Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
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 beef and whey protein powder:
Both beef and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 27% more calories than beef - beef has 277 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, beef is much lighter in protein, lighter in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Beef has a macronutrient ratio of 38:0:62 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Beef | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 38% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 7% |
| Fat | 62% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Beef has less carbohydrates than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 6.3g of total carbs per 100 grams and beef does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than beef - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and beef does not contain significant amounts.
Both beef and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 208% more protein than beef - beef has 25.4g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Beef is high in saturated fat and whey protein powder has 89% less saturated fat than beef - beef has 7.3g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Whey protein powder has less trans fat than beef - beef has 1.2g of trans fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has 4.5 times less cholesterol than beef - beef has 88mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Beef and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin A - beef has 3ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Beef and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin D - beef has 2iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Beef and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - beef has 0.12mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Beef and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - beef has 3ug 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, beef contains more niacin and pantothenic acid. Both beef and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12.
| Beef | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.051 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.176 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 4.537 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.658 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.336 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 11 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.9 UG | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 12 times more calcium than beef - beef has 35mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Beef is a great source of iron and it has 99% more iron than whey protein powder - beef has 2.3mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both beef and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 82% more potassium than beef - beef has 275mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, both beef and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of alpha linoleic acid (ALA).
| Beef | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.056 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.056 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both beef and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of linoleic acid.
| Beef | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.012 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 0.39 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.402 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: Beef (Beef, ground, 70% lean meat / 30% fat, patty, cooked, broiled) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Cooked Beef g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Whey Protein Powder g
()
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
| G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
| G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
| G % |
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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 % |
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5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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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 % |
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5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| MG % |
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5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
| UG % |
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5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
| MG % |
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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 % |
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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 | |||