Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cheese
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in cheese and chicken leg:
Both cheese and chicken leg are high in calories. Cheese has 79% more calories than chicken leg - cheese has 384 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, cheese is lighter in protein, heavier in fat and similar to chicken leg for carbs. Cheese has a macronutrient ratio of 25:0:75 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 25% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | ~ |
| Fat | 75% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both cheese and chicken leg are low in carbohydrates - cheese has 0.13g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.17g of carbohydrates.
Both cheese and chicken leg are high in protein. Cheese has 44% more protein than chicken leg - cheese has 23.5g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Cheese is high in saturated fat and chicken leg has 73% less saturated fat than cheese - cheese has 16.1g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and cheese are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and cheese does not contain significant amounts.
Cheese and chicken leg contain similar amounts of cholesterol - cheese has 95mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol.
Chicken leg and cheese contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and cheese does not contain significant amounts.
Cheese is an excellent source of Vitamin A and it has 521% more Vitamin A than chicken leg - cheese has 174ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A.
Cheese has 950% more Vitamin D than chicken leg - cheese has 21iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D.
Cheese and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - cheese has 0.25mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E.
Cheese and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - cheese has 2.5ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K.
Chicken leg has more thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B6, however, cheese contains more riboflavin, folate and Vitamin B12.
| Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.023 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.318 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 0.114 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.249 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.061 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 13 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 1.23 UG | 0.56 UG |
Cheese is an excellent source of calcium and it has 72 times more calcium than chicken leg - cheese has 659mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Cheese and chicken leg contain similar amounts of iron - cheese has 0.59mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Chicken leg is a great source of potassium and it has 139% more potassium than cheese - cheese has 85mg of potassium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 203mg of potassium.
Carotenoids are micronutrients commonly found in plants and some animal products. An example is beta-carotene, the notable carotenoid which is a popular source of Vitamin A.[4][5]
For specific types of carotenoids, cheese has more beta-carotene than chicken leg per 100 grams, however, chicken leg contains more lutein + zeaxanthin than cheese per 100 grams.
| Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| beta-carotene | 56 UG | ~ |
| lutein + zeaxanthin | ~ | 91 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, cheese has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than chicken leg per 100 grams, however, chicken leg contains more dpa than cheese per 100 grams.
| Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.332 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | ~ | 0.01 G |
| EPA | ~ | 0.004 G |
| DPA | ~ | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.332 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than cheese per 100 grams.
| Cheese | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.532 G | 2.987 G |
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| Total | 0.532 G | 3.003 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Cheese (Cheese, Mexican blend) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Cheese g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Chicken Leg g
()
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
| MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
| MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| 5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||