Short Answer: Chicken is good for high cholesterol because it contains less cholesterol than other fatty proteins and it is a protein-rich food that can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol.
High cholesterol is a condition that affects your blood vessels and heart.
In high cholesterol, your body produces too much cholesterol or doesn’t remove enough cholesterol from your blood.
This can lead to various health problems, such as heart attack, stroke, and peripheral artery disease.
One of the key factors in managing high cholesterol is diet.
What you consume can affect your cholesterol levels, which can impact your high cholesterol symptoms and overall health.
To effectively manage high cholesterol, you should consume low-cholesterol and low-saturated fat foods like chicken breast and avoid high-cholesterol and high-saturated fat foods like red meat.
Now, chicken is a lean meat that contains less cholesterol than other fatty proteins, such as bacon or steaks with ribbons of fat.
However, the level of cholesterol that chicken contains varies according to the part of the chicken you consume, whether the skin is present, and how you prepare it.
In general, poultry without the skin and white meat cuts contain less cholesterol and saturated fats.
For example, 100 grams of chicken breast without skin contains 73 milligrams of cholesterol, while 100 grams of chicken thigh with skin contains 98 milligrams of cholesterol.
Furthermore, chicken is a protein-rich food and protein is good for high cholesterol because it can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol.
Because protein can also help you feel full and maintain muscle mass, which are important for heart health.
You can eat 3 ounces of chicken breast per day safely.
More than that can cause excess calories and saturated fat intake.
That’s why I suggest you limit your chicken intake to 3 ounces per day to minimize the risk of high cholesterol.
Also, you shouldn’t fry chicken with flour or batter because they can increase the amount of cholesterol and fat you’re taking in.
Instead, you can roast or stew chicken without skin and use healthy oils or herbs for seasoning.
Finally, remember, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet, regular exercise, stress management and essential medical care is key to managing high cholesterol effectively.
I always recommend my high cholesterol patients to follow a high-cholesterol-friendly diet to improve their overall well-being and enjoy a longer and healthier life.