Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
skim milk
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in skim milk and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and skim milk has 90% less calories than whey protein powder - skim milk has 34 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, skim milk is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and similar to whey protein powder for fat. Skim milk has a macronutrient ratio of 40:58:2 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Skim Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 40% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 58% | 7% |
| Fat | 2% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Skim milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - skim milk has 5g 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 skim milk - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and skim milk does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than skim milk - skim milk has 5.1g 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 22 times more protein than skim milk - skim milk has 3.4g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both skim milk and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - skim milk has 0.06g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Skim milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of cholesterol - skim milk has 2mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Skim milk has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - skim milk has 61ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Skim milk has more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - skim milk has 47iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Skim milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - skim milk has 0.01mg 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, folate and Vitamin B12, however, skim milk contains more pantothenic acid.
| Skim Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.045 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.182 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.094 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.357 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.037 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 5 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.5 UG | 2.45 UG |
Both skim milk and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 284% more calcium than skim milk - skim milk has 122mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 36 times more iron than skim milk - skim milk has 0.03mg 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 221% more potassium than skim milk - skim milk has 156mg 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 skim milk per 100 grams.
| Skim Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.001 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.001 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more linoleic acid than skim milk per 100 grams.
| Skim Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.002 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.002 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: Skim Milk (Milk, nonfat, fluid, with added vitamin A and vitamin D (fat free or skim)) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Skim Milk 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 | |||