Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
salmon
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in salmon and whey protein powder:
Both salmon and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 177% more calories than salmon - salmon has 127 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, salmon is much lighter in protein, lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Salmon has a macronutrient ratio of 67:0:33 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Salmon | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 67% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 7% |
| Fat | 33% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Salmon has less carbohydrates than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 6.3g of total carbs per 100 grams and salmon does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than salmon - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and salmon does not contain significant amounts.
Both salmon and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 281% more protein than salmon - salmon has 20.5g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both salmon and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - salmon has 0.81g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Both salmon and whey protein powder are low in trans fat - salmon has 0.03g of trans fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Salmon and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of cholesterol - salmon has 46mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Salmon has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - salmon has 35ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Salmon is an excellent source of Vitamin D and it has more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - salmon has 435iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Salmon has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - salmon has 0.4mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Salmon and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - salmon has 0.4ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin and folate, however, salmon contains more niacin and pantothenic acid. Both salmon and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12.
| Salmon | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.08 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.105 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 7.995 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 1.03 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.611 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 4 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 4.15 UG | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 66 times more calcium than salmon - salmon has 7mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 197% more iron than salmon - salmon has 0.38mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both salmon and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 37% more potassium than salmon - salmon has 366mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, salmon has more DHA, EPA and DPA than whey protein powder per 100 grams. Both salmon and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid (ALA).
| Salmon | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.047 G | 0.034 G |
| DHA | 0.333 G | ~ |
| EPA | 0.182 G | ~ |
| DPA | 0.047 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.609 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more linoleic acid than salmon per 100 grams.
| Salmon | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.004 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 0.081 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.085 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: Salmon (Fish, salmon, pink, raw) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Salmon 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 | |||