Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
lentils
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in lentils and whey protein powder:
Both lentils and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 203% more calories than lentil - lentil has 116 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, lentils is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and similar to whey protein powder for fat. Lentils has a macronutrient ratio of 30:67:3 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Lentils | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 30% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 67% | 7% |
| Fat | 3% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Whey protein powder has 69% less carbohydrates than lentil - lentil has 20.1g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both lentils and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Lentil has 155% more dietary fiber than whey protein powder - lentil has 7.9g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than lentil - lentil has 1.8g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Both lentils and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 766% more protein than lentil - lentil has 9g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both lentils and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - lentil has 0.05g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Lentil has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and lentil does not contain significant amounts.
Lentil has more Vitamin C than whey protein powder - lentil has 1.5mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Lentils and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - lentil has 2.4ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Lentils and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - lentil has 0.11mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Lentils and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - lentil has 1.7ug 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, lentil contains more pantothenic acid and folate. Both lentils and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of niacin.
| Lentils | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.169 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.073 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 1.06 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.638 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.178 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 181 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 23 times more calcium than lentil - lentil has 19mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Lentil is an excellent source of iron and it has 195% more iron than whey protein powder - lentil has 3.3mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both lentils and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 36% more potassium than lentil - lentil has 369mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, both lentils and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid (ALA).
| Lentils | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.037 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.037 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both lentils and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of linoleic acid.
| Lentils | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.137 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.137 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: Lentils (Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Cooked Lentils 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 | |||