Shrimp vs Chicken – Is One Better? Let’s Compare

Shrimp and chicken are two popular types of meat, but many people don’t know which one is better or has more nutrients. Therefore, shrimp vs chicken, let’s compare.

When comparing shrimp to chicken breast, shrimp has fewer calories, more omega 3 fatty acids, magnesium, zinc and calcium. Chicken breast has more protein, niacin, potassium and phosphorus.

When comparing shrimp to the dark chicken meat, shrimp has fewer calories, more omega 3 fatty acids, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium. The dark meat chicken has more protein and zinc.

In summary, shrimp provides more nutrients than dark chicken meat but is more similar to the white meat of the chicken breast.

The article will break down each nutrient and compare them side-by-side. The comparison includes the different parts of the chicken like the wings, thighs, drumsticks and breasts. I’ll examine why one may be better for you and their mercury levels.

A shrimp and chicken dinner. — A shrimp and chicken dinner

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Nutrition Comparison: Shrimp vs Chicken

The following table compares the nutrients per four ounces, white meat and skinless chicken.

Nutrient	Shrimp, raw Skinless (4 Ounces)	Chicken Breast, raw Skinless (4 Ounces)
Calories	85	136
Fat	0.5 g	3 g
Protein	20 g	26 g
Omega-3	0.54 g	0.02 g
Niacin	2.2 mg	10.8 mg
Potassium	264 mg	378 mg
Magnesium	35 mg	31 mg
Phosphorus	214 mg	241 mg
Calcium	64 mg	5.6 mg
Zinc	1.3 mg	0.7 mg

Nutrition Sources ¹ ² ³

When examining the table above, remember the chicken listed is white meat and not the dark part of the chicken or with the skin.

A skinless chicken breast provides more protein, niacin, potassium, phosphorus and vitamins. Shrimp provides fewer calories and more omega 3, magnesium, calcium and zinc.

Chicken Parts and Their Nutrition Values

Chicken is one of the most popular types of meat, and it is healthy to eat when skinless and cooked without unhealthy additions. The skinless chicken breast is the healthiest part of the whole chicken ⁴.

However, there are four different cuts, and the nutritional content of chicken can vary depending on the part. Let’s compare which one is the leaner choice.

Shrimp is leaner than the dark chicken parts due to its less total fat and fewer calories. It contains less total fat than any part of the chicken. The fish contains 0.5 grams of fat per four ounces, chicken breast 3 grams, thighs 4.7 grams, drumsticks 4.2 grams and wings 4 grams.

Before adding seasonings like butter or other ingredients to your dish, inspect the nutrition facts of an unseasoned, skinless and cooked cut.

Adding butter, certain seasonings and other foods to a whole roasted chicken will add calories, carbs or other things, like saturated fat, you may be trying to avoid.

The table below compares the nutrients of the remaining parts of the chicken to shrimp.

Nutrient	Chicken thigh Skinless, raw 4 ounces	Chicken drumstick Skinless, raw 4 ounces	Chicken wings, Skinless, raw 4 ounces	Shrimp Skinless, raw 4 ounces
Calories	137	131	143	85
Fat	4.7 g	4.2 g	4 g	0.5 g
Protein	22 g	22 g	25 g	20 g
Omega-3	0.05 g	0.05 g	0.10 g	0.54 g
Iron	0.9 mg	0.8 mg	1.0 mg	0.5 mg
Potassium	273 mg	254 mg	220 mg	264 mg
Magnesium	25 mg	22 mg	24 mg	35 mg
Phosphorus	209 mg	196 mg	175 mg	214 mg
Calcium	7.9 mg	10.1 mg	14.7 mg	64.0 mg
Zinc	1.7 mg	2.3 mg	1.8 mg	1.3 mg

Nutrient Sources ⁵ ⁶ ⁷

Examining the nutrients of the other parts of the chicken, you’ll see they are not as nutritious as the white chicken meat.

The chicken parts provide more protein, fat and zinc. The shrimp has fewer calories and a higher percentage of omega 3, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium.

Just like the chicken breast, the other parts do contain a wide variety of beneficial vitamins and minerals. Adding the skin would increase the amount of fat, particularly the unhealthy saturated fat.

Chicken contains more fat, saturated fat and monounsaturated fat.

Whole chicken dinner. — Whole chicken dinner

Health Benefits

Both of them contain many of the same nutrients and therefore similar health benefits. Even though, I broke down the benefits by which meat offers the higher percentage of each nutrient.

Shrimp Health Benefits

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

The shrimp provides 0.54 grams of omega-3 and the wings, 0.10 grams per four ounces raw, the most of any part. It contains over 100% more which leads to the question, why does omega-3 fatty acids matter so much?

It’s because omega-3 fatty acids are heart healthy and help keep arteries healthy. They accomplish this is by the following:

Keeping bad cholesterol low.
Keeping good cholesterol high.
Reducing inflammation.
Reducing plaque build-up.
Lowering triglycerides
Help keep the heart rhythms more normal.

DHA and EPA, two of the fatty acids, are associated with lowering blood pressure and improving the health of blood vessels ⁸.

Studies suggest omega-3s can help reduce joint pain and stiffness in people with rheumatoid arthritis. They may also boost the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Magnesium

Adding magnesium to your diet could be instrumental in improving sleep related issues like insomnia.

Magnesium relaxes and calms the whole body including the blood vessels ⁹. More so, it helps keep blood pressure levels balanced and stable. A recent study researched 22 studies and concluded magnesium supplementation decreased diastolic and systolic blood pressure ¹⁰.

Magnesium helps control muscle and nerve function, blood sugar and blood pressure. In the muscles and heart, magnesium competes with calcium to help the muscles relax after contracting.

When the body is low in magnesium, calcium can over stimulate the heart muscle’s cells causing a rapid or irregular heartbeat.

Calcium

The shrimp provides a large amount of calcium. Like magnesium, calcium is important for blood pressure and the heart.

Harvard Health reports calcium helps maintain blood pressure because it helps to control the relaxing and tightening of blood vessels ¹¹. Calcium also helps the following:

Build and maintains strong bones.
Muscles need calcium to function properly.
Improve nerve function.

Shrimp and chicken dinner. — Shrimp and chicken dinner Pin to Pinterest

Chicken Health Benefits

B Vitamins

Chicken breast and the dark meat contains a higher percentage of B vitamins.

The B vitamins include B6, B12, B5, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin) and B9 (folate). B vitamins help support the following:

Cardiovascular disease
Red blood cells
Brain function
Nerve function
Digestion
Energy levels

Shrimp or Chicken? Which to Choose

This section will cover common goals people have and which one is better for that particular goal. Let’s start with the most popular, to lose weight.

Lose Weight

Shrimp is better than chicken for weight loss due to its less calories per serving. Raw shrimp contains 85 calories per four ounces. Skinless chicken breasts contain 136 calories, thighs 137 calories, drumsticks 131 calories and wings 143 calories.

The fish also contains less total fat than chicken.

The video discusses chicken and fish for weight loss and protein.

Protein and Bodybuilding

Chicken breast and dark meat contain more protein per serving than shrimp.

Skinless chicken breast is better for bodybuilding due to its higher percentage of protein and calories. The protein helps to build, repair and maintain muscle after workouts.

The few extra calories may help when bulking to add extra muscle weight.

Gluten Free

Both shrimp and chicken are naturally gluten free foods. However, be careful with popular breaded or floured coatings which typically contain wheat.

All types of fish are gluten free.

Shrimp and Chicken Mercury Levels

When discussing heath and the consumption of food, it’s difficult to ignore the mercury levels found in some fish. The Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about consuming fish regarding their mercury levels ¹².

This is especially important for young, developing children and infants. In addition, pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding must be aware of their fish consumption.

Shrimp vs chicken, let’s examine their mercury levels.

Shrimp is not considered to have high levels of mercury compared to other seafood. The FDA lists it in the best choices for seafood regarding mercury levels. They recommend consuming shrimp safely up to 2-3 times per week.

Chicken is unknown to contain mercury ¹³. Although a past report in 2006 found that some insects contain mercury and the animals that eat them, like chickens. The FDA hasn’t issued any known warnings about mercury in chicken.

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