Cancer is already the main cause of death in Spain, largely due to growth and population aging Already improvements in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. It is, anyway, a disease in many cases very strongly determined by lifestyle factors such as people’s diet.
For example, it is known that alcohol consumption contributes significantly to the risk of suffering a large number of cancers of the digestive separation. So do processed or red meats. But, now, a new study has found that it could also do a food on which so far it was not suspected: The chicken.
An increase of 2.3% in cancer risk
As explained by the authors of this work in the specialized environment Nutrients, its results contradict the vast majority of previous research and even existing recommendations, which tend to consider chicken as a healthy protein source.
Specifically, what these researchers have found is that the consumption of more than 300 grams of chicken per week It could be associated with a 27% increase in the risk of death due to any cause and 2.3% in the risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
The finding is based on the data analysis of 4,869 people from southern Italy participating in two cohorts, which reported their consumption of red meat and bird meat (although not some other key factors, such as physical activity levels). This information crossed with the Cancer diagnoses and deaths to document possible associations between both phenomena.
Important limitations of the study
The first thing the authors clarify is that the study It does not establish causality: That is, it is not necessarily the consumption of chicken that causes the increase in risk and mortality, but it is possible that there is a third unidentified factor that mediates in the relationship.
And, precisely, there are several important factors that They have not taken into account. For example, no data has been collected on the origin of the chicken consumed (which could be exposed to different pesticides according to the geographical area) or the breeding method (industrially raised chicken often receives antibiotics and hormones that could affect our health.
Nor has information been collected on the methods for which that chicken has been cooked Other features of the participants’ dietwhich could be fundamental when determining the risk of cancer of volunteers.
Should we stop eating chicken?
That is, in principle this new evidence is not enough to modify nutritional recommendationsnor to consider that the chicken is carcinogenic or that it does not constitute a healthy source of proteins.
Rather, the relevance of this study is that it raises the need to investigate how factors surrounding chicken consumption They could affect people’s health, something that also applies to other protein sources such as fish or vegetables.
Ultimately, according to what we know, the ideal is to follow focusing on the global quality of our dietincluding the variety of nutrients and food the size of the portions and the kitchen methods we use.
References
Caterina Bonfiglio, Rosella Tatoli, Rosella Donghia, Easter Letizia Pesole, Gianluigi Giannelli. Does Poultry Consumption Increase the Risk of Mortality for Gastrointestinal Cancers? A Preliminary Competing Risk Analysis. Nutrients (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17081370
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