How many calories in Chicken? What are the health benefits of Chicken? These are obvious questions people carry regardless of where they live on this planet. Non-vegans would know how much they rely on Chicken in day to day life. As health-conscious people, it’s always better to know what goes inside your body and what you gain from them. This article is dedicated to chicken loving people around the world, where we discuss mainly about the calories in Chicken and its overall benefits.
First of all, let’s discuss about calories and take different parts of the Chicken to our consideration.
What are Calories?
The human body is the most amazing machine the world has ever seen, and it requires fuel in order to perform duties for you. And, as you most probably would know, Calorie is regarded as a unit of energy, and it provides power to the body to perform activities. All of our body parts need this energy to run efficiently, so it’s a no-brainer explaining the importance of calories to our body.
As a norm, a healthy and well-grown human consumes around 2000 calories per day to keep the body up and running. However, exceeding the daily calorie intake can bring you unwanted and dangerous consequences. Yes, you must eat an adequate amount of food to fuel your body but, if you take things for granted and consume more than the daily calorie limit, following health issues can come to you in a fast and dangerous manner.
- ObesityCardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
- Osteoarthritis
- Cognitive impairment
If you are suffering from over-weight, it would be ideal if you consider limiting the calorie intake. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to starve and suffer. Instead, you will have to focus on food that contains lesser calories. That is where food like Chicken comes to your rescue, as calories in Chicken are substantially low compared to most other sorts of foods. Let’s talk about the benefits in a minute; now, let’s focus on the different parts of Chicken on the calorie count.
And, if you are new to this calorie matter, please note that one gram equals about 7.76 calories. With that being said, let’s dive in and see what it offers us.
Calories in chicken thigh
Chicken thighs tend to be a little bit cheaper than chicken breast and definitely tastier than the breast as well; it is how we feel. This is because of the high amount of fat it contains, and that is unsaturated, which can come in handy preventing many health issues. Overall, there are roughly 177 calories in a chicken thigh (100g).
Calories in Chicken breast
Chicken breasts are a go-to option for bodybuilders and people who are into various diet plans because they know exactly how many calories in chicken breasts. They are tender and have little to no bones in them, and the chicken breast cut is more popular than most other cuts. When talking about chicken breast calories, they have only about 165 in 100g, which means you can eat more Chicken breast without having to worry about the calorie intake.
Calories in Chicken wing
We stated before that, calories in Chicken are far less than most of the foods; yes, it really is; however, in terms of its parts, Chicken wing calories are relatively high than the other ones. Maybe that is one reason why people don’t focus much on this cut as they usually do with chicken breast, drumsticks, or thighs. They provide you around 203 calories in 100g, and most of those calories consist of protein and fats.
Calories in Chicken drumstick
The leg of a chicken has two major fragments, a thigh, and a drumstick. Drumsticks are more in use for the fried dishes, and we are not talking about the fried version’s calories in this. One drumstick can provide you about 76 calories, which says 100g contains around 172 calories. Yes, we know you are curious about the figure with the inclusion of skin as most of us like to eat them with the skin on. If so, one drumstick can increase the calories up to 112; it’s something you want to consider going forward, isn’t it?
Calories in Chicken skin
This is where things get interesting as the calorie count tends to go up dramatically when you take chicken skin to the equation. Let’s take chicken breast with the skin into consideration and see the numbers. Typically, a whole chicken breast without skin contains around 284 calories (not in 100g), and if you eat it with the skin, the number will go up to 386, meaning you add additional 112 calories. So, if your goal is to cut the calories or lose weight fast, it would be best if you say no to chicken skin in your cuisines.
Alright, folks, it’s time to explore on few of the benefits of Chicken, before we say adios.
Benefits of Eating Chicken
- Consuming Chicken can help you with better functionality of your brain as it is enriched in Vitamin B12 and Minerals
- It’s beneficial for the bone strength of the body, thanks to the substantial percentage of proteins it has.
- Chicken fixes your mood; it contains a chemical called Tryptophan, which enhances Serotonin levels in your brain. Serotonin is what keeps you in a good mood.
- Chicken speeds up the weight loss process. Yes, this happens because of the fewer calories you get with Chicken. If you cut your daily calorie intake by at least 400-500 per day, it will automatically help you lose weight quickly.
- It’s low in cholesterol and fat, which is essential for good heart health.
Conclusion
So, we think we have answered many questions regarding calories in Chicken. Also, we hope the details we provided must have helped you break a couple of myths you had on Chicken consumption. As we said at the beginning of the article, it’s always good to know all about the food we consume for a healthy lifestyle; and, keep in mind, prevention is always better than cure! Have a great day; cheers!
