Turkey is no “superfood’ reveals new guide
THINKING that tucking into turkey this Christmas is good for your health? You need to think again according to a new guide by a leading health charity.
Contrary to popular belief, white meat, including turkey, is not the healthy option, Viva!Health says in its publication, White Meat Myths.
Research from Viva!Health has revealed white meat in its true colours – an unhealthy and potentially health damaging food that can be replaced with healthier, meat-free alternatives.
Although more people than ever are meat-reducing and no longer eat red meat, white meat from chicken, ducks, turkey and geese, has become the choice for many.
FACTS
– The “juice’ found in chicken packaged in polystyrene trays is a bloody serum absorbed when the little birds are lowered (sometimes alive) into scalding tanks in the slaughterhouse
– A medium-sized chicken contains almost a pint of fat
Chicken nuggets, often fed to children are made largely from mechanically recovered meat (MRM) mixed with gums, flavourings (which may include sugar), polyphosphates and soya for bulk, bound together with breadcrumbs
– Cooking white meat at high temperatures forms of cancer causing compounds which can damage DNA even at low concentrations
– Eating white meat at least once a week increases your risk of suffering colon cancer three-fold and significantly increases the risk of diabetes
– Chicken is the main source of food poisoning in Europe, with salmonella found in up to 30 per cent of all broiler chickens, causing symptoms including nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting
– White meat is not low in cholesterol; it contains as much as beef
Viva!Health senior nutritionist, Amanda Woodvine, says: “It is upsetting to think that people all around us, our friends, family and colleagues, continue to be conned by the myth that turkey is a healthy, low-fat meat that causes less animal suffering. It is not.
“White Meat Myths is packed with easy-to-digest information, illustrations and delicious meat-free recipes which aim to inspire consumers to make the right move towards going veggie and enjoying great health.
“The guide, under our vital new campaign White Meat Black Mark, aims to open people’s eyes to the truth behind these myths. Exposing the health consequences of eating white meat has never been done before and it could help save the lives of millions of animals and people.”
To order the White Meat Myths guide, please call 0117 970 5190, email info@viva.org.uk or visit vivahealth.viva.org.uk. The guide costs £2.90 including postage and packing.
For more information about this media release, please call press officer Helen Rossiter on 0117 944 1000 or emailpress@viva.org.uk or call 0117 970 5190 to speak to Amanda Woodvine or email amanda@vegetarian.org.uk.
White Meat Myths is one of 13 guides by Viva!Health. Viva!Health also produces guides and fact sheets on nutrition. For lists of guides available, please refer to the contact details above.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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