Pork belly vs. Pork jowl — Health Impact and Nutrition Comparison

Summary

Pork jowl is a fattier cut with higher amounts of fats and calories. In comparison, pork belly is richer in proteins and has fewer calories. Pork belly is richer in selenium, zinc, phosphorus, and vitamin B6. 

In accordance, in high amounts, both negatively impact overall health. 

Introduction

Pork jowl and pork belly are different cuts of pork. A pork jowl is a cut that comes from the head of the pork. On the other hand, pork belly comes from the belly of the pork. Both these cuts have different compositions regarding the meat and fat contents. Understanding the difference between these cuts is essential. 

It is also important to answer whether pork meat is red or white. You can read this article to answer your question. 

This article will compare these pork cuts regarding general differences, their nutrition content, and health impacts. 

General differences 

Pork jowl and belly are fatty cuts of pork. However, pork jowl has thick layers of fat. As an example, guanciale is a common use of pork jowl. As an example of pork belly, bacon is one of the main usages for pork belly. 

They are both used in the culinary world as strips or cubes crisped up to be used in different foods. 

The meat on a pork jowl is a slice of thick and chewier meat. Pork belly and jowl are mainly smoked and slowly cooked since they are not as tender as other cuts. 

Nutritional content comparison

This section will compare 100g of each cut in raw form. 

Calories

Pork jowl is higher in calories. There are 655 calories in 100g of pork jowl compared to pork belly, which contains 518 calories. 

Pork jowl is on the list of top 30 foods high in calories. 

Proteins

Pork belly is richer in proteins compared to pork jowl. Pork jowl contains 6.4g of protein compared to pork belly, which contains 9.3g of protein. 

Fats

The fat composition of these cuts is one of the essential components. 
Pork jowl contains 70g of fat compared to pork belly, which contains 53g of fat. Pork jowl is higher in fats by a very significant amount. 

Pork jowl is higher in saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and cholesterol. 

The saturated fat composition of pork jowl is 25g, whereas, in pork belly, the saturated fat composition is lower than 19g.  

Concerning the fat content, both these cuts are highly fatty. Another comparative text is between pork shoulder vs. pork belly, which compares a less fatty cut of pork which is the shoulder. 

Carbs

The carbohydrate content is negligible in both of them. 

Minerals 

Pork belly is richer in selenium, zinc, and phosphorus. 

Below we can see the mineral distributions. 

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.

Pork belly

9

Pork jowl

1

Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium	+33.3%
Contains more CalciumCalcium	+25%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium	+25%
Contains more IronIron	+23.8%
Contains more CopperCopper	+30%
Contains more ZincZinc	+21.4%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus	+25.6%
Contains more ManganeseManganese	+20%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium	+433.3%

Contains less SodiumSodium

-21.9%

Vitamins

Their vitamin content is nearly similar. They are both nearly equally rich in vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B12. Comparatively, pork belly is richer in vitamin B6. 

Below we can see the vitamin distributions. 

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.

Pork belly

3

Pork jowl

0

Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C	+∞%
Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E	+34.5%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+44.4%

~equal in Vitamin A ~9IU

~equal in Vitamin D ~µg

~equal in Vitamin B1 ~0.386mg

~equal in Vitamin B2 ~0.236mg

~equal in Vitamin B3 ~4.535mg

~equal in Vitamin B5 ~0.25mg

~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0.82µg

~equal in Vitamin K ~µg

~equal in Folate ~1µg

~equal in Choline ~mg

Health impacts

Since pork meat is red meat, it is essential to know how red meat can impact our health. This article explains in-depth how red meat can affect your health. 

Cardiovascular health

High saturated fat intake, in this case with pork jowl and pork belly, is linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. (1) (2)

Diabetes and metabolic diseases

Since both these foods are high in calories, unregulated consumption of high-caloric foods over a long period increases the risks of obesity and overall metabolic diseases. One of the main increased risks is type 2 diabetes, although none of these foods has a glycemic index.  (3)

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4540268/ 
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32428300/ 
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4237976/