purchased from one hundred different food stores) it was found that only 34%
of those birds were completely free of disease and bacteria.
The bad news is that it only takes a single drop
of raw chicken juices to pass on an illness and that means it can be spread by
things like cutting boards and knives. The good news however is that it is
relatively simple to kill any bacteria that might be infesting your chicken and
at the same time most people will also recover from salmonella etc. without
lasting damage. That said it’s still very important to take care. Following are
some precautions you can take.
Keeping Your Chicken Safe
To kill off ay bacteria you should aim to cook
your meat at around 168 degrees Fahrenheit and all the way through so that the
middle reaches those temperatures too. Read the guidelines on the packaging and
make sure to take the weight into account. If in doubt just cook it a bit
longer – it’s always preferable to overcook your chicken rather than to
undercook it – the worst that can happen in the latter case is that it’s a
little bit tough and dry. Make sure that you check the state of your chicken by
cutting through it to ensure that the middle is white (rather than just the
outside), and make sure that the juices that come from it are clear rather than
pink or red as well.
You should also make sure that you choose your
chicken wisely – make sure it is from a free range farm and be willing to pay a
bit more for a better quality cut of meat. Bacteria are more likely to be a
problem on cheap chicken that was kept in a cage. You must also ensure that
your chicken is in date and that it looks like it’s in good condition (be weary
of brown or stringy looking chicken).
After you have prepared your chicken make sure
to immediately wash up everything that came into contact with it – which
includes chopping boards, knives and of course your own hands.
You also need to think about the condition of
chicken that you eat out. Be wary when eating out and inspect the quality of
the venue before choosing your order – is the food sealed? Was it prepared on a
clean surface? Check over all your food as well before eating it – and don’t
worry about ‘looking rude’ because your health is much more important than your
reputation.
Source: healthguidance.org
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