Is Duck Healthy? Benefits, Uses, Nutrition

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Duck meat is a popular choice for those looking to increase their fat intake. 

There are many benefits of eating duck meat along with ways to cook it, including roasted duck breast, Peking duck, and skinless duck breast. It is much more nutrient-dense than previously thought, making it great for healthy meals.

Nutrients like iron, selenium, and protein are all present in duck meat. Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that can improve your overall health long-term.

In this article, you’ll discover the health benefits of duck meat, how healthy duck is, the nutritional values, and a healthy recipe for you to try at home. Let’s dig in to learn more. 

Duck Nutrition Facts

Duck meat has some pretty incredible nutritional facts, including:

• Per serving, duck meat actually has the highest amount of iron, making it the perfect choice for those with an iron deficiency.
• When eaten skinless, duck meat is considered just as lean as chicken meat, turkey breast, and types of pork fat. 
• Duck offers about 23% of your recommended daily allowance of protein per 100g.
• Many ways of cooking duck actually render duck fat obsolete, creating concerns about the high-fat content of duck meat.
• Duck eggs are also a great source of B vitamins, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Nutrition table (per 100g)

The nutritional value of duck meat per 100g is as follows:

High in calories

Duck meat is relatively high in calories, coming in at 404kcal per 100g serving.

This food does not contain any carbohydrates or sugars, meaning the calorie content comes from saturated fat. Those looking to lose weight shouldn’t eat lots of duck meat in their diet, especially if they wish to avoid high-calorie animal fats. 

Unlike beef meat, duck is not marbled meat. This means that once visible fat is rendered off, the fat content of the duck drops significantly. You’ll still get plenty of the beneficial nutrients, like protein, that promotes weight loss.

To lower the calories in duck, you could opt for skinless duck breasts, over fattier cuts. 

Your daily caloric intake is important, especially if you’re trying to lose weight. To lose stubborn fat, you need to eat at a caloric deficit, meaning you consume fewer calories than you burn throughout the day. 

You can also aim to burn more calories each day through exercise. This could be long-distance running, walking 5 miles daily.

High in vitamins and minerals

Duck meat is richer in nutrients than many other animal fats, including chicken meat. It is a great source of essential vitamins and minerals, such as iron, B vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids. This makes it great to add to a healthy and balanced diet.

Many of the nutrients in duck are important for the body, supporting functions like immune response, cellular repair, nerve signals, and even the oxygenation of the blood. A strong immune system can stop you from getting infections and viruses. 

Iron is an essential mineral in the body that supports red blood cells. Men and women over 50 need around 8.7mg of iron per day, while younger women need 14.8mg. There is 2.4mg of iron per 100g of duck meat, making duck an excellent source of iron.

Duck meat also contains B vitamins, which are crucial in carb metabolization. You’ll also get a good dose of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids from the duck. 

There are ways to increase your vitamin and mineral intake, including drinking juices, like orange juice, eating more blueberries, and taking supplements. Chicken meat also has magnesium, which is known to boost weight loss by strengthening metabolism.

Low in carbohydrates

Raw duck meat actually contains no carbohydrates or sugars. This makes it an excellent choice for anyone looking to reduce their blood sugar levels, watch their carbohydrate intake, or follow a low-carb diet when losing weight. 

The lack of carbs also means that it will not cause a blood sugar spike in those who have type 1 or 2 diabetes. Consuming fewer carbohydrates improves high cholesterol levels, which prevents the build-up of plaque in your artery walls. 

However, you should consult your doctor about the best ways of eating foods with saturated fat, as a diabetes diet requires you to limit your fat intake too.

You can reduce fat by removing the duck skin. Once this skin is removed, the duck’s fatty content is akin to lean meat, like both chicken meat and turkey. In fact, with its nutritional value, duck may actually present a healthier alternative to these meats.

High in fats

It is important to be aware of the high saturated fat in duck fat and meat. Though you can consume saturated fat in limited amounts as part of a healthier diet, it is better for your health if you consume more unsaturated fats in other meats like chicken. 

Duck meat offers a healthy amount of omega-3 acids. These fat-based acids are thought to lower blood pressure, reduce triglycerides, and reduce heart disease risk. You can also get omega-3s from other poultry like chicken meat and vegetable oils.

Contrary to older research, fat isn’t all bad. In fact, our body needs a good source of fat to function properly. Both duck meat and duck fat contain lots of saturated fat, but they also contain both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

These types of fats have heart-healthy benefits. It is no longer thought that eating some fat in healthy amounts is bad for your long-term health. Consuming these fat-based acids in nutritious foods can decrease inflammation and improve blood cholesterol. 

High in cholesterol

Duck meat has around 76mg of cholesterol per 100g. This is quite a high cholesterol value as it is recommended that people limit their daily cholesterol intake to 300 milligrams. High levels of cholesterol are known to increase your heart disease risk in the long term. 

Instead of eating duck fat, you can have chicken meat or any form of white meat on your diet. This might be turkey breast, salmon, herring, pork tenderloin, and sirloin steak. Just make sure to check the nutrition facts before eating meat-based foods.

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Healthy Duck Recipe 

Below, we’ve provided a healthy duck recipe you can try out now:

Ingredients:

• 2 duck breasts (250g each)
• 4 large apricots
• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 little gem lettuces
• 50g bag of rocket

For the dressing:

• 1–2 red chilis to your taste
• 1 tbsp light muscovado sugar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 1 shallot

How to prepare?

1. Score the skin of the duck breasts in lines that are close together and then sprinkle with seasoning.
2. Put in a frying pan, skin side down, and gently increase the heat. Fry for 15min (using avocado oil, not olive oil) and drain off the duck fat as you go. Cook for 5–10min on the other side, depending on your preferences.
3. Remove from the pan once cooked and place on a tray lined with kitchen paper to rest.
4. To prepare the salad, stone the apricots, cutting them into thick slices. Cut the cucumber into diagonal slices and then chop and separate the lettuce into four separate bowls. Add rocket and the rest of the salad to each of the four bowls.
5. To prepare the dressing, halve the chilis and remove the seeds. Mix all other dressing ingredients into a bowl.
6. Slice the cooled duck into thin slices and separate across the four bowls. Then drizzle with the dressing and serve.

Note: This recipe serves four. For an individual portion, quarter all of the ingredients.

Nutrition information for the recipe

The nutritional information for this recipe is as follows:

This recipe has a high-fat value, but much of the fat is unsaturated, which could promote heart health. It is also very high in protein, which makes it a good lunchtime meal. It should keep you fuller for longer, allowing you to avoid snacking between meal times.

Conclusion

Duck meat and duck fat are very high in saturated and unsaturated fats but can be part of a healthy diet if eaten in moderation. The meat also has a high level of protein and other nutrients, making it great for losing weight and building muscle.

People can still enjoy chicken meat, goat meat, Cornish game hen, or beef fat, depending on their fitness goals. Just stay cautious of meats that exceed your daily calories. Of course, a whole duck will have more duck fat, so eat it in very small portions every other day.