Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
whole wheat bread
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 wheat bread and whey protein powder:
Both whole wheat bread and whey protein powder are high in calories. Whey protein powder has 33% more calories than whole wheat bread - whole wheat bread has 265 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
| Whole Wheat Bread | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 20% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 65% | 7% |
| Fat | 14% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Whole wheat bread is high in carbohydrates and whey protein powder has 86% less carbohydrates than whole wheat bread - whole wheat bread has 43.3g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both whole wheat bread and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Whole wheat bread has 139% more dietary fiber than whey protein powder - whole wheat bread has 7.4g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Whey protein powder has less sugar than whole wheat bread - whole wheat bread has 6.4g of sugar per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Both whole wheat bread and whey protein powder are high in protein. Whey protein powder has 485% more protein than whole wheat bread - whole wheat bread has 13.4g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both whole wheat bread and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - whole wheat bread has 0.87g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Whole wheat bread has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and whole wheat bread does not contain significant amounts.
Whole wheat bread and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - whole wheat bread has 0.1mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whole wheat bread has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - whole wheat bread has 0.37mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whole wheat bread and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of Vitamin K - whole wheat bread has 1.4ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Whey protein powder has more thiamin, riboflavin, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12, however, whole wheat bread contains more niacin, pantothenic acid and folate.
| Whole Wheat Bread | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.279 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.131 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 4.042 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.336 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.263 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 75 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Both whole wheat bread and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 355% more calcium than whole wheat bread - whole wheat bread has 103mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Whole wheat bread is a great source of iron and it has 121% more iron than whey protein powder - whole wheat bread has 2.5mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both whole wheat bread and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Whey protein powder has 117% more potassium than whole wheat bread - whole wheat bread has 230mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, whole wheat bread has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Whole Wheat Bread | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.205 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.205 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, whole wheat bread has more linoleic acid than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Whole Wheat Bread | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.002 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 1.667 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 1.669 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 Wheat Bread (Bread, multi-grain (includes whole-grain)) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Whole Wheat Bread 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 % |
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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 % |
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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 | |||