Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
white rice
versus
chicken leg
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in white rice and chicken leg:
Both white rice and chicken leg are high in calories. Chicken leg has 65% more calories than white rice - white rice has 130 calories per 100 grams and chicken leg has 214 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, white rice is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and much lighter in fat compared to chicken leg per calorie. White rice has a macronutrient ratio of 8:91:2 and for chicken leg, 31:0:69 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| White Rice | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 8% | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | 91% | ~ |
| Fat | 2% | 69% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Chicken leg has signficantly less carbohydrates than white rice - white rice has 28.6g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.17g of carbohydrates.
White rice has more dietary fiber than chicken leg - white rice has 0.3g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken leg does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg is an excellent source of protein and it has 588% more protein than white rice - white rice has 2.4g of protein per 100 grams and chicken leg has 16.4g of protein.
White rice has signficantly less saturated fat than chicken leg - white rice has 0.06g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chicken leg has 4.4g of saturated fat.
Both chicken leg and white rice are low in trans fat - chicken leg has 0.06g of trans fat per 100 grams and white rice does not contain significant amounts.
White rice has less cholesterol than chicken leg - chicken leg has 93mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and white rice does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and white rice contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - chicken leg has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and white rice does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg has more Vitamin A than white rice - chicken leg has 28ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and white rice does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and white rice contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - chicken leg has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and white rice does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and white rice contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - chicken leg has 0.22mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and white rice does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken leg and white rice contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken leg has 2.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and white rice does not contain significant amounts.
White rice has more thiamin and folate, however, chicken leg contains more riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12.
| White Rice | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.167 MG | 0.073 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.016 MG | 0.141 MG |
| Niacin | 1.835 MG | 4.733 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.411 MG | 0.994 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.05 MG | 0.318 MG |
| Folate | 58 UG | 4 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 0.56 UG |
White rice and chicken leg contain similar amounts of calcium - white rice has 3mg of calcium per 100 grams and chicken leg has 9mg of calcium.
White rice has 116% more iron than chicken leg - white rice has 1.5mg of iron per 100 grams and chicken leg has 0.69mg of iron.
Chicken leg is a great source of potassium and it has 600% more potassium than white rice - white rice has 29mg 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) and DPA than white rice per 100 grams.
| White Rice | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.01 G | 0.155 G |
| DHA | ~ | 0.01 G |
| EPA | ~ | 0.004 G |
| DPA | ~ | 0.012 G |
| Total | 0.01 G | 0.181 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken leg has more linoleic acid than white rice per 100 grams.
| White Rice | Chicken Leg | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.046 G | 2.987 G |
| other omega 6 | ~ | 0.016 G |
| Total | 0.046 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: White Rice (Rice, white, medium-grain, enriched, cooked) and Chicken Leg (Chicken, broilers or fryers, leg, meat and skin, raw) .
Cooked White Rice 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 | |||