Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cooked
brown rice
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in brown rice and whey protein powder:
Both brown rice and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 186% more calories than brown rice - brown rice has 123 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, brown rice is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and similar to whey protein powder for fat. Brown rice has a macronutrient ratio of 9:84:7 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Brown Rice | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 9% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 84% | 7% |
| Fat | 7% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Whey protein powder has 3 times less carbohydrates than brown rice - brown rice has 25.6g 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 94% more dietary fiber than brown rice - brown rice has 1.6g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Brown rice and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of sugar - brown rice has 0.24g 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 27 times more protein than brown rice - brown rice has 2.7g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both brown rice and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - brown rice has 0.26g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Brown rice has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and brown rice does not contain significant amounts.
Brown rice and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - brown rice has 0.17mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Brown rice and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - brown rice 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, Vitamin B6, folate and Vitamin B12, however, brown rice contains more niacin and pantothenic acid.
| Brown Rice | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.178 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.069 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 2.561 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.38 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.123 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 9 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Whey protein powder is an excellent source of calcium and it has 155 times more calcium than brown rice - brown rice has 3mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 102% more iron than brown rice - brown rice has 0.56mg 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 481% more potassium than brown rice - brown rice has 86mg 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 brown rice per 100 grams.
| Brown Rice | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.011 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.011 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both brown rice and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of linoleic acid.
| Brown Rice | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.004 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 0.355 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.359 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: Brown Rice (Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Cooked Brown Rice 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 | |||