Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
chicken breast
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in chicken breast and whey protein powder:
Both chicken breast and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 113% more calories than chicken breast - chicken breast has 165 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, chicken breast is lighter in protein, lighter in carbs and heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Chicken breast has a macronutrient ratio of 79:0:21 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Chicken Breast | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 79% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 7% |
| Fat | 21% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Chicken breast has less carbohydrates than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 6.3g of total carbs per 100 grams and chicken breast does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than chicken breast - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chicken breast does not contain significant amounts.
Both chicken breast and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 152% more protein than chicken breast - chicken breast has 31g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Chicken breast and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of saturated fat - chicken breast has 1g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Whey protein powder has 4.3 times less cholesterol than chicken breast - chicken breast has 85mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Chicken breast has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - chicken breast has 6ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken breast has more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - chicken breast has 5iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken breast and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - chicken breast has 0.27mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Chicken breast and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - chicken breast 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, folate and Vitamin B12, however, chicken breast contains more niacin and pantothenic acid. Both chicken breast and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of Vitamin B6.
| Chicken Breast | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.07 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.114 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 13.712 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.965 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.6 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 4 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.34 UG | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 30 times more calcium than chicken breast - chicken breast has 15mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Chicken breast and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of iron - chicken breast has 1mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both chicken breast and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 95% more potassium than chicken breast - chicken breast has 256mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chicken breast has more DHA than whey protein powder per 100 grams. Both chicken breast and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid (ALA).
| Chicken Breast | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.03 G | 0.034 G |
| DHA | 0.02 G | ~ |
| EPA | 0.01 G | ~ |
| DPA | 0.01 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.07 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, chicken breast has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Chicken Breast | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.59 G | 0.264 G |
| other omega 6 | 0.06 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.65 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: Chicken Breast (Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Cooked Chicken Breast 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 | |||