Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
margarine
versus
spinach
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in margarine and spinach:
Margarine is high in calories and spinach has 97% less calories than margarine - spinach has 23 calories per 100 grams and margarine has 717 calories.
| Margarine | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | ~ | 40% |
| Carbohydrates | ~ | 49% |
| Fat | 100% | 10% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both spinach and margarine are low in carbohydrates - spinach has 3.6g of total carbs per 100 grams and margarine has 0.7g of carbohydrates.
Spinach is a great source of dietary fiber and it has more dietary fiber than margarine - spinach has 2.2g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and margarine does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach and margarine contain similar amounts of sugar - spinach has 0.42g of sugar per 100 grams and margarine does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach has 16 times more protein than margarine - spinach has 2.9g of protein per 100 grams and margarine has 0.16g of protein.
Margarine is high in saturated fat and spinach has 100% less saturated fat than margarine - spinach has 0.06g of saturated fat per 100 grams and margarine has 15.2g of saturated fat.
Margarine is high in trans fat and spinach has less trans fat than margarine - margarine has 14.9g of trans fat per 100 grams and spinach does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin C and it has 139 times more Vitamin C than margarine - spinach has 28.1mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and margarine has 0.2mg of Vitamin C.
Both spinach and margarine are high in Vitamin A. Margarine has 75% more Vitamin A than spinach - spinach has 469ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and margarine has 819ug of Vitamin A.
Margarine is a great source of Vitamin E and it has 343% more Vitamin E than spinach - spinach has 2mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and margarine has 9mg of Vitamin E.
Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin K and it has 419% more Vitamin K than margarine - spinach has 482.9ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and margarine has 93ug of Vitamin K.
Spinach has more thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and folate, however, margarine contains more Vitamin B12.
| Margarine | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.01 MG | 0.078 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.037 MG | 0.189 MG |
| Niacin | 0.023 MG | 0.724 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | ~ | 0.065 MG |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.009 MG | 0.195 MG |
| Folate | 1 UG | 194 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.1 UG | ~ |
Spinach is an excellent source of calcium and it has 32 times more calcium than margarine - spinach has 99mg of calcium per 100 grams and margarine has 3mg of calcium.
Spinach is a great source of iron and it has 44 times more iron than margarine - spinach has 2.7mg of iron per 100 grams and margarine has 0.06mg of iron.
Spinach is an excellent source of potassium and it has 30 times more potassium than margarine - spinach has 558mg of potassium per 100 grams and margarine has 18mg of potassium.
Carotenoids are micronutrients commonly found in plants and some animal products. An example is beta-carotene, the notable carotenoid which is a popular source of Vitamin A.[4][5]
For specific types of carotenoids,
| Margarine | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| beta-carotene | 610 UG | 5626 UG |
| lutein + zeaxanthin | ~ | 12198 UG |
For omega-3 fatty acids, margarine has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than spinach per 100 grams.
| Margarine | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 2.04 G | 0.138 G |
| DPA | 0.006 G | ~ |
| Total | 2.046 G | 0.138 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, margarine has more linoleic acid than spinach per 100 grams.
| Margarine | Spinach | |
|---|---|---|
| other omega 6 | 0.001 G | ~ |
| linoleic acid | 22.252 G | 0.026 G |
| Total | 22.253 G | 0.026 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.
Margarine g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Spinach 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 | |||