Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
kale
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in kale and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and kale has 90% less calories than whey protein powder - kale has 35 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, kale is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Kale has a macronutrient ratio of 28:41:31 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Kale | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 28% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 41% | 7% |
| Fat | 31% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Kale and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - kale has 4.4g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both kale and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Kale has 32% more dietary fiber than whey protein powder - kale has 4.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Kale and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of sugar - kale has 0.99g 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 25 times more protein than kale - kale has 2.9g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both kale and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - kale has 0.18g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Kale has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and kale does not contain significant amounts.
Kale is an excellent source of Vitamin C and it has more Vitamin C than whey protein powder - kale has 93.4mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Kale is an excellent source of Vitamin A and it has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - kale has 241ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Kale has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - kale has 0.66mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Kale is an excellent source of Vitamin K and it has more Vitamin K than whey protein powder - kale has 389.6ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12, however, kale contains more pantothenic acid. Both kale and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of niacin and folate.
| Kale | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.113 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.347 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 1.18 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.37 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.147 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 62 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Both kale and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 85% more calcium than kale - kale has 254mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Kale has 42% more iron than whey protein powder - kale has 1.6mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both kale and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 44% more potassium than kale - kale has 348mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, kale has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Kale | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.378 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.378 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both kale and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of linoleic acid.
| Kale | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.291 G | 0.264 G |
| other omega 6 | 0.003 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.294 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: Kale (Kale, raw) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Kale 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 % |
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5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
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 % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||