Health Tips!

ISAW

Shared from Filipino Nurses, 2012

Known as the quintessential Pinoy street food, “isaw” or also known as grilled chicken intestines, have become the favorite “pulutan” and “merienda” of a typical Juan Dela Cruz due to its unique bitter/salty taste. One stick of isaw contains a rich supply of calories but there is more to chicken gizzards than meets the eye.

Why is it bad for your health?

For one, the bitter taste that you usually get from the juices oozing out from a cooked “isaw” is not something you must be playing around with your mouth. Believe it or not, the bitter taste is a sure-fire indication that you’re eating the residue of the chicken’s fecal material. In addition to that, Prof. Ma. Patricia V. Avanza, PhD has also pointed out that “…the internal temperature used when grilling isaw is not adequate to kill bacteria or parasites that reside on it”.

But most of its negative health effects come from the fact that “isaw” is a rich source of cholesterol and excess calories; eating too much of it can increase your risk of cardiovascular diseases and even cancer due to the benzopyrene it contains, according to Maria Francia Barela, nutritionist-dietician of the Hospital of the Infant Jesus and assistant diabetes educator of the Diabetes Center of the Philippines.

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