If you’re looking for healthy lean proteins, Chicken and Fish are great options. Protein is a key nutrient your body needs, and both chicken and fish provide all the essential amino acids your body can’t make on its own.
Eating foods high in protein can help you feel full longer, reducing the amount you eat at your next meal. Plus, getting enough high-quality protein like chicken or fish, along with strength training, can help prevent muscle loss as you age.
Chicken and fish also offer B vitamins, which can boost brain function and help your body use energy. They are good sources of selenium too, an antioxidant that supports a healthy immune system, reproductive health, and thyroid function.
So, which is healthier, chicken or fish? Let’s compare their benefits and find out which is more nutritious.
The Health Advantages of Chicken
Chicken is an easily available and affordable source of protein. Studies suggest that swapping processed meats with various high-protein foods, like chicken, can help with weight management and overall health. Eating chicken as part of a diet full of vegetables may also lower the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
The type of chicken you eat (white or dark meat) and how it’s cooked affect its nutritional value. Chicken breast, or white meat, is high in niacin (vitamin B3), while chicken thighs and drumsticks, or dark meat, provide more iron, selenium, and zinc.
Chicken breast is almost fat-free if you remove the skin. A 3-ounce (85-gram) serving of cooked, skinless chicken breast has 128 calories, 26 grams of protein, less than 3 grams of fat, and less than 1 gram of saturated fat.
On the other hand, chicken thighs and drumsticks have more fat. A 3-ounce serving of skinless chicken thigh has 164 calories, 20 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat, and less than 3 grams of saturated fat.
Using cooking methods that don’t need much added oil, like grilling or baking, can help keep the fat content low.
The Health Advantages of Fish
Fish is not only a great source of lean protein but also provides important nutrients that are hard to find in other foods—specifically, omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3s are a type of healthy fat, and there are three main kinds: ALA, DHA, and EPA. Eating foods high in omega-3s can help improve heart health, lower the risk of heart disease, reduce inflammation, and boost mental health.
DHA and EPA are mainly found in seafood, especially in fatty fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, herring, and anchovies.
A 3-ounce (85-gram) serving of raw wild-caught salmon has 121 calories, nearly 17 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat, less than 1 gram of saturated fat, and about 1.5 grams of omega-3s.
Fish also provides important minerals like calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. However, some types of fish, such as swordfish, bigeye tuna, and shark, can have high levels of mercury.
