Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
spinach
versus
whey protein powder
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in spinach and whey protein powder:
Whey protein powder is high in calories and spinach has 93% less calories than whey protein powder - spinach has 23 calories per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 352 calories.
| Spinach | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 40% | 89% |
| Carbohydrates | 49% | 7% |
| Fat | 10% | 4% |
| Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Spinach and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of carbs - spinach has 3.6g of total carbs per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 6.3g of carbohydrates.
Both spinach and whey protein powder are high in dietary fiber. Whey protein powder has 41% more dietary fiber than spinach - spinach has 2.2g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 3.1g of dietary fiber.
Spinach and whey protein powder contain similar amounts of sugar - spinach has 0.42g 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 26 times more protein than spinach - spinach has 2.9g of protein per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 78.1g of protein.
Both spinach and whey protein powder are low in saturated fat - spinach has 0.06g of saturated fat per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 0.78g of saturated fat.
Spinach has less cholesterol than whey protein powder - whey protein powder has 16mg of cholesterol per 100 grams and spinach does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin C and it has more Vitamin C than whey protein powder - spinach has 28.1mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin A and it has more Vitamin A than whey protein powder - spinach has 469ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach has more Vitamin E than whey protein powder - spinach has 2mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and whey protein powder does not contain significant amounts.
Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin K and it has more Vitamin K than whey protein powder - spinach has 482.9ug 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, spinach contains more pantothenic acid and folate. Both spinach and whey protein powder contain significant amounts of niacin.
| Spinach | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Thiamin | 0.078 MG | 0.609 MG |
| Riboflavin | 0.189 MG | 2.017 MG |
| Niacin | 0.724 MG | 1.136 MG |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.065 MG | ~ |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.195 MG | 0.607 MG |
| Folate | 194 UG | 33 UG |
| Vitamin B12 | ~ | 2.45 UG |
Both spinach and whey protein powder are high in calcium. Whey protein powder has 374% more calcium than spinach - spinach has 99mg of calcium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 469mg of calcium.
Spinach is a great source of iron and it has 140% more iron than whey protein powder - spinach has 2.7mg of iron per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 1.1mg of iron.
Both spinach and whey protein powder are high in potassium. Spinach has 12% more potassium than whey protein powder - spinach has 558mg of potassium per 100 grams and whey protein powder has 500mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, spinach has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than whey protein powder per 100 grams.
| Spinach | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| alpha linoleic acid | 0.138 G | 0.034 G |
| Total | 0.138 G | 0.034 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, whey protein powder has more linoleic acid than spinach per 100 grams.
| Spinach | Whey Protein Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| linoleic acid | 0.026 G | 0.264 G |
| Total | 0.026 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: Spinach (Spinach, raw) and Whey Protein Powder (Protein powder, whey based, NFS) .
Spinach 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 | |||