Chicken wings are a very popular food served in restaurants. Many people are concerned if they are healthy to eat or not. The answer is yes. Chicken wings are healthy to eat. However, I need to lift my sign that says, “depends.” Foods that are healthy, nutritious, and temptingly tasty can be unhealthy at the same time. However, the way you cook them, what you cook them with, and what flavors you add, make the difference.

Nutrients in Chicken Wings

Chicken wing meat is full of natural vitamins. For example, it is loaded with B vitamins like B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B 12. In addition, it also contains essential fat-soluble vitamins like A, E D, and K.

When it comes to minerals, chicken wings include phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, iodine, copper, and chromium.

Chicken wings do not contain any carbohydrates. One average-sized chicken wing has about 6 grams of total fat: 2 grams is saturated fat, 3 grams monounsaturated, and 1 gram is polyunsaturated. So, mainly chicken wings contain healthy fats. Most think saturated fat is not healthy. Well, it is! The issue with saturated fat is that it is eaten excessively, promoting heart disease. You need about 15-20 grams of saturated fat a day.

As for protein, it has 4.3 grams and 73 calories per wing.

Healthy Depends on Cooked

The biggest issue is how chicken wings are cooked. Usually, in a restaurant, they are rolled in flour and deep-fried in oil or butter. It is quick and easy to prepare. However, many food establishments today are recognizing the dangerous cooking effects hazardous to your health and have created alternatives.

The best and most health-conscious way to eat chicken wings is roasted, grilled, or broiled. And if you choose a healthy way of being cooked, you can dip it in that not-so-healthy sauce and lose the guilt, or not.

Boneless Healthy, Think again?

Many people think the same thing, boneless is better. Better for more meat, but not for your health!

Six plain boneless chicken wings have:

• 462 calories,
• 36g total fat- 10g saturated fat,
• 23g carbohydrate,
• 23g protein, and
• 1176mg sodium.

Six traditional wings with bones have:

• 441 calories,
• 9g fat, 12g saturated fat,
• 0g carbohydrate,
• 26g protein, and
• 604mg sodium.

Comparing boneless vs. bone, you can see boneless chicken wings are not so healthy because of the high sodium. High sodium is added for thickening the meat, retaining moisture to keep the meat soft, enhancing the flavor, and acting as a preservative. Also, if a chicken wing is boneless, it is probably genetically altered.

Finger Dipping Licking Good

The sauce you dip your chicken wing into is probably the worst part of eating it. So good, yet so bad for you. However, here are some healthy choices you can look for in a restaurant or prepare for yourself at home or for your guests.

The famous mouth-watering blue cheese dressing that makes your wings delicious is consequential! That dunk into deliciousness will cost you 70 calories, 175mg of sodium, and 7 grams of fat per tablespoon. Now, times that by at least 6 chicken wings, you will not just eat 2 or 3, and your total comes to 420 calories, 550mg of sodium, and 42 grams of fat.

Eat now and pay later. You now owe exercise calories. Those six dunks into deep blue are almost the same calories and sodium as eating 6 chicken wings alone.

Make The Dip Healthy

So, you don’t feel so guilty and need to pay back exercise too much for the calories, here are some healthy options.

You can brush the wings with flavor so you will not turn your dipping sauce into a dunking pit. Use hot sauces, salsa, honey mustard, sweet and sour, teriyaki, or BBQ flavors. You can even use blue cheese. Just brush it on.

Make a lighter version of your own blue cheese dressing. Store-bought will have more calories and fat. They are selling you taste, not health. Instead, use plain non-fat Greek yogurt and use real blue cheese. That’s it!

Chicken Wing Verdict

Chicken wings are healthy. It is the cooking process and the extras that make them delicious and detrimental.

Nothing is ever bad for you if you do it in moderation. However, if you choose to go into gluttony on chicken wing night, then understand moderation is essential. Maybe you can eat them once every week or every few weeks. That will give you enough time to blast off the extra indulgences. So, prepare yourself to have control because the NFL is about to begin. Chicken wings and Sunday and Monday Night Football are classic.