Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
pumpkin seeds
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in pumpkin seeds and whey protein powder:
Both pumpkin seeds and whey protein powder are high in calories. Pumpkin seed has 27% more calories than whey protein powder - pumpkin seed has 446 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, pumpkin seeds is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Pumpkin seeds has a macronutrient ratio of 16:46:38 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Pumpkin Seeds | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 16% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 46% | 7% |
| Fat | 38% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Pumpkin seed is high in carbohydrates and whey protein powder has 88% less carbohydrates than pumpkin seed - pumpkin seed has 53.8g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both pumpkin seeds and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Pumpkin seed has 494% more dietary fiber than whey protein powder - pumpkin seed has 18.4g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Both pumpkin seeds and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 321% more protein than pumpkin seed - pumpkin seed has 18.6g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Whey protein powder has 3.7 times less saturated fat than pumpkin seed - pumpkin seed has 3.7g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Pumpkin seed has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and pumpkin seed does not contain significant amounts.
Pumpkin seeds and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - pumpkin seed has 0.3mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Pumpkin seeds and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - pumpkin seed has 3ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6, folate and Vitamin B12, however, pumpkin seed contains more pantothenic acid.
| Pumpkin Seeds | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.034 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.052 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.286 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.056 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.037 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 9 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Both pumpkin seeds and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 753% more calcium than pumpkin seed - pumpkin seed has 55mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Pumpkin seed is an excellent source of iron and it has 193% more iron than whey protein powder - pumpkin seed has 3.3mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both pumpkin seeds and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Pumpkin seed has 84% more potassium than whey protein powder - pumpkin seed has 919mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, pumpkin seed has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Pumpkin Seeds | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.077 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.077 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, pumpkin seed has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Pumpkin Seeds | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 8.759 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 8.759 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: Pumpkin Seeds (Seeds, pumpkin and squash seeds, whole, roasted, without salt) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Pumpkin Seeds g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Whey Protein Powder g
()
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 % |
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5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
| MG % |
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5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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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 % |
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5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
| UG % |
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5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
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5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
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5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| UG % |
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5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
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5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||