Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
chicken leg
versus
spirulina
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in chicken leg and spirulina:
Both spirulina and chicken leg are high in calories. Spirulina has 36% more calories than chicken leg - spirulina has 290 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 spirulina per calorie. Chicken leg has a macronutrient ratio of 31:0:69 and for spirulina, 59:25:17 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Chicken Leg | Spirulina | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 31% | 59% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 25% |
| Fat | 69% | 17% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Chicken leg has signficantly less carbohydrates than spirulina - spirulina has 23.9g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.17g of carbohydrates.
Spirulina is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than chicken leg - spirulina has 3.6g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has less sugar than spirulina - spirulina has 3.1g of sugar per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Both spirulina and chicken leg are high in protein. Spirulina has 251% more protein than chicken leg - spirulina has 57.5g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
Spirulina has 39% less saturated fat than chicken leg - spirulina has 2.7g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and spirulina are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and spirulina does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has less cholesterol than chicken leg - chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and spirulina does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has signficantly more Vitamin C than chicken leg - spirulina has 10.1mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C.
Spirulina and chicken leg contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - spirulina has 29ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A.
Chicken leg and spirulina contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and spirulina does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has 21 times more Vitamin E than chicken leg - spirulina has 5mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E.
Spirulina has 10 times more Vitamin K than chicken leg - spirulina has 25.5ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K.
Spirulina has more thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid and folate, however, chicken leg contains more Vitamin B12. Both chicken leg and spirulina contain significant amounts of Vitamin B6.
| Chicken Leg | Spirulina | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.073 MG | 2.38 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.141 MG | 3.67 MG |
| Niacin | 4.733 MG | 12.82 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.994 MG | 3.48 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.318 MG | 0.364 MG |
| Folate | 4 UG | 94 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.56 UG | ~ |
Spirulina is an excellent source of calcium and it has 12 times more calcium than chicken leg - spirulina has 120mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
Spirulina is an excellent source of iron and it has 40 times more iron than chicken leg - spirulina has 28.5mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Both spirulina and chicken leg are high in potassium. Spirulina has 571% more potassium than chicken leg - spirulina has 1363mg 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 spirulina per 100 grams, however, spirulina contains more beta-carotene than chicken leg per 100 grams.
| Chicken Leg | Spirulina | |
|---|---|---|
| lutein + zeaxanthin | 91 UG | ~ |
| beta-carotene | ~ | 342 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, spirulina has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than chicken leg per 100 grams, however, chicken leg contains more dpa than spirulina per 100 grams.
| Chicken Leg | Spirulina | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.155 G | 0.823 G |
| DHA | 0.01 G | ~ |
| EPA | 0.004 G | ~ |
| DPA | 0.012 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.181 G | 0.823 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than spirulina per 100 grams.
| Chicken Leg | Spirulina | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.016 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 2.987 G | 1.254 G |
| Total | 3.003 G | 1.254 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 Spirulina (Seaweed, spirulina, dried) .
Chicken Leg g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Spirulina 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 | |||