Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
lentils
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in lentils and chicken leg:
Both chicken leg and lentils are high in calories. Chicken leg has 84% more calories than lentil - chicken leg has 214 calories per 100 grams and lentil has 116 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, lentils is much heavier in carbs, much lighter in fat and similar to chicken leg for protein. Lentils has a macronutrient ratio of 30:67:3 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Lentils | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 30% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | 67% | ~ |
| Fat | 3% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Chicken leg has 117.4 times less carbohydrates than lentil - chicken leg has 0.17g of total carbs per 100 grams and lentil has 20.1g of carbohydrates.
Lentil is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than chicken leg - lentil has 7.9g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has less sugar than lentil - lentil has 1.8g of sugar per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Both chicken leg and lentils are high in protein. Chicken leg has 81% more protein than lentil - chicken leg has 16.4g of protein per 100 grams and lentil has 9g of protein.
Lentil has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken leg - chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat per 100 grams and lentil has 0.05g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and lentils are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and lentil does not contain significant amounts.
Lentil has less cholesterol than chicken leg - chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and lentil does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and lentils contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and lentil has 1.5mg of Vitamin C.
Chicken leg has more Vitamin A than lentil - chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and lentil does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and lentils contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and lentil does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and lentils contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and lentil has 0.11mg of Vitamin E.
Chicken leg and lentils contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and lentil has 1.7ug of Vitamin K.
Lentil has more thiamin and folate, however, chicken leg contains more niacin and Vitamin B12. Both lentils and chicken leg contain significant amounts of riboflavin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B6.
| Lentils | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.169 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.073 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 1.06 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.638 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.178 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 181 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 0.56 UG |
Lentil has 111% more calcium than chicken leg - chicken leg has 9mg of calcium per 100 grams and lentil has 19mg of calcium.
Lentil is an excellent source of iron and it has 383% more iron than chicken leg - chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron per 100 grams and lentil has 3.3mg of iron.
Both chicken leg and lentils are high in potassium. Lentil has 82% more potassium than chicken leg - chicken leg has 203mg of potassium per 100 grams and lentil has 369mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken leg has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) and DPA than lentil per 100 grams.
| Lentils | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.037 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | ~ | 0.01 G |
| EPA | ~ | 0.004 G |
| DPA | ~ | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.037 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than lentil per 100 grams.
| Lentils | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.137 G | 2.987 G |
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| Total | 0.137 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: Lentils (Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Cooked Lentils 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 | |||