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Can David Bars Help You Gain Muscle and Lose Fat?Christine Giordano<\/p>\n
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By now you\u2019ve probably heard of David bars, the buzzy, gold-wrapped protein bars<\/a> with super impressive stats: 28 grams of protein<\/a>, 150 calories, and zero grams of sugar.<\/p>\n Backed by wellness world major players like Andrew Huberman (of the podcast Huberman Lab) and Peter Attia (who served as the brand\u2019s chief science officer until he recently stepped down<\/a> following his appearance in the Epstein files), David ushered in an impressive $10 million of seed funding<\/a> in 2024 to create what the company describes as a protein bar in its \u201cidealized\u201d form, kind of like the Michelangelo sculpture that shares the brand\u2019s name.<\/p>\n Ever since, David bars are everywhere. Per the website<\/a>, \u201cDavid helps anyone build strength, lose fat, and be beautiful.\u201d You might see these bars in a lifter\u2019s gym bag\u2014or in the pantry of someone with weight loss goals, as the brand also describes the bars as supporting increasing muscle and decreasing body fat<\/a>. Initially, the flashy new company marketed itself as being all about developing tools for weight loss<\/a>, with these bars being their first installment. (Their second: Wild-caught Pacific cod.)<\/p>\n Lately, though, David has been at the center of a class action lawsuit<\/a> which alleges that the bars have more fat and more calories than advertised. The company says that\u2019s not the full story.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you need to know about David bars\u2014whether they can actually serve as a body recomposition<\/a> tool\u2014and why people are accusing them of mislabeling their macros<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meet the experts:<\/strong> Michael Russo, MD, is a bariatric surgeon at MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center<\/a>. Amy Stephens<\/a>, RDN, is a dietician specializing in sports nutrition. Bryan Le, PhD, is a food scientist and author of 150 Food Science Questions Answered<\/a>. Abbey Thiel<\/a>, PhD, is a food scientist and consultant.<\/p>\n The David Class Action Lawsuit, Explained<\/strong><\/p>\n In late January, a class action lawsuit was filed against Linus Technologies Inc. (the company that produces David Bars) alleging the company misrepresented the calorie and fat count in the bars. Per the complaint, after testing the protein bars at a third-party laboratory, the calorie count was estimated to be 78-83 percent higher than stated on the label\u2014and that fat content was estimated to be 368-400 percent higher. This is in violation of FDA regulations, the lawsuit alleges, and could affect someone\u2019s decision to purchase the bars in the first place.<\/p>\n Peter Rahal, the company\u2019s co-founder, responded directly to Women\u2019s Health\u2019s request for comment, calling the allegations \u201csimply wrong.\u201d He wrote, \u201cIt rests on a flawed and misleading interpretation of how calories are determined under U.S. food labeling regulations. Some claims circulating online\u2014and the testing references in the lawsuit\u2014rely on bomb calorimetry, a laboratory method that measures total heat released when food is completely burned. That is not how calories on nutrition labels are calculated. FDA rules require the use of metabolizable energy\u2014the actual energy the human body can absorb and use\u2014not combustion energy. This distinction matters enormously for ingredients such as dietary fiber, certain sweeteners like esterified propoxylated glycerol (EPG). When burned in a calorimeter, these ingredients appear to deliver far more calories than the body actually receives. That is why the FDA mandates specific calculation methods for these ingredients.\u201d<\/p>\n Food scientist Abbey Thiel<\/a>, PhD, agrees with Rahal, and says that the testing done in the lawsuit, which uses an older analytical method called a gravimetric fat extraction test (which is slightly distinct from bomb calorimetry, as Rahal says), is flawed. That\u2019s because David uses EPG, a highly-engineered fat substitute<\/a> that the body only absorbs in small amounts. \u201cThe issue here isn\u2019t necessarily the bar itself, it\u2019s the testing method,\u201d Thiel says. \u201cThe analysis used in the lawsuit measures everything that dissolves in solvent and assumes it\u2019s dietary fat. But the bars contain a fat replacer called EPG, which behaves like fat in the test even though it contributes far fewer calories.\u201d In short: the consumer doesn\u2019t need to factor in this lawsuit\u2014and can go off the existing nutrition label, Thiel says.<\/p>\n What\u2019s in a David Protein bar?<\/strong>Protein<\/strong><\/p>\n You have to hand it to David; the bars pack more protein<\/a> than most, clocking in at 28 grams. Made up of milk protein isolate, collagen<\/a>, whey protein<\/a> concentrate, and egg white, David bars have a perfect 1.0 protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score\u2014which basically just means that they have all 20 amino acids<\/a>, says Bryan Le, PhD, a food scientist and author of 150 Food Science Questions Answered<\/a>. The human body can make 12 on its own, but needs help with the other eight, and not having enough of each amino acid can result in a nutritional deficit, he says. It\u2019s a perk to be getting all 20 aminos, but this is to be expected from a bar that mixes multiple animal-based protein sources<\/a> and isn\u2019t unique to the brand.<\/p>\n While the protein amount is impressive, there are a few quick things to note. Since David bars are made from animal protein, they wouldn\u2019t be for people looking for a plant-based option<\/a>. They also contain milk and eggs, so people with sensitivity or allergies to these ingredients, beware.<\/p>\n Binding and Fat<\/strong><\/p>\n EPG might be at the center of the class action lawsuit, but to Le, the ingredient stands out as unique. It\u2019s a kind of fat that your body can\u2019t break down\u2014which helps decrease the total number of calories in the bar\u2014that you don\u2019t find in a lot of foods, say Le. (You might find it in only David bars going forward, after the company acquired Epogee, the sole manufacturer of the substitute, in 2025, per Men’s Health reporting<\/a>.) Thanks to ingredients like EPG, David bars have a higher percentage of calories from protein, something that Michael Russo, MD, a bariatric surgeon at MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center says can be beneficial for weight loss.<\/p>\n As for binding, a little food science 101: when you make a protein bar, you\u2019re going to need a few ingredients in there to bind the rest together. Among a few others, David bars use maltitol, allulose, and glycerin to do this, which could leave your stomach feeling upset if you consumed them in large amounts.<\/p>\n \u201cMaltitol is a sugar alcohol and I don’t usually recommend those because they can cause gastrointestinal issues,\u201d says Stephens. \u201cA lot of people that I work with get stomach cramps and stomach aches if they have too many of these in a day.\u201d But, one or two bars shouldn\u2019t set you over the edge. \u201cIf you eat four of these, probably the glycerin and the allulose is going to give you gastrointestinal upset, and that’s true of many products with allulose and glycerin in it,\u201d says Le.<\/p>\n One ingredient Stephens isn\u2019t psyched about: Palm kernel oil. This is because it\u2019s high in saturated fat, which has been found to affect cholesterol<\/a> and heart health, she says. But research is mixed on just how bad palm kernel oil is for you, per a 2018 systematic review in PLOS One<\/a>.<\/p>\n (No) Sugar<\/strong><\/p>\n While David bars don\u2019t have any sugar<\/a>, they do have artificial sweeteners<\/a>, which is something to consider if you\u2019re sensitive to them for any reason. Depending on the bar, you\u2019ll find a combination of stevia, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, cocoa powder, and\/or monk fruit. These are all standard flavoring components, says Le. \u201cYou would probably see this pretty often in other protein bars and protein powders<\/a>,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n There can be a trade-off when it comes to artificial and manufactured sweeteners, adds Stephens. Since they\u2019re not natural sources, they could be harder for your body to break down, and they also might make you consume more, rather than fewer calories of the bar. \u201cStudies show<\/a> that people end up eating more of these foods that use fake sugars,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Still, none of these ingredients are a huge cause for concern, say Dr. Russo and Le. \u201cSome people can be sensitive to some of these artificial sweeteners, but they’re not problematic in any way,\u201d says Dr. Russo.<\/p>\n Between the protein, binding, non-digestable fat sources, and artificial sweeteners, David bars are certainly a heavily processed product<\/a>, which is worth considering. \u201cThis is obviously not a clean-label protein bar,\u201d says Le. \u201cIf you’re looking for something with natural ingredients, this doesn’t have it.\u201d (Some simpler, less processed options would be RXBARs, which Rahal also co-founded, Kind bars, or Rise bars, which all have fewer and more real food ingredients, but every protein bar will have some level of processing.) If you don\u2019t mind that it\u2019s processed and are open to a highly-engineered, low calorie bar, \u201cThis is pretty cool,\u201d Le says. \u201cI actually think it\u2019s an interesting product.\u201d<\/p>\n Can a David bar help you gain muscle and lose fat?<\/strong><\/p>\n Though David bars have their positives, a bar alone isn\u2019t going to magically make you lose fat and gain muscle<\/a> (no matter what Cady Heron told Regina George when she handed her a K\u00e4lteen bar in Mean Girls). Exercise, the rest of your diet, sleep, genetics, and more play a more important role.<\/p>\n These bars are undeniably high in protein, and protein does have benefits<\/a> when it comes to both weight loss and muscle-building<\/a>. It takes longer to digest, which means you stay fuller longer, says Dr. Russo. It\u2019s also the building block of muscle (and women should consume close to 1.2 to 1.5 grams<\/a> per kilogram of body weight to support tissue growth, FYI). The bars also have a good balance of higher protein to fewer carbs, which can be a beneficial breakdown for weight loss too, he adds.<\/p>\n But, are David bars really a \u201cbreakthrough\u201d like the website claims? \u201cI wouldn’t say it’s revolutionary,\u201d says Dr. Russo. \u201cI would say it’s a higher quality protein bar based on the amount of protein that’s packed into a bar. It\u2019s not going to necessarily make you lose more weight than some other equivalent protein bar. As long as you’re meeting your protein needs with regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle, I think that you can achieve that weight loss diet with a variety of brands.\u201d<\/p>\n And remember, protein bars, like protein powders, are a supplement to real food. \u201cIt\u2019s another convenient way to grab protein,\u201d says Stephens. If you need help hitting your protein goals for the day, especially in the morning when it can be beneficial for satiety to get some in, a protein bar can do the trick. It\u2019s still best to prioritize unprocessed whole foods whether the goal is weight loss, muscle-building, or overall health, says Stephens.<\/p>\n You Might Also Like<\/strong><\/p>\n