Healthy Magazines

Combined with herbs and spices, whether roasted, broiled, grilled or poached, chicken is both an extremely versatile and delicious food. Apart from that, chicken also has some great health benefits.

The following guide will explain just why chicken makes a healthy addition to your diet, and also give you some of the top tips to make the best buy for your chicken recipes.

The Main Health Benefits of Chicken

Protein

Chicken is an excellent source of protein, which is essential to the bone structure of human beings – just 4 ounces will provide 67.6% of the daily protein value that your body needs.

Proteins found in meats can be high in cholesterol and fats, whereas chicken not only has less than half the fat of a trimmed Choice grade T-bone steak, it contains less unhealthy saturated fat than beef. Bear in mind however that the skin of chicken doubles its amount of saturated fat, so for health reasons you really want to serve your tasty chicken recipes without it.

Anti-Cancer

Chicken is an excellent source of the cancer-protective B vitamin called Niacin. Components of human DNA require Niacin to function correctly, so a deficiency of this can cause genetic damage. A four-ounce serving of chicken will provide your body with 72% of its daily value for Niacin.

This tasty bird is also a good source of the trace mineral Selenium, which is fundamentally important to human health, including thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defence systems and the immune system. Scientific research has shown a strong correlation between correct Selenium intake and cancer prevention. Four ounces of chicken will supply 40% of the daily recommended intake of Selenium. Read the rest of this entry »

Rice is enjoyed throughout the world; in fact it is the staple food in many countries and an important cereal crop which feeds more than half of the earth’s human population.

The health benefits of rice are not as widely known as it deserves however. Advantages of eating rice include an instant energy boost, improved skin, good bowel movement, stabilised blood sugar levels and providing an essential source of vitamin B1. It also gives the human body a boosted resistance to high blood pressure, dysentery and heart diseases.

The following guide will outline the health benefits that rice recipes provide.

Varieties of Rice

The health advantages of rice can be found in more than forty thousand varieties, available across the globe. The two main categories of this cereal however are whole grain rice and white rice. White rice is processed, entailing the removal of the bran or outer covering. Whole grain rice on the other hand is the healthiest variety because it does not undergo much processing, meaning it has the highest nutritional value.

Rice is also defined by the length of each grain. In general, Indian or Chinese cuisines specialise in long grained rice, while western countries prefer short or medium sized grains. Read the rest of this entry »