Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
peanut butter
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in peanut butter and whey protein powder:
Both peanut butter and whey protein powder are high in calories. Peanut butter has 67% more calories than whey protein powder - peanut butter has 589 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, peanut butter is much lighter in protein, heavier in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Peanut butter has a macronutrient ratio of 15:14:71 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Peanut Butter | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 15% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 14% | 7% |
| Fat | 71% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Whey protein powder has 71% less carbohydrates than peanut butter - peanut butter has 21.6g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both peanut butter and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Peanut butter has 158% more dietary fiber than whey protein powder - peanut butter has 8g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than peanut butter - peanut butter has 8.4g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Both peanut butter and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 225% more protein than peanut butter - peanut butter has 24.1g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Peanut butter is high in saturated fat and whey protein powder has 90% less saturated fat than peanut butter - peanut butter has 7.6g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Peanut butter has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and peanut butter does not contain significant amounts.
Peanut butter has signficantly more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - peanut butter has 6.3mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Peanut butter and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - peanut butter has 0.5ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin and Vitamin B12, however, peanut butter contains more niacin, pantothenic acid and folate. Both peanut butter and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of Vitamin B6.
| Peanut Butter | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.106 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.111 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 13.696 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 1.118 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.418 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 92 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Both peanut butter and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 942% more calcium than peanut butter - peanut butter has 45mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Peanut butter has 68% more iron than whey protein powder - peanut butter has 1.9mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both peanut butter and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Peanut butter has 49% more potassium than whey protein powder - peanut butter has 745mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, peanut butter has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Peanut Butter | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.078 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.078 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, peanut butter has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Peanut Butter | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.64 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 13.854 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 14.494 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: Peanut Butter (Peanut butter, chunk style, with salt) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Peanut Butter 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 | |||