Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cocoa powder
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in cocoa powder and whey protein powder:
Both cocoa powder and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 54% more calories than cocoa powder - cocoa powder has 228 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, cocoa powder is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Cocoa powder has a macronutrient ratio of 19:54:27 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Cocoa Powder | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 19% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 54% | 7% |
| Fat | 27% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Cocoa powder is high in carbohydrates and whey protein powder has 89% less carbohydrates than cocoa powder - cocoa powder has 57.9g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both cocoa powder and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Cocoa powder has 10 times more dietary fiber than whey protein powder - cocoa powder has 37g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than cocoa powder - cocoa powder has 1.8g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Both cocoa powder and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 299% more protein than cocoa powder - cocoa powder has 19.6g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Cocoa powder is high in saturated fat and whey protein powder has 90% less saturated fat than cocoa powder - cocoa powder has 8.1g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Cocoa powder has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and cocoa powder does not contain significant amounts.
Cocoa powder and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - cocoa powder has 0.1mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Cocoa powder and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - cocoa powder has 2.5ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12, however, cocoa powder contains more pantothenic acid. Both cocoa powder and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of niacin and folate.
| Cocoa Powder | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.078 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.241 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 2.185 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.254 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.118 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 32 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Both cocoa powder and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 266% more calcium than cocoa powder - cocoa powder has 128mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Cocoa powder is an excellent source of iron and it has 11 times more iron than whey protein powder - cocoa powder has 13.9mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both cocoa powder and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Cocoa powder has 205% more potassium than whey protein powder - cocoa powder has 1524mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both cocoa powder and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of linoleic acid.
| Cocoa Powder | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.44 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.44 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: Cocoa Powder (Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Cocoa Powder g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Whey Protein Powder g
()
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
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5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
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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 % |
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5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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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 % |
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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% |
|
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| MG % |
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5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
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5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
| G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||