David Fudge Brownie Protein Bar — ENGINEERED

Munch or Dump rates David Fudge Brownie Protein Bar by David ENGINEERED — score 30/90.

Same engineered chassis as the rest of the David line, in a fudge-brownie coat. The 28g protein, 150 calories, and near-zero fat come from collagen padding and EPG, a synthetic fat the body cannot digest, with four sweeteners doing the flavor work. The macros are impressive precisely because they are manufactured rather than nutritional.

Why this verdict

• NOVA 4 built on EPG, a synthetic non-digestible fat replacer that manufactures the near-zero-fat calorie count
• Collagen pads the 28g protein claim with an incomplete protein challenged in a class-action over David's protein math
• Four stacked sweeteners (maltitol + allulose + sucralose + acesulfame potassium) deliver 0g sugar
• Soluble corn fiber, tapioca starch, glycerin, and soy lecithin engineer the dense fudge-brownie texture
• Whey and milk protein isolate are legitimately good, but the formula is optimized for a macro label, not for eating

Ingredients (11)

• Milk protein isolate (safe) — Additional high-purity milk protein.
• collagen (moderate) — Incomplete protein used to pad the protein count; weak for muscle synthesis.
• egg white (safe) — Whipped egg white gives the meringue structure.
• maltitol (caution) — Sugar alcohol that still raises blood sugar and is a well-known cause of bloating and diarrhea at bar-sized doses.
• ALLULOSE (safe) — Rare sugar with minimal glycemic impact; generally well tolerated.
• soluble corn fiber (moderate) — Isolated fiber used to bulk the bar and lower net carbs; can cause GI upset in quantity.
• modified plant fat (EPG) (caution) — Esterified propoxylated glycerol, a synthetic non-digestible fat that fakes fat mouthfeel with near-zero calories; can cause GI effects.
• Dutch process cocoa powder (safe) — Alkalized cocoa carrying the brownie flavor.
• Natural and Artificial Flavor (moderate) — Added flavor system, including artificial flavor.
• Sucralose (moderate) — Artificial sweetener; unexpected in a bakery pie and a second sweetness source.
• Acesulfame Potassium (caution) — Second artificial sweetener stacked with sucralose.

Healthier alternatives

• Chocolate Sea Salt RXBAR
• RXBAR Chocolate Sea Salt Protein Bar
• Peanut Butter Protein Bar
• Peanut Butter Perfect Bar
• RXBAR Blueberry Protein Bar