Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
raw beef
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in raw beef and whey protein powder:
Both raw beef and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has a little more calories (6%) than raw beef by weight - raw beef has 332 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, raw beef is much lighter in protein, lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Raw beef has a macronutrient ratio of 18:0:82 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Raw Beef | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 18% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 7% |
| Fat | 82% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Raw beef has less carbohydrates than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 6.3g of total carbs per 100 grams and raw beef does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than raw beef - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and raw beef does not contain significant amounts.
Both raw beef and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 444% more protein than raw beef - raw beef has 14.4g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Raw beef is high in saturated fat and whey protein powder has 93% less saturated fat than raw beef - raw beef has 11.8g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Whey protein powder has signficantly less trans fat than raw beef - raw beef has 1.8g of trans fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has 3.8 times less cholesterol than raw beef - raw beef has 78mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Raw beef and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - raw beef has 4ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Raw beef and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - raw beef has 3iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Raw beef and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - raw beef has 0.17mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Raw beef and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - raw beef has 2.9ug 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 folate, however, raw beef contains more niacin and pantothenic acid. Both raw beef and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of Vitamin B12.
| Raw Beef | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.044 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.151 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 3.382 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.395 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.278 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 9 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.07 UG | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 18 times more calcium than raw beef - raw beef has 24mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Raw beef has 45% more iron than whey protein powder - raw beef has 1.6mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both raw beef and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 129% more potassium than raw beef - raw beef has 218mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, raw beef has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Raw Beef | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.084 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.084 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, raw beef has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Raw Beef | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.019 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 0.577 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.596 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: Raw Beef (Beef, ground, 70% lean meat / 30% fat, raw) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Raw Beef 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 % |
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5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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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 | |||