Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
egg yolk
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in egg yolk and whey protein powder:
Both egg yolk and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has a little more calories (9%) than egg yolk by weight - egg yolk has 322 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, egg yolk is much lighter in protein, much heavier in fat and similar to whey protein powder for carbs. Egg yolk has a macronutrient ratio of 20:5:75 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Egg Yolk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 20% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 5% | 7% |
| Fat | 75% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Egg yolk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - egg yolk has 3.6g 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 more dietary fiber than egg yolk - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and egg yolk does not contain significant amounts.
Egg yolk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of sugar - egg yolk has 0.56g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Both egg yolk and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 393% more protein than egg yolk - egg yolk has 15.9g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Egg yolk is high in saturated fat and whey protein powder has 92% less saturated fat than egg yolk - egg yolk has 9.6g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Egg yolk is high in cholesterol and whey protein powder has 99% less cholesterol than egg yolk - egg yolk has 1085mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Egg yolk is an excellent source of Vitamin A and it has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - egg yolk has 381ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Egg yolk is an excellent source of Vitamin D and it has more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - egg yolk has 218iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Egg yolk has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - egg yolk has 2.6mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Egg yolk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - egg yolk has 0.7ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, however, egg yolk contains more pantothenic acid and folate. Both egg yolk and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12.
| Egg Yolk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.176 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.528 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.024 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 2.99 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.35 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 146 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 1.95 UG | 2.45 UG |
Both egg yolk and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 264% more calcium than egg yolk - egg yolk has 129mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Egg yolk is a great source of iron and it has 142% more iron than whey protein powder - egg yolk has 2.7mg 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 359% more potassium than egg yolk - egg yolk has 109mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, egg yolk has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA), DHA and EPA than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Egg Yolk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.103 G | 0.034 G |
| DHA | 0.114 G | ~ |
| EPA | 0.011 G | ~ |
| Total | 0.228 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, egg yolk has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Egg Yolk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.438 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 3.538 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 3.976 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: Egg Yolk (Egg, yolk, raw, fresh) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Egg Yolk 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 | |||