Poultry

Last reviewed October 2026 · Based on 16 studies

Bottom line

Poultry is the mildest of the meats in large studies: higher intake is linked to slightly lower all-cause mortality, and swapping red meat for poultry is linked to less heart disease and lower death rates. It is not risk-free: in a feeding trial white meat raised LDL cholesterol as much as red meat, and one very large analysis linked higher poultry intake to a small, less certain rise in type 2 diabetes risk.

What it helps with

Helps you live longer — Benefit, evidence grade B (Moderate). Two meta-analyses of 22-24 prospective cohorts with consistent small inverse associations; observational data.
Lowers heart disease risk when it replaces red meat — Benefit, evidence grade C (Limited). Substitution models from prospective cohorts; one review rated the certainty of the evidence low.
High intake raises type 2 diabetes risk — Mixed results, evidence grade C (Limited). One very large pooled analysis found a small association that weakened under alternative modelling.
White meat is better than red meat for cholesterol — No effect, evidence grade C (Limited). One feeding trial of 113 adults found no difference; LDL is a surrogate marker.
Causes colorectal cancer — No effect, evidence grade C (Limited). A meta-analysis pooling cohort and case-control studies found no association, with wide confidence intervals.

What it is

Poultry, also called white meat in diet studies, is analysed separately from red and processed meat [1][2]. Median intakes in the biggest pooled analysis ranged from 0 to about 72 g/day [2].

What the research says

In a meta-analysis of 22 prospective cohorts, people who ate the most white meat had 6% lower all-cause mortality than those who ate the least, with no significant difference in cardiovascular deaths [1]; a second meta-analysis of 24 cohorts found a similar small difference and no link to heart disease or stroke [3]. Swapping matters: replacing red meat with poultry was linked to about 12% lower coronary heart disease risk and 8% lower all-cause mortality in a 2022 meta-analysis of prospective studies [4], and in the PREDIMED cohort substituting red or processed meat with poultry was linked to lower metabolic syndrome risk [5]. In a controlled feeding trial, however, red meat and white meat raised LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B by similar amounts compared with plant proteins [6], and a meta-analysis of 20 randomised trials found red meat raised triglycerides compared with white meat or grain diets [7]. For type 2 diabetes, one very large pooled analysis of 1.97 million adults found an 8% higher risk per 100 g/day of poultry that weakened under different modelling [2]. A 2026 meta-analysis found no clear link between white meat and colorectal cancer [8].

Doses used in studies

Risk estimates are reported per 100 g/day of poultry, with median intakes of 0 to about 72 g/day across the 31 pooled cohorts [2]. Feeding trials compared diets with 12% of calories from red meat, white meat or nonmeat protein for 4 weeks each [9].

Safety and interactions

Poultry's main documented concerns are modest: a small, less certain link to type 2 diabetes at higher intakes [2], and LDL cholesterol that rose as much as with red meat in a feeding trial [6]. The cohort studies reviewed found slightly lower all-cause mortality with higher intake, not harm [1]. As a food, no upper intake limit is defined, and the studies we reviewed report no medicine interactions or pregnancy-specific findings for poultry.

Caveats and open questions

The mortality and substitution findings come from observational cohorts and cannot prove cause and effect [4]. The poultry and type 2 diabetes finding weakened under alternative modelling and is less certain than the red and processed meat results [2]. One review rated the certainty of its poultry evidence very low or low [3]. Feeding trials are short, lasting about 4 weeks per diet [9].