Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
soy milk
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in soy milk and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and soy milk has 88% less calories than whey protein powder - soy milk has 43 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, soy milk is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Soy milk has a macronutrient ratio of 24:46:31 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Soy Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 24% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 46% | 7% |
| Fat | 31% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Soy milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - soy milk has 4.9g 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 14 times more dietary fiber than soy milk - soy milk has 0.2g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than soy milk - soy milk has 3.7g 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 29 times more protein than soy milk - soy milk has 2.6g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both soy milk and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - soy milk has 0.21g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Soy milk has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and soy milk does not contain significant amounts.
Soy milk has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - soy milk has 55ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Soy milk has more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - soy milk has 3.7iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Soy milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - soy milk has 0.11mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Soy milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - soy milk has 3ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6, folate and Vitamin B12.
| Soy Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.029 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.184 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.425 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.031 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 9 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.85 UG | 2.45 UG |
Both soy milk and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 281% more calcium than soy milk - soy milk has 123mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 169% more iron than soy milk - soy milk has 0.42mg 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 310% more potassium than soy milk - soy milk has 122mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, soy milk has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Soy Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.075 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.075 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, soy milk has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Soy Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.584 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.584 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: Soy Milk (Soy milk, fortified) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Soy Milk 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 | |||