Chicken or pork: the trials find little to choose

By a meta-analysis of 36 randomized trials with 1803 people, red meat, pooled across beef, pork and lamb, changed LDL cholesterol and blood pressure no differently from the comparison diets combined. Poultry was one of those comparisons, and the abstract gives no separate figure for it. Two direct comparisons point the same way. In a randomized crossover of 49 overweight Australian adults eating up to 2.2 lb (1 kg) a week of pork, chicken or beef for three months each, BMI and every marker of body fat ended the same, in an open-label trial where the rest of the diet was unrestricted. In a feeding trial where all food was provided, 156 g a day of lean pork raised the blood metabolite TMAO no more than the same amount of chicken, in 36 healthy adults per protein over short periods. Chicken has the reputation of the healthier meat. We found no trial comparing the two on heart disease, diabetes or death.

How much is actually in it

• Raw pork loin carries more zinc than skinless chicken breast, about 1.6 versus 0.65 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g), with similar iron, but its fat varies widely. — USDA Foundation Foods sample sets (n = 8 samples per food) Evidence E source
  Zinc 1.57 mg pork loin vs 0.65 mg chicken breast; iron 0.45 vs 0.35 mg; fat 9.5 g (5.1 to 19.4) vs 1.9 g (1.3 to 3.1)

What cooking and storage change

• A meta-analysis of 38 case-control studies identified eating undercooked chicken as one of the main risk factors for sporadic Campylobacter infection. — 38 case-control studies of sporadic human campylobacteriosis (n = 38 studies) Evidence C source
  Undercooked chicken, travel abroad, environmental sources and farm animal contact were significant risk factors
• A hepatitis E outbreak that infected 18 of 80 dinner guests in China was traced to raw pork contaminating pans later used for cold dishes. — 80 people exposed at a funeral dinner, Yantai 2022, 1:2 case-control (n = 80) Evidence C source
  Attack rate 22.5% vs 2.9% background; cucumber in sauce aOR 4.44 (1.23 to 16.06); HEV-4d found in pork supplier refrigerator
• By the USDA table, broiled pork keeps about 70% of its thiamin and 90% of B12, while broiled chicken keeps 70% of thiamin but only 65% of B12. — USDA retention factors, Pork and Poultry groups Evidence E source
  Thiamin 70% both; vitamin B12 90% pork vs 65% chicken; folate 85% vs 60%; iron 80% vs 90%

What it does to your health

• In a 9-month crossover of 49 overweight adults eating up to 2.2 lb (1 kg) a week of pork, chicken or beef for 3 months each, body fat and BMI did not differ between the meats. — 49 overweight or obese Australian middle-aged adults, three 3-month periods (n = 49) Evidence B source
  No difference in BMI, waist/hip or DXA adiposity between pork, chicken and beef diets
• In a controlled feeding trial, 156 g a day of lean pork raised the heart-risk metabolite TMAO no more than the same amount of chicken. — healthy adults, all food provided, crossover, 36 per protein (n = 36) Evidence B source
  Pork non-inferior to chicken for TMAO and trimethylamine (97.5% CI); lipid, inflammation and oxidative markers not distinguishable
• A meta-analysis of 36 randomized trials with 1803 people found red meat did not change LDL cholesterol or blood pressure differently from all comparison diets combined. — 1803 participants in 36 RCTs comparing red meat with plant protein, poultry, fish, mixed animal protein, carbohydrates or usual diet (n = 1803) Evidence A source
  No significant difference in total, LDL, HDL cholesterol, apoA1, apoB or blood pressure vs all comparisons combined

Safety, limits and interactions

• National surveillance in Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded 3828 trichinellosis infections over 61 years, from 1961 to 2021. — national surveillance, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1961 to 2021 (n = 3828) Evidence C source
  3828 cases, five deaths in war-era outbreaks, two recent years with zero cases

What people believe that the data does not support

• No trial in our search compares pork and chicken on heart disease, diabetes or death. — Outcome, portion and claim searches (n = 0) Evidence E source
  Corpus 0 pork vs chicken RCT with clinical outcomes; FNDDS has the pair only as one mixed product (turkey or chicken and pork sausage, FDC 2706202); 21 CFR 101 and EU register none by name

Who this works differently for

• In older adults given pork or chicken meals four times a week for 12 weeks, strength and thinking scores did not differ between the meats. — 48 community-living adults aged about 78 in retirement villages, 12 weeks (n = 48) Evidence C source
  No differences between pork (n = 19) and chicken (n = 12) groups in cognition, grip strength or physical function

The bottom line

Where they differ is in the nutrients. Per 100 g raw, pork loin carries about 1.6 mg of zinc against 0.65 mg in skinless chicken breast, with similar iron, by USDA averages of 8 samples per food. Fat in those pork loin samples ranged from 5.1 to 19.4 g per 3.5 oz (100 g), against 1.3 to 3.1 g in chicken breast. By USDA retention factors, group values from a 1975 table, broiling keeps 70% of thiamin in both meats and 90% of vitamin B12 in pork against 65% in chicken. In 48 adults aged around 78 in retirement villages, pork or chicken meals four times a week for 12 weeks gave no difference in grip strength, physical function or thinking scores. That was a small pilot with groups assigned by village. The cautions on this page are about infection. A meta-analysis of 38 case-control studies named undercooked chicken among the main risk factors for sporadic Campylobacter infection, and its abstract gives no pooled odds. In one 2022 outbreak in China, hepatitis E reached 18 of 80 guests at a dinner. Investigators traced it to kitchen hygiene: pans that had held defrosted raw pork were then used for cold dishes. Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded 3828 cases of trichinellosis over 61 years of national surveillance. That is one country's record, and we have no card on how common it is elsewhere. Cook both meats through, and keep raw meat and its pans away from food that will not be cooked. We have no card on allergy, pregnancy, children or drug interactions for either meat, so this page cannot speak to them.

Sources

1. chpk-r1-08 · USDA Foundation Foods, dataset
   Pork, loin, boneless, raw: Iron 0.4519 mg (0.335-0.655); Zinc 1.57 mg (1.17-2.33); Total lipid 9.469 g (5.08-19.43). Chicken, breast, boneless, skinless, raw: Iron 0.3543 mg; Zinc 0.6545 mg; Total lipid 1.934 g (1.31-3.1), 8 samples each
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 (6 to 8 samples per food) · checked 2026-10-02
2. chpk-r1-05 · meta-analysis of case-control studies
   Results suggest that travelling abroad, eating undercooked chicken, environmental sources, and direct contact with farm animals were significant risk factors for
   Epidemiol Infect, 2012 · checked 2026-10-02
3. chpk-r1-06 · case-control outbreak investigation
   This foodborne outbreak was most likely caused due to a failure in kitchen hygiene to differentiate between raw and cooked pots and pans during dish preparation, resulting in cross-contamination from defrosted pork to cold dishes.
   Int J Food Microbiol, 2025 · checked 2026-10-02
4. chpk-r1-09 · USDA R6, dataset
   PORK,FRESH,BROILED (Retn_Code 1251): thiamin 70%; vitamin_b12 90%; folate 85%; iron 80%. CHICKEN,BROILED (Retn_Code 801): thiamin 70%; vitamin_b12 65%; folate 60%; iron 90%
   USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007), codes 1251 Pork, fresh, broiled and 801 Chicken, broiled · checked 2026-10-02
5. chpk-r1-01 · randomized crossover trial
   In a nine month randomised open-labelled cross-over intervention trial, 49 overweight or obese adults were randomly assigned to consume up to 1 kg/week of pork, chicken or beef, in an otherwise unrestricted diet for three months, followed by two further three month periods consuming each of the alternative meat options. ... There was no difference in BMI or any other marker of adiposity between consumption of pork, beef and chicken diets.
   Nutrients, 2014 · checked 2026-10-02
6. chpk-r1-02 · randomized crossover feeding trial
   In a randomized, controlled, all-food-provided, crossover, feeding trial, healthy adults consumed 156 g day-1 of lean-pork or chicken (active-control) as primary proteins. Mixed-effect modeling shows pork as noninferior to chicken for circulating TMAO response and microbiota-generated essential TMAO-precursor-trimethylamine (97.5% CI, n = 36/protein).
   Mol Nutr Food Res, 2022 · checked 2026-10-02
7. chpk-r1-03 · meta-analysis of randomized trials
   Thirty-six studies totaling 1803 participants were included. There were no significant differences between red meat and all comparison diets combined for changes in blood concentrations of total, low-density lipoprotein, or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoproteins A1 and B, or blood pressure.
   Circulation, 2019 · checked 2026-10-02
8. chpk-r1-07 · retrospective cohort
   In the period, 1961-2021, 3828 people became infected.
   Parasitol Res, 2023 · checked 2026-10-02
9. chpk-r1-10 · search record
   entity_brief.py chicken | pork: FNDDS — 1 match, Turkey or chicken and pork sausage [2706202]; 21 CFR — no mention; EU register — no claim by name; corpus — no pork vs chicken trial with clinical outcomes
   Bioma corpus and dataset search (PubMed corpus, FNDDS, 21 CFR 101, EU register snapshot 2026-09-21) and web search, 2026-10-02 · checked 2026-10-02
10. chpk-r1-04 · pilot quasi-experimental trial
    Forty-eight volunteers participated (78.2 ± 6.2 y). In linear mixed models, controlling for baseline physical activity and dietary protein and energy intake, no differences were found between pork (n = 19) and chicken (n = 12) groups.
    J Nutr Gerontol Geriatr, 2016 · checked 2026-10-02