According to KFC, over 12 million people consume its chicken in over 109 countries around the world each and every day. KFC has over 5,200 restaurants in the United States alone and now offers four flavor varieties of its popular whole chicken products. The varieties include original recipe, extra crispy, spicy crispy, and the newest addition, grilled chicken. KFC grilled chicken offers less calories, fat and sodium and can be a smarter meal option for those in a hurry and on the go.

One KFC grilled chicken breast provides approximately 210 calories. There may be slightly more or less calories per piece depending on its size. When compared to crispy chicken, one grilled chicken breast contains less than half of the calories of crispy chicken which provides about 510 calories per piece.

A grilled chicken breast from KFC contains about 8 g of fat making it a low fat food. This is far less fat than an extra crispy chicken breast from KFC which contains 33 g of fat. The American Heart Association, or AHA, as well as the USDA dietary guidelines for Americans, recommends keeping total fat intake below 25 to 35 percent of total calories per day. KFC grilled chicken can be a low-fat food option which can help to keep your overall dietary fat intake lower and your heart healthier.

The AHA recommends limiting total saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of your overall daily caloric intake. One KFC grilled chicken breast provides 2.5 g of saturated fat. This is far less saturated fat than that contained in KFC crispy chicken and can be a better option for heart health. KFC grilled chicken provides 105 mg cholesterol per piece. This makes it somewhat high in cholesterol when looking at your overall daily cholesterol intake recommendations. The USDA dietary guidelines for Americans recommends keeping cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg per day. This means that one piece of grilled chicken from KFC takes up about one third of your daily cholesterol allotment.

A grilled chicken breast from KFC provides 34 g of protein making it a high protein food. When it comes to protein, all varieties of KFC chicken provide anywhere from 34 to 42 g per piece. Because of the varying needs of individuals based on activity factors and growth, there is no set recommendation for protein needs each day. However, in general the USDA recommends about 0.8 g of protein per kg body weight per day for the average adult. Based on this, the average 175 lb. man would require about 64 g of protein per day. One piece of KFC grilled chicken could easily meet about half of his daily protein needs.

When it comes to sodium, KFC grilled chicken provides the lowest amount of sodium per piece out of all the KFC chicken varieties. One grilled chicken breast provides 460 mg of sodium. This is not much when compared to the 1,010 mg of sodium contained in one piece of crispy chicken. The USDA recommends keeping sodium intake less than 2,300 mg per day.