Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
buttermilk
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in buttermilk and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and buttermilk has 82% less calories than whey protein powder - buttermilk has 62 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, buttermilk is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Buttermilk has a macronutrient ratio of 21:32:48 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Buttermilk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 21% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 32% | 7% |
| Fat | 48% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Buttermilk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - buttermilk has 4.9g 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 buttermilk - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and buttermilk does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than buttermilk - buttermilk has 4.9g 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 23 times more protein than buttermilk - buttermilk has 3.2g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Whey protein powder has 59% less saturated fat than buttermilk - buttermilk has 1.9g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Buttermilk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of cholesterol - buttermilk has 11mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Buttermilk has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - buttermilk has 47ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Buttermilk has signficantly more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - buttermilk has 52iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Buttermilk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - buttermilk has 0.07mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Buttermilk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - buttermilk has 0.3ug 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, buttermilk contains more pantothenic acid.
| Buttermilk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.047 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.172 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.09 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.38 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.036 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 5 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.46 UG | 2.45 UG |
Both buttermilk and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 308% more calcium than buttermilk - buttermilk has 115mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 36 times more iron than buttermilk - buttermilk 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 270% more potassium than buttermilk - buttermilk has 135mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, buttermilk has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Buttermilk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.076 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.076 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more linoleic acid than buttermilk per 100 grams.
| Buttermilk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.122 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.122 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: Buttermilk (Milk, buttermilk, fluid, whole) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Buttermilk 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 % |
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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 % |
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5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
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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 | |||