Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Whey Protein vs Plant Protein: Which Is Better for Muscle?

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Whey Protein vs Plant Protein: Which Is Better for Muscle?

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Sep 10 2026
Ask a supplement aisle whether whey beats plant protein and you get averdict. Ask a nutrition department and you get a range. Whey isolatedoes score 1.09 on the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Scoreagainst 0.82 for pea protein, but a 2025 meta-analysis of 30randomized controlled trials found no difference in strength orphysical performance. Here is where the gap is real, and where itquietly closes.
Healthy Vending Machine Snacks: What to Grab and Skip

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Healthy Vending Machine Snacks: What to Grab and Skip

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Sep 06 2026
A four-week audit of campus vending machines found the average snackcarried 227 calories, listed sugar in its first five ingredients about 60percent of the time, and that not a single snack in the machinesqualified as a good source of fiber. The decision in front of that litpanel takes ten seconds and almost never involves a label. Here is atwo-number rule that fits in ten seconds, what to grab, and what the"lighter" options are not fixing.
How Much Protein Do You Actually Need to Build Muscle?

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

How Much Protein Do You Actually Need to Build Muscle?

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Aug 04 2026
You can train hard and still stall if you are under-eating protein.For building muscle, research keeps landing on about 1.6 grams perkilogram of body weight a day — roughly double the Recommended DietaryAllowance (RDA) and around 112 grams for a 155-pound adult. Here iswhat the number means and how to hit it across a normal day.
High-Protein Snacks Under 300 Calories That Keep You Full

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

High-Protein Snacks Under 300 Calories That Keep You Full

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Jul 15 2026
The 3 p.m. snack decides how the rest of your afternoon feels. Proteinis the most satiating macronutrient, so a snack built around it holdsyou longer than crackers or candy of the same size. Here are sevenhigh-protein snacks under 300 calories, each with its protein andcalorie counts, plus a simple formula for building your own.
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.
Protein and the American Diet: A Quiet Nutrition Crisis

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Protein and the American Diet: A Quiet Nutrition Crisis

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Jun 10 2026
The new Dietary Guidelines raised the protein target to 1.2 to 1.6grams per kilogram, up to double the old minimum, yet most Americansare unsure how much protein they need and still default toultra-processed, carb-heavy foods. Here is the state of the Americandiet, how much protein the science now points to, and the smallchanges that actually close the gap.
Chart showing why the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is outdated compared to current research-based intakes

Protein & Nutrition Blog – Marmels

Is the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for Protein Outdated?

by Mo Mandegar, PhD on Apr 30 2026
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein (0.8 g/kg) was set as a deficiency floor, not an optimization target. Most active adults benefit from 1.2–1.6 g/kg or more. Here's what the latest research from the ISSN, NHANES, and recent peer-reviewed reviews actually says.