Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cottage 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 cottage cheese and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and cottage cheese has 72% less calories than whey protein powder - cottage cheese has 98 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, cottage cheese is much lighter in protein, heavier in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Cottage cheese has a macronutrient ratio of 46:14:40 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Cottage Cheese | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 46% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 14% | 7% |
| Fat | 40% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Cottage cheese and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - cottage 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 cottage cheese - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and cottage cheese does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than cottage cheese - cottage cheese has 2.7g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Both cottage cheese and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 603% more protein than cottage cheese - cottage cheese has 11.1g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Cottage cheese and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of saturated fat - cottage cheese has 1.7g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Cottage cheese and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of cholesterol - cottage cheese has 17mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Cottage cheese has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - cottage cheese has 37ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Cottage cheese and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - cottage cheese has 3iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Cottage cheese and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - cottage cheese has 0.08mg of Vitamin E 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, cottage cheese contains more pantothenic acid.
| Cottage Cheese | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.027 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.163 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.099 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.557 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.046 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 12 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.43 UG | 2.45 UG |
Both cottage cheese and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 465% more calcium than cottage cheese - cottage cheese has 83mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 15 times more iron than cottage cheese - cottage cheese has 0.07mg 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 381% more potassium than cottage cheese - cottage cheese has 104mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, both cottage cheese and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid (ALA).
| Cottage Cheese | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.017 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.017 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more linoleic acid than cottage cheese per 100 grams.
| Cottage Cheese | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.105 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.105 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: Cottage Cheese (Cheese, cottage, creamed, large or small curd) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Cottage 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 % |
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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 % |
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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 | |||