Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
chicken leg
versus
alfalfa sprouts
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in chicken leg and alfalfa sprouts:
Chicken leg is high in calories and alfalfa sprout has 89% less calories than chicken leg - alfalfa sprout has 23 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, chicken leg is much lighter in protein, much lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to alfalfa sprouts per calorie. Chicken leg has a macronutrient ratio of 31:0:69 and for alfalfa sprouts, 53:29:18 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Chicken Leg | Alfalfa Sprouts | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 31% | 53% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 29% |
| Fat | 69% | 18% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both alfalfa sprouts and chicken leg are low in carbohydrates - alfalfa sprout has 2.1g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.17g of carbohydrates.
Alfalfa sprout has signficantly more dietary fiber than chicken leg - alfalfa sprout has 1.9g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Alfalfa sprouts and chicken leg contain similar amounts of sugar - alfalfa sprout has 0.2g of sugar per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg is an excellent source of protein and it has 310% more protein than alfalfa sprout - alfalfa sprout has 4g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Alfalfa sprout has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken leg - alfalfa sprout has 0.07g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and alfalfa sprouts are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and alfalfa sprout does not contain significant amounts.
Alfalfa sprout has less cholesterol than chicken leg - chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and alfalfa sprout does not contain significant amounts.
Alfalfa sprout has 40 times more Vitamin C than chicken leg - alfalfa sprout has 8.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C.
Chicken leg has 250% more Vitamin A than alfalfa sprout - alfalfa sprout has 8ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A.
Chicken leg and alfalfa sprouts contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and alfalfa sprout does not contain significant amounts.
Alfalfa sprouts and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - alfalfa sprout has 0.02mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E.
Alfalfa sprout has 12 times more Vitamin K than chicken leg - alfalfa sprout has 30.5ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K.
Chicken leg has more niacin, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12, however, alfalfa sprout contains more folate. Both chicken leg and alfalfa sprouts contain significant amounts of thiamin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid.
| Chicken Leg | Alfalfa Sprouts | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.073 MG | 0.076 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.141 MG | 0.126 MG |
| Niacin | 4.733 MG | 0.481 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.994 MG | 0.563 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.318 MG | 0.034 MG |
| Folate | 4 UG | 36 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.56 UG | ~ |
Alfalfa sprout has 256% more calcium than chicken leg - alfalfa sprout has 32mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Alfalfa sprouts and chicken leg contain similar amounts of iron - alfalfa sprout has 0.96mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Chicken leg is a great source of potassium and it has 157% more potassium than alfalfa sprout - alfalfa sprout has 79mg 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, chicken leg has more lutein + zeaxanthin than alfalfa sprout per 100 grams, however, alfalfa sprout contains more beta-carotene than chicken leg per 100 grams.
| Chicken Leg | Alfalfa Sprouts | |
|---|---|---|
| lutein + zeaxanthin | 91 UG | ~ |
| beta-carotene | ~ | 87 UG |
| alpha-carotene | ~ | 6 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken leg has more DPA than alfalfa sprout per 100 grams. Both chicken leg and alfalfa sprouts contain significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid (ALA).
| Chicken Leg | Alfalfa Sprouts | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.155 G | 0.175 G |
| DHA | 0.01 G | ~ |
| EPA | 0.004 G | ~ |
| DPA | 0.012 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.181 G | 0.175 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than alfalfa sprout per 100 grams.
| Chicken Leg | Alfalfa Sprouts | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.016 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 2.987 G | 0.234 G |
| Total | 3.003 G | 0.234 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: Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) and Alfalfa Sprouts (Alfalfa seeds, sprouted, raw) .
Chicken Leg g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Alfalfa Sprouts 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 | |||