Health Benefits of Turkey Meat

Origin: North America (Meleagris galopavo or Wild Turkey) and Mexico (Meleagris ocellata or Ocellated Turkey)

Turkey which is synonymous to Thanksgiving celebration is a large bird from the genus Meleagris. There are two living species of large bird in this genus; one is Meleagris gallopavo also known as the Wild Turkey. The Wild Turkey is the descendant of Domestic Turkey, which is a large poultry bird raised for food. The other species is Meleagris ocellata also known as the Ocellated Turkey.

Wild Turkey:

• Weight: 8-24 lbs (male); 7-16 lbs(female)
• Height: Wild turkey: about 4 ft long including the tail (male); 3ft (female)
• Wings: 5 ft wide

Domestic Turkey: Domestic turkey weighs about double what a wild turkey weigh. Male domestic turkey is much larger and heavier than a female domestic turkey.

Health Benefits:

• Turkey is a good source of protein.Just one serving of turkey provides 65 percent of your recommended daily intake of protein.
• Turkey contains trace minerals that can help prevent cancer.
• Turkey contains selenium which plays an essential role in helping to eliminate cancer-friendly free radicals in the body.
• Turkey is a good source of vitamins B3 and B6. Vitamin B3 helps lower blood cholesterol, it is essential for healthy skin, and helps improve brain function. Vitamin B6 helps in maintaining the tone of muscles, it aids in the production of anti-bodies and red blood cells and it is essential for normal growth. A serving of turkey meat has 36 percent of the daily allowance of B3 and 27 percent of your recommended intake of B6.
• Turkey is naturally low in fat without the skin, it only contain 1 gram of fat per ounce of flesh.

• Turkey has less saturated fat, while saturated fat is necessary for a healthy body; most moderately-active people need to avoid overindulging. Turkey has less than 12 percent of the recommended daily allowance of saturated fat per 4-oz. serving.
• Turkey contains folic acid, zinc and potassium. These nutrients have been found to protect against birth defects, protect against heart disease and aids in tissue repair.
• Turkey contains amino acid tryptophan which is essential for T cells, a type of immune system cell that kills cancer cells.
• The protein from organic turkey will help in maintaining optimum testosterone levels in men. The decrease in testosterone can result in declines in sexual function and muscle and red cell mass, and contribute to the loss of bone density.

Tips: If you have an option, buy organic Turkey. Grass-fed turkey raised under organic conditions offer higher nutrition and is superior to birds given antibiotics or raised without access to natural pasture.