13/07/2022
Secret Side Effects of Eating Grilled Chicken, Says Science
- Grilled chicken may help with growth and development.
As with all animal meats, chicken is a great source of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Thus, the protein in chicken aids in the repair, building, and maintenance of tissues within the body. When you consume grilled chicken, you are providing your body with numerous amino acids that contribute to the "pool" of these building blocks available for various functions throughout the body.
Having an ample supply of these amino acids is important for positive nitrogen balance, a concept described as having more amino acids available than are required in your body at any given time. Positive nitrogen balance is especially important for periods of growth, like when an individual looking to gain muscle weight. In these circumstances, one must have excess amounts of protein available in their body to put toward their growth and development.
- It will help you feel satiated.
Satiety may not be a word you hear often, but the concept is something you encounter on a daily basis. Satiety is the feeling of fullness, or being satisfied after eating. Of all of the macronutrients, carb, fat, and protein, protein provides the highest satiety value. This means when you eat equal amounts of calories from cab, fat, and protein, you will feel the fullest, the longest after consuming the protein. This is a valuable trait as satiety can enable us to limit excessive snacking, and creates an appetite level that may make it easier for us to choose more appropriate portion sizes at meals and snacks.
Managing portion sizes and frequency of eating are helpful tools in weight loss and management. Because of this, eating grilled chicken may be a helpful dietary choice for someone who is looking to lose weight.
- Grilled meat has carcinogens.
While grilling chicken does provide a unique and desirable flavor, there may be some downside to cooking your chicken (or any meat) over a direct flame. Cooking meat at very high temperatures, as is the case with grilling, produces compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which become especially present when char marks form on the meat. Unfortunately, these HCAs are thought to promote the development of cancerous cells.
In addition to HCAs being produced, when fat from meat drips into the flames of a grill, another potential cancer-causing compound called polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are produced. Luckily, chicken is a lean meat and does not typically have much fat that could potentially drip into flames while being grilled. However, no matter the fat content, the open flame will likely produce HCAs within the meat.
To reduce the development of these worrisome compounds, you can wrap your chicken in foil when you grill it to lessen the impact of the flames. This would also contain any fat that releases from the chicken to keep it from coming in contact with the flames. Another tip for minimizing cancer-causing compounds while grilling your chicken is to flip it frequently. This will limit the development of char marks, and, in turn, lessen the number of HCAs that are produced during cooking.
