WHAT HAPPENED: Two systematic reviews funded by the National Chicken Council and conducted by researchers at Purdue University were presented as posters this week at NUTRITION 2026, the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting. Both reviews examined prospective cohort studies to assess whether poultry consumption is associated with chronic disease risk.
WHAT DID THE STUDIES FIND?
Cardiovascular disease: Researchers screened 2,293 articles and included 32 in the final analysis. The review found that higher poultry consumption (roughly 1 to 6 oz/day) was not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease morbidity, mortality, or the combination of both, across the large majority of comparisons. Substituting fish, plant foods, dairy or eggs with poultry showed no association with CVD outcomes, and replacing red or processed meat with poultry was linked to no association or a decreased risk in most comparisons.
Type 2 diabetes: Researchers screened 1,441 articles and identified 21 assessing T2DM morbidity. More than half of comparisons between higher (~35-82 g/day) and lower (~0-10 g/day) poultry intake showed no association with T2DM morbidity, and two-thirds of food-substitution models similarly showed no association.
NCC’s TAKE: “This research adds even more weight to the evidence base behind chicken’s role in what we’re calling the Protein Moment, which is really a Movement,” said NCC spokesperson Tom Super. “As the new Dietary Guidelines take shape, as the Make America Healthy Again movement pushes for real food and real nutrition, and as families look for the best nutrition per calorie and per dollar, chicken keeps proving itself as a lean, affordable, versatile protein with no downside for heart health or diabetes risk. Add in the GLP-1 trend we’re already seeing reshape how Americans eat, and it’s clear: chicken isn’t just meeting the moment, it’s built for it.”
WHAT’S NEXT: The research papers will be submitted to a prominent nutrition journal for peer-review before they are published. Once published, NCC will look for opportunities to put this research in front of dietitians, researchers and media covering the nutritional value of chicken.
