Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
wheat flour
versus
spirulina
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in wheat flour and spirulina:
Both wheat flour and spirulina are high in calories. Wheat flour has 24% more calories than spirulina - wheat flour has 361 calories per 100 grams and spirulina has 290 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, wheat flour is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and lighter in fat compared to spirulina per calorie. Wheat flour has a macronutrient ratio of 14:82:4 and for spirulina, 58:24:18 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
Protein | 14% | 58% |
Carbohydrates | 82% | 24% |
Fat | 4% | 18% |
Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Wheat flour is high in carbohydrates and spirulina has 67% less carbohydrates than wheat flour - wheat flour has 72.5g of total carbs per 100 grams and spirulina has 23.9g of carbohydrates.
Both wheat flour and spirulina are high in dietary fiber. Spirulina has 50% more dietary fiber than wheat flour - wheat flour has 2.4g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and spirulina has 3.6g of dietary fiber.
Wheat flour and spirulina contain similar amounts of sugar - wheat flour has 0.31g of sugar per 100 grams and spirulina has 3.1g of sugar.
Both wheat flour and spirulina are high in protein. Spirulina has 380% more protein than wheat flour - wheat flour has 12g of protein per 100 grams and spirulina has 57.5g of protein.
Wheat flour has 9.8 times less saturated fat than spirulina - wheat flour has 0.24g of saturated fat per 100 grams and spirulina has 2.7g of saturated fat.
Spirulina has signficantly more Vitamin C than wheat flour - spirulina has 10.1mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and wheat flour does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has more Vitamin A than wheat flour - spirulina has 29ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and wheat flour does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has 11 times more Vitamin E than wheat flour - wheat flour has 0.4mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and spirulina has 5mg of Vitamin E.
Spirulina has 84 times more Vitamin K than wheat flour - wheat flour has 0.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and spirulina has 25.5ug of Vitamin K.
Spirulina has more thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B6. Both wheat flour and spirulina contain significant amounts of niacin and folate.
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
Thiamin | 0.812 MG | 2.38 MG |
Riboflavin | 0.512 MG | 3.67 MG |
Niacin | 7.554 MG | 12.82 MG |
Pantothenic acid | 0.438 MG | 3.48 MG |
Vitamin B6 | 0.037 MG | 0.364 MG |
Folate | 183 UG | 94 UG |
Spirulina is an excellent source of calcium and it has 700% more calcium than wheat flour - wheat flour has 15mg of calcium per 100 grams and spirulina has 120mg of calcium.
Both wheat flour and spirulina are high in iron. Spirulina has 546% more iron than wheat flour - wheat flour has 4.4mg of iron per 100 grams and spirulina has 28.5mg of iron.
Spirulina is an excellent source of potassium and it has 12 times more potassium than wheat flour - wheat flour has 100mg of potassium per 100 grams and spirulina has 1363mg of potassium.
Carotenoids are micronutrients commonly found in plants and some animal products. An example is beta-carotene, the notable carotenoid which is a popular source of Vitamin A.[4][5]
For specific types of carotenoids, spirulina has more beta-carotene than wheat flour per 100 grams, however, wheat flour contains more lutein + zeaxanthin than spirulina per 100 grams.
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
beta-carotene | 1 UG | 342 UG |
lutein + zeaxanthin | 79 UG | ~ |
For omega-3 fatty acids, spirulina has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than wheat flour per 100 grams.
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
alpha linoleic acid | 0.043 G | 0.823 G |
Total | 0.043 G | 0.823 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both wheat flour and spirulina contain significant amounts of linoleic acid.
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
linoleic acid | 0.685 G | 1.254 G |
Total | 0.685 G | 1.254 G |
The comparison below is by weight, but sometimes 100g isn't that intuitive of a measurement for food. View a custom portion comparison (e.g. cups, oz, package).
You can try adding or subtracting the amount of either Wheat Flour or Spirulina .
Note: The specific food items compared are: Wheat Flour (Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched) and Spirulina (Seaweed, spirulina, dried) .
Wheat Flour 100g
(
100 g
)
|
Daily Values (%) |
Spirulina 100g
(
100 g
)
|
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
361KCAL 18% |
|
24% | calories | 5% |
|
290KCAL 15% | |
73G 29% |
|
204% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
24G 10% | |
2.4G 10% |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 50% |
|
3.6G 14% | |
0.31G | 5% | sugar | 900% | 3.1G | |||
1.7G 3% |
|
5% | total fat | 353% |
|
7.7G 12% | |
0.24G 1% |
|
5% | saturated fat | >999% |
|
2.7G 15% | |
0.14G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 385% | 0.68G | |||
0.73G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 188% | 2.1G | |||
2MG 0.1% |
|
5% | sodium | >999% |
|
1048MG 70% | |
5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
|
5% | Vitamin A | >999% |
|
29UG 4% | ||
|
5% | Vitamin C | >999% |
|
10MG 14% | ||
15MG 2% |
|
5% | calcium | 700% |
|
120MG 12% | |
4.4MG 25% |
|
5% | iron | 559% |
|
29MG 158% | |
25MG 8% |
|
5% | magnesium | 680% |
|
195MG 63% | |
100MG 4% |
|
5% | potassium | >999% |
|
1363MG 59% | |
0.81MG 74% |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 196% |
|
2.4MG 216% | |
0.51MG 47% |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 625% |
|
3.7MG 334% | |
7.6MG 54% |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 71% |
|
13MG 92% | |
0.04MG 3% |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 798% |
|
0.36MG 28% | |
0.44MG 9% |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 695% |
|
3.5MG 70% | |
183UG 46% |
|
95% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
94UG 24% | |
0.4MG 3% |
|
5% | Vitamin E | >999% |
|
5MG 33% | |
0.3UG 0.3% |
|
5% | Vitamin K | >999% |
|
26UG 28% | |
12G 24% |
|
5% | protein | 375% |
|
57G 115% | |
10MG 2% |
|
5% | choline | 560% |
|
66MG 16% | |
0.18MG 15% |
|
5% | copper | >999% |
|
6.1MG 508% | |
0.79MG 44% |
|
5% | manganese | 140% |
|
1.9MG 106% | |
97MG 14% |
|
5% | phosphorus | 22% |
|
118MG 17% | |
40UG 72% |
|
456% | selenium | 5% |
|
7.2UG 13% | |
0.85MG 11% |
|
5% | zinc | 135% |
|
2MG 25% | |
13G | 177% | Water | 5% | 4.7G | |||
NO SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS (either food): Starch, Alcohol, chlorine, chromium, fluoride, iodine, molybdenum, Vitamin D, biotin (Vit B7), Vitamin B12, cholesterol, trans fat. |