Is Chicken High in Protein? Yes. Should You Eat It? No. Here’s Why!

These are the 2 most common questions I’m asked as a health coach and as an internal medicine physician who also practices Yoga and Ayurveda. Because I wear many hats, I choose my words with care — but after answering this same question countless times, I decided it’s time to address it openly in this blog and give everyone a clear, definitive explanation once and for all.

The Chicken Dilemma

Most people who diet or exercise carry the same question in the back of their minds: “Should I be eating chicken or not?” Before we get into the dos and don’ts, let me start with something personal. I was born into a meat-eating family, and through my 20s I enjoyed chicken just as much as many of you do today. But once I learned the truth, I made the decision to give it up for good — and it remains one of the best choices I’ve ever made for my health. So, without hesitation and without apology, I can say this: I will never recommend chicken to anyone who wants to stay healthy, live longer, or follow a genuinely clean diet. Removing chicken from your life is one of the most powerful health transformations you can make—and I’m confident you’ll thank me later for taking this step.

Let’s start with the positives.

Is chicken a rich source of protein? Undoubtedly, yes.

Can a small portion provide the same protein as an entire bowl of lentils and vegetables? Also yes. But the real question isn’t whether chicken contains protein — it’s whether you should be eating it. And that’s where you need to pause, think, and look deeper.

Before you put chicken on your plate, there are 2 conditions you must satisfy.

 1- Your chicken must be truly wild.

This means the bird had no awareness of its impending death and lived freely—just like other birds, squirrels, or deer you might see in your backyard. An animal that roams freely is not only healthier but also free from fear, trauma, and disease often seen in confined environments.

In contrast, factory-farmed chickens witness other birds being slaughtered, hear the screams, and endure extreme stress. This intense fear triggers a surge of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline—both linked to high blood pressure, chronic inflammation, and even heart disease. Not surprisingly, these same health issues are increasingly common in today’s U.S. population.

Stress in animals is worsened by rough handling, crowded transport, unfamiliar environments, and the restraint used (upside down) before slaughter.

While many assume that cooking eliminates these stress hormones, the industry does not measure or release data on how much cortisol is produced or how much cooking survives, making it nearly impossible to verify. What we can safely assume is that modern factory-farm chicken carries significant stress signatures and high levels of cortisol, unlike the wild birds which people consumed over 100 years ago before modern farming practices started.

It’s also important to recognize that our ancestors ate chicken the same day it was slaughtered, meaning they were not exposed to the preservatives, additives, and chemical treatments used in today’s packaging and long-distance shipping. The chicken you buy at a grocery store today may have been slaughtered days—sometimes even weeks—before it reaches your hands. And if you store it in your refrigerator for another week, you may ultimately be eating meat that is nearly a month old by the time it reaches your plate.

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2- Your chicken must be free from hormones & antibiotics.

American chickens raised for commercial meat production are significantly larger than older heritage breeds and far bigger than chickens raised in most other countries. The internet often attributes this to “selective breeding for faster growth,” but if that were the whole story, why haven’t European, Indian, or other global producers reached the same size? What’s preventing them from “catching up” if the method is supposedly that simple?

For context:

U.S. broiler chickens average 6–7 pounds at slaughter.

European broilers average 3.9–5.5 pounds.

Indian broilers average 4–5.5 pounds.

If American chickens are truly not given growth hormones—as the industry claims—then how do we explain this dramatic size difference? Europe and several other regions enforce far stricter regulations on hormone use and animal feed additives, which may slow the adoption of U.S.-style production methods. But the U.S., which consumes more chicken than any country in the world, has a massive financial incentive to maximize growth and yield as quickly as possible.

To put this into perspective:

In 2023, the U.S. consumed 21.19 million metric tons of chicken. China, with four times the population, consumed only 15.10 million metric tons. This scale alone shows how commercial chicken farming in the U.S. is the largest consumer of chicken in the world today and has become a multibillion-dollar industry—one that is unlikely to reveal its exact breeding practices or feed formulations. And it’s beyond my expertise to prove precisely which substances or strategies are used behind the scenes.

One more way to look at this is through childhood obesity. Chicken is one of the most commonly eaten foods among American children, and if you compare the sharp rise in chicken size with the rise in childhood obesity rates, the trend lines look strikingly similar. The growth in chicken weight and the growth in children’s weight in the U.S. appear to move in the same direction—suggesting a direct and concerning relationship.

The U.S. chicken industry is extremely concentrated. Just four companies control nearly 60% of the entire poultry market:

Tyson Foods

Pilgrim’s Pride

Perdue Farms

Wayne-Sanderson Farms

 A 2024 report estimated that the chicken industry generates $449.5 billion in economic activity when including farming, processing, distribution, and related services. With this level of consolidation and financial power, it is nearly impossible for an individual physician like me—or any outsider—to gain access to their exact breeding practices, feed formulations, or behind-the-scenes footage.

This brings us to the core issue: Your family’s long-term health.

If you want to reduce the risk of chronic conditions such as obesity, inflammation, diabetes, high blood pressure, PCOD, back pain from spondylosis, knee pain from arthritis, heel pain from ankylosing spondylitis, recurrent joint pains, chronic gastritis, repeated pancreatitis, gallbladder issues, or the alarming rise of early-age cancers in people with no family history—please stop eating chicken.

More importantly, stop feeding it to your children, whose bodies are still growing and far more vulnerable. As you can see, it’s nearly impossible to satisfy both of these conditions before eating chicken—and that is exactly why I chose to give it up completely. I can’t force anyone to eat or avoid anything; my role is simply to present the facts as they are. From there, you can decide what is best for your health, your family, and your children.

Why be unkind to gentle animals like chickens?

We often eat animals such as chickens, goats, pigs, and cows precisely because they are calm, harmless, and easy to manage. But in that convenience, we forget something important: these animals have emotions. They feel fear, pain, comfort, grief, and love. They care for their babies. They seek safety. And they deserve a life that reflects their natural instincts—not confinement in overcrowded, air-restricted factory farms where they spend their entire lives trapped, stressed, and deprived of the outside world.

Chickens, in particular, are incredibly intelligent, affectionate creatures. When you actually spend time with them, you realize they make wonderful companions and pets.

So if you raise dogs or cats with love and devotion yet continue to eat chicken, I urge you to pause and reconsider. Chickens are no different in their capacity for feeling—they simply lack the privilege of being seen as “pets.”