Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
oatmeal
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in oatmeal and whey protein powder:
Both oatmeal and whey protein powder are high in calories. Oatmeal has a little more calories (4%) than whey protein powder by weight - oatmeal has 367 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, oatmeal is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Oatmeal has a macronutrient ratio of 17:69:15 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Oatmeal | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 17% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 69% | 7% |
| Fat | 15% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Oatmeal is high in carbohydrates and whey protein powder has 91% less carbohydrates than oatmeal - oatmeal has 67g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both oatmeal and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Oatmeal has 216% more dietary fiber than whey protein powder - oatmeal has 9.8g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Oatmeal and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of sugar - oatmeal has 1g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Both oatmeal and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 388% more protein than oatmeal - oatmeal has 16g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Oatmeal and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of saturated fat - oatmeal has 1.1g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Oatmeal has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and oatmeal does not contain significant amounts.
Oatmeal has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - oatmeal has 0.47mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more riboflavin, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12. Both oatmeal and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of thiamin, niacin and folate.
| Oatmeal | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.73 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.14 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.78 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.12 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 32 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Both oatmeal and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 802% more calcium than oatmeal - oatmeal has 52mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Oatmeal is an excellent source of iron and it has 272% more iron than whey protein powder - oatmeal has 4.2mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both oatmeal and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 43% more potassium than oatmeal - oatmeal has 350mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
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: Oatmeal (Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal Organic, Regular) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Oatmeal 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 | |||