Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
wheat flour
versus
spirulina
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in wheat flour and spirulina:
Both wheat flour and spirulina are high in calories. Wheat flour has 24% more calories than spirulina - wheat flour has 361 calories per 100 grams and spirulina has 290 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, wheat flour is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and lighter in fat compared to spirulina per calorie. Wheat flour has a macronutrient ratio of 14:82:4 and for spirulina, 58:24:18 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
Protein | 14% | 58% |
Carbohydrates | 82% | 24% |
Fat | 4% | 18% |
Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Wheat flour is high in carbohydrates and spirulina has 67% less carbohydrates than wheat flour - wheat flour has 72.5g of total carbs per 100 grams and spirulina has 23.9g of carbohydrates.
Both wheat flour and spirulina are high in dietary fiber. Spirulina has 50% more dietary fiber than wheat flour - wheat flour has 2.4g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and spirulina has 3.6g of dietary fiber.
Wheat flour and spirulina contain similar amounts of sugar - wheat flour has 0.31g of sugar per 100 grams and spirulina has 3.1g of sugar.
Both wheat flour and spirulina are high in protein. Spirulina has 380% more protein than wheat flour - wheat flour has 12g of protein per 100 grams and spirulina has 57.5g of protein.
Wheat flour has 9.8 times less saturated fat than spirulina - wheat flour has 0.24g of saturated fat per 100 grams and spirulina has 2.7g of saturated fat.
Spirulina has signficantly more Vitamin C than wheat flour - spirulina has 10.1mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and wheat flour does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has more Vitamin A than wheat flour - spirulina has 29ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and wheat flour does not contain significant amounts.
Spirulina has 11 times more Vitamin E than wheat flour - wheat flour has 0.4mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and spirulina has 5mg of Vitamin E.
Spirulina has 84 times more Vitamin K than wheat flour - wheat flour has 0.3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and spirulina has 25.5ug of Vitamin K.
Spirulina has more thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and Vitamin B6. Both wheat flour and spirulina contain significant amounts of niacin and folate.
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
Thiamin | 0.812 MG | 2.38 MG |
Riboflavin | 0.512 MG | 3.67 MG |
Niacin | 7.554 MG | 12.82 MG |
Pantothenic acid | 0.438 MG | 3.48 MG |
Vitamin B6 | 0.037 MG | 0.364 MG |
Folate | 183 UG | 94 UG |
Spirulina is an excellent source of calcium and it has 700% more calcium than wheat flour - wheat flour has 15mg of calcium per 100 grams and spirulina has 120mg of calcium.
Both wheat flour and spirulina are high in iron. Spirulina has 546% more iron than wheat flour - wheat flour has 4.4mg of iron per 100 grams and spirulina has 28.5mg of iron.
Spirulina is an excellent source of potassium and it has 12 times more potassium than wheat flour - wheat flour has 100mg of potassium per 100 grams and spirulina has 1363mg of potassium.
Carotenoids are micronutrients commonly found in plants and some animal products. An example is beta-carotene, the notable carotenoid which is a popular source of Vitamin A.[4][5]
For specific types of carotenoids, spirulina has more beta-carotene than wheat flour per 100 grams, however, wheat flour contains more lutein + zeaxanthin than spirulina per 100 grams.
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
beta-carotene | 1 UG | 342 UG |
lutein + zeaxanthin | 79 UG | ~ |
For omega-3 fatty acids, spirulina has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than wheat flour per 100 grams.
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
alpha linoleic acid | 0.043 G | 0.823 G |
Total | 0.043 G | 0.823 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both wheat flour and spirulina contain significant amounts of linoleic acid.
Wheat Flour | Spirulina | |
---|---|---|
linoleic acid | 0.685 G | 1.254 G |
Total | 0.685 G | 1.254 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: Wheat Flour (Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched) and Spirulina (Seaweed, spirulina, dried) .
Wheat Flour g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Spirulina 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 | |||