Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
chicken leg
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in chicken leg and whey protein powder:
Both chicken leg and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 64% more calories than chicken leg - chicken leg has 214 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, chicken leg is much lighter in protein, lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Chicken leg has a macronutrient ratio of 31:0:69 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Chicken Leg | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 31% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 7% |
| Fat | 69% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Chicken leg has 35.7 times less carbohydrates than whey protein powder - chicken leg has 0.17g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than chicken leg - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Both chicken leg and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 377% more protein than chicken leg - chicken leg has 16.4g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Whey protein powder has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken leg - chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and whey protein powder are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has 4.8 times less cholesterol than chicken leg - chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Chicken leg and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin, folate and Vitamin B12, however, chicken leg contains more niacin and pantothenic acid. Both chicken leg and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of Vitamin B6.
| Chicken Leg | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.073 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.141 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 4.733 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.994 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.318 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 4 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.56 UG | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 51 times more calcium than chicken leg - chicken leg has 9mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 64% more iron than chicken leg - chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both chicken leg and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 146% more potassium than chicken leg - chicken leg has 203mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken leg has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) and DPA than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Chicken Leg | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.155 G | 0.034 G |
| DHA | 0.01 G | ~ |
| EPA | 0.004 G | ~ |
| DPA | 0.012 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.181 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Chicken Leg | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.016 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 2.987 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 3.003 G | 0.264 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 Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Chicken Leg g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Whey Protein Powder 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 % |
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5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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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 | |||