Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
chicken leg
versus
spinach
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in chicken leg and spinach:
Chicken leg is high in calories and spinach has 89% less calories than chicken leg - spinach has 23 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
| Chicken Leg | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 31% | 40% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 49% |
| Fat | 69% | 10% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both spinach and chicken leg are low in carbohydrates - spinach has 3.6g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.17g of carbohydrates.
Spinach is a great source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than chicken leg - spinach has 2.2g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach and chicken leg contain similar amounts of sugar - spinach has 0.42g of sugar per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg is an excellent source of protein and it has 472% more protein than spinach - spinach has 2.9g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Spinach has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken leg - spinach has 0.06g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and spinach are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and spinach does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach has less cholesterol than chicken leg - chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and spinach does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin C and it has 139 times more Vitamin C than chicken leg - spinach has 28.1mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C.
Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin A and it has 15 times more Vitamin A than chicken leg - spinach has 469ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A.
Chicken leg and spinach contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and spinach does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach has 823% more Vitamin E than chicken leg - spinach has 2mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E.
Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin K and it has 208 times more Vitamin K than chicken leg - spinach has 482.9ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K.
Chicken leg has more niacin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B12, however, spinach contains more folate. Both chicken leg and spinach contain significant amounts of thiamin, riboflavin and Vitamin B6.
| Chicken Leg | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.073 MG | 0.078 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.141 MG | 0.189 MG |
| Niacin | 4.733 MG | 0.724 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.994 MG | 0.065 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.318 MG | 0.195 MG |
| Folate | 4 UG | 194 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.56 UG | ~ |
Spinach is an excellent source of calcium and it has 1000% more calcium than chicken leg - spinach has 99mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Spinach is a great source of iron and it has 293% more iron than chicken leg - spinach has 2.7mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Both spinach and chicken leg are high in potassium. Spinach has 175% more potassium than chicken leg - spinach has 558mg 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 | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| lutein + zeaxanthin | 91 UG | 12198 UG |
| beta-carotene | ~ | 5626 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken leg has more DPA than spinach per 100 grams. Both chicken leg and spinach contain significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid (ALA).
| Chicken Leg | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.155 G | 0.138 G |
| DHA | 0.01 G | ~ |
| EPA | 0.004 G | ~ |
| DPA | 0.012 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.181 G | 0.138 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than spinach per 100 grams.
| Chicken Leg | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.016 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 2.987 G | 0.026 G |
| Total | 3.003 G | 0.026 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 Spinach (Spinach, raw) .
Chicken Leg g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Spinach 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 | |||