Foie Gras vs. Pate: Nutrition Comparison and Health impact

Summary

Foie gras is higher in calories, fats, and sodium. It is richer in copper, phosphorus, and vitamins A and B12. In comparison, pate is richer in zinc, iron, vitamins C, E, B2, B5, B6, and folate. Pate is lower in saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and sodium. 

Introduction 

This article will compare two animal-derived foods, foie gras, and pate. Foie gras is a French word that translates into fatty liver. Foie gras comes from goose liver. In comparison, pate is ground and processed meat; we can find different varieties such as pork, venison, poultry, and beef.  

This article will consider chicken liver pate and foie gras. 

This is one of the fundamental differences between them. 

Foie gras comes from the liver of a goose. In comparison, pate is a processed meat of pork, beef, poultry, or venison. 

We will compare foie gras to pate based on general differences, nutritional content comparison, and health impacts. 

General difference 

Price

Foie gras is a more expensive food compared to pate. Foie gras is even considered a luxury food. 

Taste

People often consider foie gras to taste buttery, rich, and smooth. In comparison, chicken liver pate's creamy texture might be grainy, but the flavor is not as rich as foie gras. However, the taste is always personal; some people might like pate more than foie gras. 

Nutritional content comparison

This section will compare 100g of each foie gras and chicken liver pate. 

Calories

Foie gras contains 462 calories, and pate contains 201 calories. 

The difference is highly significant. Foie gras contains 2.3 times more calories compared to pate. 

Carbs

Pate contains higher amounts of carbs compared to foie gras. The amount of carbs is not very high overall, but a difference does exist between them. 

Fats

The fat content is the most significant difference regarding their nutritional content differences. 

Since foie gras translates to fatty liver, foie gras is higher in fats than pate.
 

Foie gras contains 3.4 times more fat compared to pate. Foie gras contains 44g of fat, and in comparison, pate contains 13g of fat. 

It is essential to mention the fat categories in this comparison. 

Foie gras contains 10g more saturated fats than pate and 20g more monounsaturated fats. 

However, pate, although much lower in fats, contains a slightly higher amount of polyunsaturated fats, which has little significance.

Below we can visualize their differences. 

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison

Foie gras

1

:

2

Chicken liver pate

Contains more Monounsaturated Fat +385%

Contains less Saturated Fat -72.3%

Contains more Polyunsaturated fat +192.9%

Foie gras

Saturated Fat: 14.45 g

Monounsaturated Fat: 25.61 g

Polyunsaturated fat: 0.84 g

Chicken liver pate

Saturated Fat: 4 g

Monounsaturated Fat: 5.28 g

Polyunsaturated fat: 2.46 g

Contains more Monounsaturated Fat +385%

Contains less Saturated Fat -72.3%

Contains more Polyunsaturated fat +192.9%

Proteins

Pate is slightly richer in proteins. The difference is not of high significance. Pate contains 13g of protein, whereas pate contains 11.5g. 

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison

Foie gras

2

:

3

Chicken liver pate

Contains more Fats +234.7%

Contains more Other +142.1%

Contains more Protein +18%

Contains more Carbs +40.3%

Contains more Water +77.2%

Foie gras

Protein: 11.4 g

Fats: 43.84 g

Carbs: 4.67 g

Water: 37.04 g

Other: 3.05 g

Chicken liver pate

Protein: 13.45 g

Fats: 13.1 g

Carbs: 6.55 g

Water: 65.64 g

Other: 1.26 g

Contains more Fats +234.7%

Contains more Other +142.1%

Contains more Protein +18%

Contains more Carbs +40.3%

Contains more Water +77.2%

Minerals

Pate is richer in zinc and iron.

In comparison, foie gras is richer in copper and phosphorus. However, they both have a high amount of sodium. In specific, foie gras has a higher sodium content. 

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" chart below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food

Foie gras

4

:

3

Chicken liver pate

Contains more Calcium +600%

Contains more Phosphorus +14.3%

Contains more Potassium +45.3%

Contains more Copper +122.2%

Contains more Iron +67.1%

Contains less Sodium -44.6%

Contains more Zinc +132.6%

Equal in Magnesium - 13

Foie gras

Chicken liver pate

Contains more Calcium +600%

Contains more Phosphorus +14.3%

Contains more Potassium +45.3%

Contains more Copper +122.2%

Contains more Iron +67.1%

Contains less Sodium -44.6%

Contains more Zinc +132.6%

Equal in Magnesium - 13

Vitamins 

Pate is vitamin dense and is richer in vitamins C, E, B2, B5, B6, and folate. In comparison, foie gras is richer in vitamins A and B12. 

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" chart below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food

Foie gras

3

:

9

Chicken liver pate

Contains more Vitamin A +360.4%

Contains more Vitamin B1 +69.2%

Contains more Vitamin B12 +16.5%

Contains more Vitamin C +400%

Contains more Vitamin B2 +368.6%

Contains more Vitamin B3 +199.5%

Contains more Vitamin B5 +118.3%

Contains more Vitamin B6 +333.3%

Contains more Folate +435%

Foie gras

Chicken liver pate

Contains more Vitamin A +360.4%

Contains more Vitamin B1 +69.2%

Contains more Vitamin B12 +16.5%

Contains more Vitamin C +400%

Contains more Vitamin B2 +368.6%

Contains more Vitamin B3 +199.5%

Contains more Vitamin B5 +118.3%

Contains more Vitamin B6 +333.3%

Contains more Folate +435%

Health impacts

Processed meat and cancer

Pate is considered processed meat that is positively associated with cancer. In this article, you can read in detail about red meat and processed red meat regarding their health impacts. (1)
What is red meat?

Cardiovascular health 

Foie gras ticks most boxes regarding cardiovascular health's negative impacts. 

Foie gras is high in sodium, increasing hypertension risks and mortality rates from cardiovascular diseases. (2)

In addition, foie gras contains high saturated fats, which are associated with increased risks of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, and cardiological guidelines recommend consuming lower amounts of saturated fats. In addition, the focus is on consuming unsaturated fats and considering that foie gras is richer in monounsaturated fats. (3)

However, it is counterintuitive to say eating foie gras is good for your health when it is high in saturated fats and sodium.  

Miscellaneous

Although if we consider several aspects, pate is richer in vitamins, which has many benefits for our health. Foie gras is richer in copper, phosphorus, and vitamins B12 and A. However, considering both foods as a whole, their cons outweigh their pros. Even comparatively, we can’t conclude whether one is healthier. 
It is like saying, are cigars healthier than cigarettes? 

References

1. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/cancer-carcinogenicity-of-the-consumption-of-red-meat-and-processed-meat 
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34579105/ 
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28620111/