Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
canned tuna
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in canned tuna and chicken leg:
Both canned tuna and chicken leg are high in calories. Chicken leg has 67% more calories than canned tuna - canned tuna has 128 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, canned tuna is much heavier in protein, much lighter in fat and similar to chicken leg for carbs. Canned tuna has a macronutrient ratio of 78:0:22 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Canned Tuna | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 78% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | ~ |
| Fat | 22% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both chicken leg and canned tuna are low in carbohydrates - chicken leg has 0.17g of total carbs per 100 grams and canned tuna does not contain significant amounts.
Both canned tuna and chicken leg are high in protein. Canned tuna has 44% more protein than chicken leg - canned tuna has 23.6g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Canned tuna has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken leg - canned tuna has 0.79g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and canned tuna are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and canned tuna does not contain significant amounts.
Canned tuna has 55% less cholesterol than chicken leg - canned tuna has 42mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol.
Chicken leg and canned tuna contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and canned tuna does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has 367% more Vitamin A than canned tuna - canned tuna has 6ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A.
Chicken leg and canned tuna contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and canned tuna does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and canned tuna contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and canned tuna does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and canned tuna contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and canned tuna does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has more thiamin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid, however, canned tuna contains more Vitamin B12. Both canned tuna and chicken leg contain significant amounts of niacin, Vitamin B6 and folate.
| Canned Tuna | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.008 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.044 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 5.799 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.124 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.217 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 2 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 1.17 UG | 0.56 UG |
Canned tuna and chicken leg contain similar amounts of calcium - canned tuna has 14mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Canned tuna and chicken leg contain similar amounts of iron - canned tuna has 0.97mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Both canned tuna and chicken leg are high in potassium. Canned tuna has 17% more potassium than chicken leg - canned tuna has 237mg of potassium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 203mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken leg has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than canned tuna per 100 grams, however, canned tuna contains more dha and epa than chicken leg per 100 grams. Both canned tuna and chicken leg contain significant amounts of DPA.
| Canned Tuna | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.071 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | 0.629 G | 0.01 G |
| EPA | 0.233 G | 0.004 G |
| DPA | 0.018 G | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.951 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than canned tuna per 100 grams.
| Canned Tuna | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.055 G | 2.987 G |
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| Total | 0.055 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: Canned Tuna (Fish, tuna, white, canned in water, without salt, drained solids) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Canned Tuna 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 % |
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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 | |||