The Nutrition In White Meat Ground Turkey

If you're trying to improve your diet by eating more poultry instead of beef, take a closer look at your ground poultry products. Some ground turkey meat can be as high in fat as ground beef. To reduce your fat and calorie intake, look for ground turkey made with white meat, which is low in both calories and fat, and high in protein.

Calories

Ground white meat turkey makes a low-calorie meat choice. A 4-oz. raw serving contains 140 calories. By comparison, a standard ground turkey meat labeled 85 percent lean contains 202 calories in a 4-oz. raw serving. As a lower-calorie meat, the ground white meat turkey helps satisfy your appetite on fewer calories than other types of ground turkey meats, making it a good choice when trying to manage your weight.

Protein

In addition to being lower in calories than the 85 percent lean ground turkey meat, the ground white meat turkey is also higher in protein. A 4-oz. serving contains 26 g of protein, meeting more than 50 percent of the daily value. By comparison, the 85 percent lean ground turkey meat contains 19 g of protein per serving. The percent daily value is determined by the Food and Drug Administration as a guide to help you make healthy food choices and is based on a 2,000-calorie diet for healthy adults. In addition, the protein in the ground turkey meat provides all of your essential amino acids, making it a high-quality source of protein.

Fat and Carbohydrates

The white meat ground turkey is carbohydrate-free and low in fat. A 4-oz. serving contains 3.5 g of total fat, 1 g of saturated fat and 65 mg of cholesterol. Fat in food is essential for your body to function properly. But it is important to make healthy fat choices and limit your intake. A healthy and balanced diet should contain 25 to 35 percent of calories from total fat, less than 7 percent of calories from saturated fat and less than 300 mg of cholesterol a day.

Sodium

The ground white meat turkey without added seasonings is also low in sodium. A 4-oz. serving contains 65 mg of sodium. Choosing more low-sodium foods helps limit your overall intake, which may help reduce your risk of developing hypertension. A healthy diet should limit sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg a day.

Iron

Ground white meat turkey can also help you meet your daily iron needs. A 4-oz. serving of raw ground turkey meets 8 percent of your daily value for iron. Iron is an essential mineral that is necessary for the proper function of many proteins in enzymes. But its most pivotal role in healthy is assisting with the transportation of oxygen in your body.