Chicken often finds a place in meal plans when you're dieting, as chicken breast without the skin is low in calories and fat. However, chicken can be part of a healthy diet regardless of your weight-loss goals. With the skin, chicken contains more fat and calories, but if you plan accordingly it should not damage your health.
Calories and Serving Size
A 4-oz. serving of roasted chicken meat and skin adds 197 calories to your meal plan. If you follow a 2,000-calorie diet, this accounts for 9.8 percent of the calories you may consume daily and 39.4 to 65.6 percent of the calories in an ideal meal of 300 to 500 calories, as described by The Diet Channel. A 4-oz. serving of chicken is approximately the size of a deck of cards.
Macronutrients
One serving of chicken contains 7.7 g of fat, but only a small portion of that fat is from saturated fat -- 2.1 g. You should not consume more than 15 g of saturated fat per day to protect your heart health. A serving of chicken provides 29.8 g of high-quality protein. Complete protein, such as the protein from chicken, has all the essential amino acids your body requires to function at optimal levels. You need 46 to 56 g of protein in your diet each day to meet your energy needs and develop muscle.
Vitamins and Minerals
Eat a serving of chicken, and you take in 5.5 to 12.5 percent of the daily recommended intake of iron. The iron in chicken contributes to the proper oxygen level in your body. One portion of this meat provides roughly half the selenium and nearly all the niacin you need each day, as well. You also take in small amounts of calcium, vitamin D, potassium and vitamin A.
Benefits
Including chicken in your diet may offer protection against some forms of cancer. Research published in the December 2005 issue of "The American Journal of Gastroenterology" notes that study participants with a higher intake of chicken had a lower risk of developing colon cancer. No studies indicate if eating chicken reduces the rate of mortality, reported by the National Cancer Institute and U.S. National Institutes of Health as the second most deadly type of cancer.
Health Considerations
Take care when handling and cooking chicken. Bacteria multiply easily on the surface of chicken, so salmonella and other bacteria on chicken can transfer to cutting boards, knives and other cooking implements. Touching infected cooking tools and then touching your mouth may introduce these harmful bacteria into your body, which can make you sick. You can also get food poisoning by eating undercooked chicken, so always cook chicken thoroughly.
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