Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cheddar cheese
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in cheddar cheese and whey protein powder:
Both cheddar cheese and whey protein powder are high in calories. Cheddar cheese has 14% more calories than whey protein powder - cheddar cheese has 403 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, cheddar cheese is much lighter in protein, lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Cheddar cheese has a macronutrient ratio of 23:3:74 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Cheddar Cheese | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 23% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 3% | 7% |
| Fat | 74% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Cheddar cheese and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - cheddar cheese has 3.4g 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 cheddar cheese - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and cheddar cheese does not contain significant amounts.
Cheddar cheese and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of sugar - cheddar cheese has 0.48g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Both cheddar cheese and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 242% more protein than cheddar cheese - cheddar cheese has 22.9g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Cheddar cheese is high in saturated fat and whey protein powder has 96% less saturated fat than cheddar cheese - cheddar cheese has 18.9g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Whey protein powder has 5.1 times less cholesterol than cheddar cheese - cheddar cheese has 99mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Cheddar cheese is an excellent source of Vitamin A and it has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - cheddar cheese has 337ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Cheddar cheese has more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - cheddar cheese has 24iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Cheddar cheese has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - cheddar cheese has 0.71mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Cheddar cheese and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - cheddar cheese has 2.4ug 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 and Vitamin B12, however, cheddar cheese contains more pantothenic acid. Both cheddar cheese and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of folate.
| Cheddar Cheese | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.029 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.428 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.059 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.41 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.066 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 27 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 1.1 UG | 2.45 UG |
Both cheddar cheese and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Cheddar cheese has 51% more calcium than whey protein powder - cheddar cheese has 710mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 707% more iron than cheddar cheese - cheddar cheese has 0.14mg 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 558% more potassium than cheddar cheese - cheddar cheese has 76mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, cheddar cheese has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) and DPA than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Cheddar Cheese | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.114 G | 0.034 G |
| DHA | 0.001 G | ~ |
| EPA | 0.01 G | ~ |
| DPA | 0.017 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.142 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, cheddar cheese has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Cheddar Cheese | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.036 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 1.171 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 1.207 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: Cheddar Cheese (Cheese, cheddar) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Cheddar Cheese 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 % |
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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 % |
|
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 | |||