Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Does Protein Boost Your Metabolism? What Science Says

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Does Protein Boost Your Metabolism? What Science Says

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Jun 28 2026
Protein is the rare food that genuinely nudges your metabolism, andthe reason is unglamorous: digesting it is expensive work. It hasthe highest thermic effect of food (TEF) of any macronutrient,burning 20 to 30 percent of its own calories in digestion versus 5to 10 percent for carbs and 0 to 3 percent for fat. Here is how bigthe effect really is.