Lamb vs. Mutton — Health Impact and Nutrition Comparison

Calories

Lamb is higher in calories than mutton. A 100 g serving of lamb and mutton have 294kcal and 234kcal, respectively.

Protein

Mutton provides more protein than lamb. A 100 g serving of lamb and mutton have 24.52g and 34.33g of protein, respectively. Both contain all essential amino acids, but mutton is higher in all except for tryptophan.

Fats

Lamb has over two times more total fat than mutton. In a 100g serving, lamb and mutton contain 20.94g and 11.09g of total fat, respectively. 

A 100 g serving of lamb and mutton have 8.83g and 5.142g of saturated fats, respectively.

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison

Lamb

2

Saturated Fat: Sat. Fat 8.83 g

Monounsaturated Fat: Mono. Fat 8.82 g

Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 1.51 g

Mutton

1

Saturated Fat: Sat. Fat 5.142 g

Monounsaturated Fat: Mono. Fat 4.459 g

Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.814 g

Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated Fat	+97.8%
Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat	+85.5%

Contains less Sat. FatSaturated Fat

-41.8%

Cholesterol

Mutton provides more cholesterol. In a 100g serving, lamb and mutton have 97mg and 109mg of cholesterol, respectively. 

Carbohydrates

Lamb has no carbs, whereas mutton has 0.08 of it.

Vitamins

Mutton has over 5.7 times more vitamin E, 3 times more vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and vitamin B5. On the other hand, lamb contains more vitamin B1. 

Lamb has small amounts of vitamin K and folate, whereas mutton lacks them. Both provide a high content of choline. In a 100g serving, lamb and mutton provide 94mg and 101mg of choline, respectively.

Vitamin Comparison

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

Lamb

4

Mutton

5

Contains more Vitamin DVitamin D	+∞%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1	+66.7%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K	+∞%
Contains more FolateFolate	+∞%

Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E	+471.4%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2	+20%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5	+35.9%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+190%
Contains more Vitamin B12Vitamin B12	+74.1%

~equal in Vitamin C ~mg

~equal in Vitamin A ~IU

~equal in Vitamin B3 ~6.52mg

~equal in Choline ~100.6mg

Minerals

Mutton has more phosphorus and selenium, sodium, and 2.5 times more iron, whereas lamb has over two times more copper. 

In a 100g serving, lamb and mutton provide 72mg and 135mg of sodium, respectively. Moreover, mutton has more potassium, magnesium, and zinc, while lamb contains more calcium.

Mineral Comparison

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

Lamb

3

Mutton

7

Contains more CalciumCalcium	+70%
Contains more CopperCopper	+91.9%
Contains less SodiumSodium	-46.7%

Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium	+34.8%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium	+31.9%
Contains more IronIron	+153.2%
Contains more ZincZinc	+33%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus	+44.7%
Contains more ManganeseManganese	+50%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium	+43.9%

Oxalate

Mutton and lamb are oxalate-free.

Glycemic Index

The lack of carbs makes lamb and mutton low glycemic index foods. The glycemic index of both is 0.

Acidity

The potential renal acid load (PRAL) is a way to determine the acidity of foods. The PRAL level of lamb is 11.6, while mutton has a PRAL value of 16.9. Both of them are acidic, mutton being more acid-forming.

Cardiovascular Health

Overall, a higher intake of both unprocessed and processed red meat like lamb and mutton is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, heart failure, and diabetes ( type two diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)). 

Perhaps due to the lower portions of red meat in Eastern settings, the correlations between red meat intake and stroke and type 2 diabetes were stronger in Western settings than in Eastern ones (2, 3).

Cancer

Meta-analysis suggests that high consumption of red meat, processed meat, and their combination is associated with an increased risk of several cancers, though the degree of risk varies.

Unprocessed red meat consumption is associated with a higher risk of endometrial, colorectal, colon, rectal, lung, and hepatocellular cancers (4).

While some studies report no association between lamb and mutton (as red meat) consumption and breast cancer risk, others find borderline significant positive associations (5).

The current study does not definitively link lamb and mutton consumption to breast cancer risk but suggests that factors such as specific compounds in meat or cooking byproducts could play a role.

Several compounds in red meat, such as dietary heme iron, fat, and N-glycolylneuraminic acid, are hypothesized to increase tumor formation. However, this study did not find significant associations between heme iron intake and breast cancer risk. More research is needed to clarify these associations (6).