Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
heavy cream
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in heavy cream and whey protein powder:
Both heavy cream and whey protein powder are high in calories. Heavy cream is very similar to heavy cream for calories - heavy cream has 340 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, heavy cream is much lighter in protein, lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Heavy cream has a macronutrient ratio of 3:3:94 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Heavy Cream | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 3% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 3% | 7% |
| Fat | 94% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Heavy cream and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - heavy cream has 2.8g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than heavy cream - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and heavy cream does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than heavy cream - heavy cream has 2.9g 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 26 times more protein than heavy cream - heavy cream has 2.8g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Heavy cream is high in saturated fat and whey protein powder has 97% less saturated fat than heavy cream - heavy cream has 23g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Whey protein powder has less trans fat than heavy cream - heavy cream has 1.2g of trans fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has 6 times less cholesterol than heavy cream - heavy cream has 113mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Heavy cream and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - heavy cream has 0.6mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Heavy cream is an excellent source of Vitamin A and it has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - heavy cream has 411ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Heavy cream has signficantly more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - heavy cream has 63iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Heavy cream has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - heavy cream has 0.92mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Heavy cream and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - heavy cream has 3.2ug 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, heavy cream contains more pantothenic acid.
| Heavy Cream | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.02 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.188 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.064 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.495 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.035 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 4 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.16 UG | 2.45 UG |
Both heavy cream and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 611% more calcium than heavy cream - heavy cream has 66mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 10 times more iron than heavy cream - heavy cream has 0.1mg 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 426% more potassium than heavy cream - heavy cream has 95mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, heavy cream has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) and DPA than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Heavy Cream | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.128 G | 0.034 G |
| EPA | 0.009 G | ~ |
| DPA | 0.02 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.157 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, heavy cream has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Heavy Cream | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.039 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 1.294 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 1.333 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: Heavy Cream (Cream, fluid, heavy whipping) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Heavy Cream 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 | |||