WBC Nutrition Committee Foods to Avoid (Part 2)

By Dr. Phillip Goglia

Plumped poultry? (& what is plumped poultry – Plumped poultry has been around for years … mostly passed the Mason Dixon line. For decades southern restaurants and cafeterias would soak their chicken in a saltwater solution to “plump or tenderize” the chicken meat — so that the cheaper cuts of meat would be tender and juicy… especially as fried chicken. The chicken would hold more water and sodium per ounce of meat – the result is more flavorful meat but one that contains a higher sodium count that would in turn cause water retention in those that consumed the plumped poultry — for those people with high blood pressure – naturally occurring water retention and coronary heart failure risks this is not a good choice. Most recently meat corporations have made it a practice to plump their poultry for the same reasons but one additional frightening reason… as the chicken is plumped it will weigh more per square inch of the product so a regular 6 oz breast when plumped might weigh as much as 9 oz post plumping and in turn because of the additional sodium water solution … cost the consumer more without costing the manufacturer more money to feed a larger chicken… in turn the manufacturer makes more bottom dollar profit and provides the consumer with a chicken breast that could damage heart health and cardiovascular health …. Nice right??