Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
chicken
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in chicken and whey protein powder:
Both chicken and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 86% more calories than chicken - chicken has 189 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, chicken is much lighter in protein, lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Chicken has a macronutrient ratio of 49:0:51 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Chicken | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 49% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 7% |
| Fat | 51% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Chicken has less carbohydrates than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 6.3g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than chicken - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken does not contain significant amounts.
Both chicken and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 236% more protein than chicken - chicken has 23.3g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Whey protein powder has 75% less saturated fat than chicken - chicken has 3.1g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Both chicken and whey protein powder are low in trans fat - chicken has 0.09g of trans fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has 5.6 times less cholesterol than chicken - chicken has 107mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Chicken has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - chicken has 0.39mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken has 2.1ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin, folate and Vitamin B12, however, chicken contains more niacin and pantothenic acid. Both chicken and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of Vitamin B6.
| Chicken | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.121 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.302 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 7.107 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 1.327 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.538 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 2 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.51 UG | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 57 times more calcium than chicken - chicken has 8mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Chicken and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of iron - chicken has 0.93mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both chicken and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Chicken has 35% more potassium than whey protein powder - chicken has 677mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA), DHA and DPA than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Chicken | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.1 G | 0.034 G |
| DHA | 0.031 G | ~ |
| EPA | 0.008 G | ~ |
| DPA | 0.016 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.155 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Chicken | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.02 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 1.818 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 1.838 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: Chicken (Chicken, ground, crumbles, cooked, pan-browned) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Cooked Chicken 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 | |||