PDCAAS Score: The Protein Quality Metric Explained

You see it on protein powders: "PDCAAS score 1.0". But what does it mean?

What is PDCAAS?

Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score. It measures: does the protein have all essential amino acids, and how well can you absorb it?

Score runs 0 to 1.0. Score of 1.0 = complete protein, optimally digestible.

PDCAAS Scores

• Whey, Casein, Egg, Soy: 1.00
• Pea: 0.89
• Rice: 0.47

Lower score = worse?

Not always. Pea + rice are complementary — combine them for a complete profile.

Bottom line

Don't stress about PDCAAS. Focus on total protein intake. Check your needs with our protein calculator.