Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
banana
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in banana and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and banana has 75% less calories than whey protein powder - banana has 89 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, banana is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and similar to whey protein powder for fat. Banana has a macronutrient ratio of 5:93:3 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Banana | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 5% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 93% | 7% |
| Fat | 3% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Whey protein powder has 73% less carbohydrates than banana - banana has 22.8g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both banana and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Whey protein powder has 19% more dietary fiber than banana - banana has 2.6g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than banana - banana has 12.2g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of protein and it has 70 times more protein than banana - banana has 1.1g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both banana and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - banana has 0.11g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Banana has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and banana does not contain significant amounts.
Banana has signficantly more Vitamin C than whey protein powder - banana has 8.7mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Banana and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - banana has 3ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Banana and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - banana has 0.1mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Banana and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - banana has 0.5ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin and Vitamin B12, however, banana contains more pantothenic acid. Both banana and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of niacin, Vitamin B6 and folate.
| Banana | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.031 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.073 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.665 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.334 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.367 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 20 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 92 times more calcium than banana - banana has 5mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 335% more iron than banana - banana has 0.26mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both banana and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 40% more potassium than banana - banana has 358mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, both banana and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid (ALA).
| Banana | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.027 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.027 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more linoleic acid than banana per 100 grams.
| Banana | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.046 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.046 G | 0.264 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Banana (Bananas, raw) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Banana g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Whey Protein Powder g
()
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
| MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
| MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| 5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||