Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
milk
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in milk and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and milk has 86% less calories than whey protein powder - milk has 50 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, milk is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Milk has a macronutrient ratio of 27:38:35 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 27% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 38% | 7% |
| Fat | 35% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - milk has 4.8g 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 milk - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and milk does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than milk - milk has 5.1g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of protein and it has 22 times more protein than milk - milk has 3.3g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of saturated fat - milk has 1.3g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Both milk and whey protein powder are low in trans fat - milk has 0.09g of trans fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of cholesterol - milk has 8mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - milk has 0.2mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Milk has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - milk has 55ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Milk has more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - milk has 49iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - milk has 0.03mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - milk has 0.2ug 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, folate and Vitamin B12, however, milk contains more pantothenic acid.
| Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.039 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.185 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.092 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.356 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.038 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 5 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.53 UG | 2.45 UG |
Both milk and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 291% more calcium than milk - milk has 120mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 55 times more iron than milk - milk has 0.02mg 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 257% more potassium than milk - milk has 140mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than milk per 100 grams.
| Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.008 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.008 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more linoleic acid than milk per 100 grams.
| Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.004 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 0.062 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.066 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: Milk (Milk, reduced fat, fluid, 2% milkfat, with added vitamin A and vitamin D) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Milk 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 | |||