Quinoa vs. Wheat — In-Depth Nutrition Comparison

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What are the main differences between quinoa and wheat?

Quinoa is richer in folate, vitamin B2, and polyunsaturated fat, while wheat is higher in selenium, manganese, vitamin B3, zinc, and fiber.
Wheat's daily need coverage for selenium is 53% higher.
Wheat has 4 times less polyunsaturated fat than quinoa. Quinoa has 1.078g of polyunsaturated fat, while wheat has 0.243g.
Quinoa is lower in sugar.

We used Quinoa, cooked and Wheat, KAMUT khorasan, cooked types in this comparison.

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Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Quinoa

Wheat

Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium	+33.3%
Contains more CalciumCalcium	+88.9%
Contains less SodiumSodium	-12.5%

Contains more IronIron	+18.1%
Contains more ZincZinc	+68.8%
Contains more ManganeseManganese	+63.2%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium	+1039.3%

~equal in Potassium ~164mg

~equal in Copper ~0.207mg

~equal in Phosphorus ~147mg

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Quinoa

Wheat

Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E	+162.5%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1	+12.6%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2	+266.7%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+75.7%
Contains more FolateFolate	+281.8%

Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3

+459.5%

~equal in Vitamin C ~mg

~equal in Vitamin D ~µg

~equal in Vitamin A ~µg

~equal in Vitamin B5 ~mg

~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0µg

~equal in Vitamin K ~µg

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient			DV% diff.
Selenium	2.8µg	31.9µg	53%
Manganese	0.631mg	1.03mg	17%
Vitamin B3	0.412mg	2.305mg	12%
Folate	42µg	11µg	8%
Zinc	1.09mg	1.84mg	7%
Starch	17.63g		7%
Fiber	2.8g	4.3g	6%
Vitamin B2	0.11mg	0.03mg	6%
Polyunsaturated fat	1.078g	0.243g	6%
Magnesium	64mg	48mg	4%
Vitamin B6	0.123mg	0.07mg	4%
Choline	23mg		4%
Protein	4.4g	5.71g	3%
Iron	1.49mg	1.76mg	3%
Vitamin E	0.63mg	0.24mg	3%
Fats	1.92g	0.83g	2%
Carbs	21.3g	27.6g	2%
Copper	0.192mg	0.207mg	2%
Calories	120kcal	132kcal	1%
Calcium	17mg	9mg	1%
Phosphorus	152mg	147mg	1%
Vitamin B1	0.107mg	0.095mg	1%
Saturated fat	0.231g	0.077g	1%
Monounsaturated fat	0.528g	0.084g	1%
Protein per 100 calories	3.7g	4.3g	N/A
Calories per 10 g protein	273kcal	231kcal	N/A
Weight per 100 calories	83g	76g	N/A
Net carbs	18.5g	23.3g	N/A
Potassium	172mg	164mg	0%
Sugar	0.87g	3.07g	N/A
Sodium	7mg	8mg	0%
Trans fat		0.002g	N/A
Tryptophan	0.052mg	0.051mg	0%
Threonine	0.131mg	0.172mg	0%
Isoleucine	0.157mg	0.22mg	0%
Leucine	0.261mg	0.432mg	0%
Lysine	0.239mg	0.161mg	0%
Methionine	0.096mg	0.097mg	0%
Phenylalanine	0.185mg	0.3mg	0%
Valine	0.185mg	0.267mg	0%
Histidine	0.127mg	0.147mg	0%
Omega-3 - DHA	0.015g		N/A