Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
quinoa
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in quinoa and whey protein powder:
Both quinoa and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 193% more calories than quinoa - quinoa has 120 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, quinoa is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Quinoa has a macronutrient ratio of 15:71:15 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Quinoa | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 15% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 71% | 7% |
| Fat | 15% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Whey protein powder has 71% less carbohydrates than quinoa - quinoa has 21.3g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both quinoa and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Quinoa is very similar to quinoa for dietary fiber - quinoa has 2.8g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Quinoa and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of sugar - quinoa has 0.87g 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 16 times more protein than quinoa - quinoa has 4.4g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both quinoa and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - quinoa has 0.23g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Quinoa has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and quinoa does not contain significant amounts.
Quinoa and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - quinoa has 1.5ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Quinoa has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - quinoa has 0.63mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12. Both quinoa and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of folate.
| Quinoa | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.107 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.11 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.412 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.123 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 42 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 26 times more calcium than quinoa - quinoa has 17mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Quinoa and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of iron - quinoa has 1.5mg 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 191% more potassium than quinoa - quinoa has 172mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, quinoa has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) and DHA than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Quinoa | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.085 G | 0.034 G |
| DHA | 0.015 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.1 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, quinoa has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Quinoa | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.974 G | 0.264 G |
| other omega 6 | 0.003 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.977 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: Quinoa (Quinoa, cooked) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Cooked Quinoa g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Whey Protein Powder g
()
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 % |
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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 % |
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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 % |
|
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 | |||