Why protein makes you feel full and burns calories
Diet induced thermogenesis
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When you eat food, your body uses some energy to digest it — that’s called DIT. Protein burns the most calories during digestion, makes you feel full longer, and helps control weight.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
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Max 90Cohort Studies
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Evidence Score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When you eat food, your body uses some energy to digest it — that’s called DIT. Protein burns the most calories during digestion, makes you feel full longer, and helps control weight.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 51 / 5
Evidence Score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
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Claims (5)
Your body uses a lot more energy to digest protein than it does to digest carbs or fat — up to 30% of the calories from protein are used just for digestion, while fat barely uses any.
When you eat food, your body burns extra calories just to digest it — this extra burn is about 5% to 15% of your total daily calorie use, and it’s higher when you eat more protein or alcohol, and lower when you eat more fat.
Drinking alcohol makes your body burn more calories during digestion — almost as much as eating protein — even though alcohol isn’t a nutrient your body needs.
Eating more protein makes you feel fuller for longer, which can help you eat less overall and avoid gaining weight.
The net energy yield from dietary protein is approximately 75% of its caloric content, with only ~25% expended as diet-induced thermogenesis.