Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
whole 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 whole milk and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and whole milk has 83% less calories than whey protein powder - whole milk has 61 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, whole milk is much lighter in protein, much heavier in carbs and much heavier in fat compared to whey protein powder per calorie. Whole milk has a macronutrient ratio of 21:32:48 and for whey protein powder, 89:7:4 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
| Whole Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 21% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 32% | 7% |
| Fat | 48% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Whole milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - whole milk has 4.8g 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 whole milk - whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whole milk does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than whole milk - whole milk has 5.1g 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 23 times more protein than whole milk - whole milk has 3.2g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Whey protein powder has 58% less saturated fat than whole milk - whole milk has 1.9g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Whole milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of cholesterol - whole milk has 10mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol.
Whole milk has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - whole milk has 46ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whole milk has signficantly more Vitamin D than whey protein powder - whole milk has 51iu of Vitamin D per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whole milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin E - whole milk has 0.07mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whole milk and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - whole milk has 0.3ug 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, however, whole milk contains more pantothenic acid.
| Whole Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.046 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.169 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.089 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.373 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.036 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 5 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.45 UG | 2.45 UG |
Both whole milk and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 315% more calcium than whole milk - whole milk has 113mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whey protein powder has 36 times more iron than whole milk - whole milk has 0.03mg 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 279% more potassium than whole milk - whole milk has 132mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, whole milk has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Whole 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, whey protein powder has more linoleic acid than whole milk per 100 grams.
| Whole Milk | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.12 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.12 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: Whole Milk (Milk, whole, 3.25% milkfat, with added vitamin D) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Whole 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 | |||