Colon-healthy chicken salad | Northfield Hospital + Clinics (2024)

FAQs

Is chicken salad good for gut health? ›

It should also have lean proteins, like chicken. This fresh take on chicken salad is a gut health all-star! Chicken is naturally high in selenium, which helps reduce your risk of developing precancerous polyps.

Eating a high-fiber diet is good for overall intestinal and colon health. The American Institute for Cancer Research and ACS recommend aiming for at least 30 grams of fiber from food sources each day. Focus on incorporating a variety of whole grains, colorful fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and beans into your diet.

Although chicken and salad are healthy nutrients, you can gain weight due to the way the chicken is prepared, or the salad is made with high-calorie sauces. Moreover, you can't shed weight with only one food in your diet. Salad with chicken supports your diet in this way, but it isn't enough on its own.

It can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months to fully heal the gut. After all, since Leaky Gut Syndrome does not develop overnight, curing this condition will take some time.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are some of the best foods you can eat for colon health. Eating these foods with their skin will give you the most bang for your buck in terms of fiber. For example, a large pear with the skin has about 7 grams of fiber and one cup of raspberries has about 8 grams.

Whole grains are rich in fiber and will help to cleanse the colon. Oats, oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa are all great sources. Try to incorporate 3 – 5 servings per day into your meals. Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and most leafy greens are fiber-dense and are always healthy choices.

Chicken salad is rich in lean protein and a decent source of iron. Depending on what other ingredients it contains, it might also provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Still, using ingredients such as mayonnaise or serving the salad on a croissant adds calories and fat.

In a previous study, we found that a high fat high chicken or pork protein diet increased the abundance of gut microbiota associated with skatole and indole production in Wistar rats¹³.

Some other foods that can be eaten to help with leaky gut are poultry (such as chicken or turkey breast), soups, low fat cheese, tofu and other meat alternatives, yogurts, flax, chia, and other seeds, and fermented food that is rich in beneficial bacteria (such as yogurt, kombucha, and kefir).

"Fueling your body with salads is an excellent way to promote digestion, support a healthy gut microbiome, and boost overall well-being.