We should all be choosing chickpeas over chicken – this is why

Chicken has been associated with a range of health problems, and if we all switched to plant-based diets we would reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent, writes Dr Shireen Kassam

‘The broader consequences to human and planetary health of chicken consumption cannot be ignored. We are in the midst of a climate and ecological crisis' (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

We have mistakenly been led to believe that eating chicken is a healthy choice of protein. It is certainly better than consuming red meat, but this does not mean that its consumption is beneficial. An abundance of nutrition science demonstrates that we can make better choices for our health.

One of the main reasons people believe chicken is healthy is because it’s lower in saturated fat than red meat. This type of fat elevates blood cholesterol levels, the main risk factor for heart disease. However, when this theory has been put to the test, studies like the one published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition have shown that white and red meat are equally bad, elevating blood cholesterol levels to a similar degree.

Swapping chicken for plant-based protein sources such as chickpeas actually reduces blood cholesterol levels. Vegans, who consume no animal foods at all, have the lowest cholesterol levels of any diet pattern and research has shown that removing meat from the diet can be as efficacious as medications for lowering cholesterol levels.