Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
apple
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in apple and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and apple has 85% less calories than whey protein powder - apple has 52 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, apple is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and similar to whey protein powder for fat. Apple has a macronutrient ratio of 2:96:3 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Apple | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 2% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 96% | 7% |
| Fat | 3% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Whey protein powder has 55% less carbohydrates than apple - apple has 13.8g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both apple and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Whey protein powder has 29% more dietary fiber than apple - apple has 2.4g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than apple - apple has 10.4g 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 299 times more protein than apple - apple has 0.26g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both apple and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - apple has 0.03g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Apple has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and apple does not contain significant amounts.
Apple has more Vitamin C than whey protein powder - apple has 4.6mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Apple and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - apple has 3ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Apple and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - apple has 0.18mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Apple and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - apple has 2.2ug of Vitamin K 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, apple contains more pantothenic acid.
| Apple | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.017 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.026 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.091 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.061 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.041 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 3 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 77 times more calcium than apple - apple has 6mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 842% more iron than apple - apple has 0.12mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of potassium and it has 367% more potassium than apple - apple has 107mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than apple per 100 grams.
| Apple | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.009 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.009 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more linoleic acid than apple per 100 grams.
| Apple | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.043 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.043 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: Apple (Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Apple 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 | |||