Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
spirulina
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in spirulina and whey protein powder:
Both spirulina and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 21% more calories than spirulina - spirulina has 290 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, spirulina is much lighter in protein, heavier in carbs and heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Spirulina has a macronutrient ratio of 59:25:17 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Spirulina | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 59% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 25% | 7% |
| Fat | 17% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Whey protein powder has 74% less carbohydrates than spirulina - spirulina has 23.9g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both spirulina and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Spirulina has 16% more dietary fiber than whey protein powder - spirulina has 3.6g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than spirulina - spirulina has 3.1g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Both spirulina and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 36% more protein than spirulina - spirulina has 57.5g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Whey protein powder has 71% less saturated fat than spirulina - spirulina has 2.7g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Spirulina has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and spirulina does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has signficantly more Vitamin C than whey protein powder - spirulina has 10.1mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - spirulina has 29ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has signficantly more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - spirulina has 5mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has more Vitamin K than whey protein powder - spirulina has 25.5ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has more thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid and folate, however, whey protein powder contains more Vitamin B12. Both spirulina and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of riboflavin and Vitamin B6.
| Spirulina | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 2.38 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 3.67 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 12.82 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 3.48 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.364 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 94 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Both spirulina and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 291% more calcium than spirulina - spirulina has 120mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Spirulina is an excellent source of iron and it has 24 times more iron than whey protein powder - spirulina has 28.5mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both spirulina and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Spirulina has 173% more potassium than whey protein powder - spirulina has 1363mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, spirulina has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Spirulina | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.823 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.823 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, spirulina has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Spirulina | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 1.254 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 1.254 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: Spirulina (Seaweed, spirulina, dried) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Spirulina 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 | |||