Americans gobble up more than 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving, according to some estimates. But experts say that this love for the bird shouldn’t end when the holiday is over. Eating turkey regularly — whether it’s sliced in a deli sandwich or ground up in chili — can boost your health in more ways than one.. Here’s what makes turkey particularly good for you, plus ideas from New York Times Cooking for how to enjoy it all year long.. It’s high in protein.. Three ounces of skinless breast meat contains about 26 grams of protein. That’s nearly half of the recommended amount a 160-pound adult should eat in a day.. Protein is the body’s main building block, said Sander Kersten, the director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. As your body forms and repairs its cells, you’re constantly losing protein that needs replenishing with food.. People often associate protein with muscle mass, said Teresa Fung, a professor of nutrition at Simmons University and an adjunct nutrition professor at Harvard University. While it’s true that protein builds muscle, that’s only one of its roles.. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.. Thank you for your patience while we verify access.. Already a subscriber? Log in.. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
