Gobbling Up Some Gobbler Goodness

Every fourth Thursday in the month of November, 97 percent of Americans sit around kitchen and dining room tables to feast on a bird Benjamin Franklin wanted designated as the country’s national symbol (the Bald Eagle won out). The bird has become so synonymous with the country’s official day of thanks, people often evoke its name in place of the holiday’s actual name. And by day’s end, Americans will have consumed approximately 75 million pounds of the great gobbler, with millions more to be had as leftovers in the ensuing days.
  
That’s right, it’s the turkey – the protein of choice for so many Americans’ holiday dining, contributing to the 108 percent rise in turkey consumption since 1970.

Its surge in consumption over the past 40 years shows how turkey is more than just a Thanksgiving tradition; it’s an everyday food for many, and one of the best protein dishes available.

Turkey is very low in fat and cholesterol but high in quality protein – delivering more protein than chicken or beef. As such, it’s the perfect partner for problematic protein dishes (like salad), matches nicely with mom’s latest dinner creation, and serves as a healthy pinch hitter for dishes typically served with beef or hamburg.

Outside of turkey’s picture perfect protein profile, other key nutrients in turkey include tryptophan and selenium.

Tryptophan is an amino acid that’s frequently fingered as the chemical responsible for making people tired following the Thanksgiving meal. But contrary to popular belief, there’s no evidence to suggest tryptophan is the culprit for people’s drowsiness (it’s more likely the plethora of food eaten by the average American that’s responsible for after-dinner drowsiness). What there is evidence for is tryptophan’s ability to fight depression.

Tryptophan helps trigger the body’s release of serotonin, one of the hormone’s responsible for mood regulation, specifically feelings of happiness. Outside of depression, it’s also believed to play a role in treating feelings of anxiety, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette’s syndrome.

Selenium is another key nutrient turkey is rife with. Two years ago I wrote about a 1996 University of Arizona study that showed how people were at a decreased risk for lung cancer when their diets were high in selenium. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the country.

Fortunately, selenium is found in a variety of foods, making the prevalence of selenium deficiency a rarity. Nevertheless, because of its ability to repair damaged cells and because it’s found so densely in turkey (a one ounce serving of turkey yields almost 50 percent of the daily recommended requirement of selenium), selenium is a mineral worthy of honorary mention.

Other key nutrients locked and loaded in turkeys include the B vitamins (B3 B6 B12 etc.), which help regulate energy and even help reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

The last word on turkey is the eternal question everyone has an opinion on when passing the game bird around: white or dark meat?

Seventy percent of the bird is white meat, which not only means that dark meat fans have less to choose from, but also means there’s fewer calories to consume. But the difference is negligible.

According to the Department of Agriculture, a one ounce slice of white, boneless turkey with the skin off yields about 40 calories and one gram of fat. Compare that to the same specifications for dark meat, and the calorie index increases by 10, plus one extra gram of fat (i.e. 50 calories, 2 grams of fat). Combined with the fact that dark meat has more nutrients than the white meat, including essential ones like iron and zinc, the healthier option between white and dark meat is ultimately a wash. But make sure your turkey is a free range turkey. Among other things, this ensures your turkey was fed organic grain, making its meat not only more flavorful but more nutritional as well.

Enjoy your turkey this Thanksgiving from the bird that keeps on giving.