Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
bacon
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in bacon and chicken leg:
Both bacon and chicken leg are high in calories. Bacon has 320% more calories than chicken leg - bacon has 898 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, bacon is much lighter in protein, much heavier in fat and similar to chicken leg for carbs. Bacon has a macronutrient ratio of 0:0:100 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Bacon | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | ~ | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | ~ |
| Fat | 100% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both chicken leg and bacon are low in carbohydrates - chicken leg has 0.17g of total carbs per 100 grams and bacon does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg is an excellent source of protein and it has 232 times more protein than bacon - bacon has 0.07g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Bacon is high in saturated fat and chicken leg has 86% less saturated fat than bacon - bacon has 32g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and bacon are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and bacon does not contain significant amounts.
Bacon and chicken leg contain similar amounts of cholesterol - bacon has 97mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol.
Chicken leg and bacon contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and bacon does not contain significant amounts.
Bacon and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - bacon has 11ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A.
Chicken leg and bacon contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and bacon does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and bacon contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and bacon does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and bacon contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and bacon does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has more thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6, folate and Vitamin B12.
| Bacon | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.004 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.015 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 0.725 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.007 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.005 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | ~ | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.09 UG | 0.56 UG |
Chicken leg has 800% more calcium than bacon - bacon has 1mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Chicken leg has 431% more iron than bacon - bacon has 0.13mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Chicken leg is a great source of potassium and it has 12 times more potassium than bacon - bacon has 15mg of potassium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 203mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, bacon has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than chicken leg per 100 grams, however, chicken leg contains more dpa than bacon per 100 grams.
| Bacon | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.476 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | ~ | 0.01 G |
| EPA | ~ | 0.004 G |
| DPA | ~ | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.476 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, bacon has more linoleic acid than chicken leg per 100 grams.
| Bacon | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.442 G | 0.016 G |
| linoleic acid | 9.426 G | 2.987 G |
| Total | 9.868 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: Bacon (Pork, bacon, rendered fat, cooked) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Cooked Bacon 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 | |||