Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
salmon
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in salmon and chicken leg:
Both chicken leg and salmon are high in calories. Chicken leg has 69% more calories than salmon - chicken leg has 214 calories per 100 grams and salmon has 127 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, salmon is much heavier in protein, much lighter in fat and similar to chicken leg for carbs. Salmon has a macronutrient ratio of 67:0:33 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Salmon | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 67% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | ~ |
| Fat | 33% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both chicken leg and salmon are low in carbohydrates - chicken leg has 0.17g of total carbs per 100 grams and salmon does not contain significant amounts.
Both chicken leg and salmon are high in protein. Salmon has 25% more protein than chicken leg - chicken leg has 16.4g of protein per 100 grams and salmon has 20.5g of protein.
Salmon has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken leg - chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat per 100 grams and salmon has 0.81g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and salmon are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and salmon has 0.03g of trans fat.
Salmon has 51% less cholesterol than chicken leg - chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and salmon has 46mg of cholesterol.
Chicken leg and salmon contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and salmon does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and salmon contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and salmon has 35ug of Vitamin A.
Salmon is an excellent source of Vitamin D and it has 216 times more Vitamin D than chicken leg - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and salmon has 435iu of Vitamin D.
Chicken leg and salmon contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and salmon has 0.4mg of Vitamin E.
Chicken leg and salmon contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and salmon has 0.4ug of Vitamin K.
Salmon has more Vitamin B12. Both salmon and chicken leg contain significant amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and folate.
| Salmon | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.08 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.105 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 7.995 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 1.03 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.611 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 4 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 4.15 UG | 0.56 UG |
Chicken leg and salmon contain similar amounts of calcium - chicken leg has 9mg of calcium per 100 grams and salmon has 7mg of calcium.
Chicken leg and salmon contain similar amounts of iron - chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron per 100 grams and salmon has 0.38mg of iron.
Both chicken leg and salmon are high in potassium. Salmon has 80% more potassium than chicken leg - chicken leg has 203mg of potassium per 100 grams and salmon has 366mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken leg has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than salmon per 100 grams, however, salmon contains more dha, epa and dpa than chicken leg per 100 grams.
| Salmon | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.047 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | 0.333 G | 0.01 G |
| EPA | 0.182 G | 0.004 G |
| DPA | 0.047 G | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.609 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than salmon per 100 grams.
| Salmon | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.018 G | 0.016 G |
| linoleic acid | 0.081 G | 2.987 G |
| Total | 0.099 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: Salmon (Fish, salmon, pink, raw) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Salmon 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 | |||