Negative Calorie Foods

While you may be thinking negative calorie foods sound like the answer to the dieting dilemma, let’s take a look at the whole picture. In fact, a negative calorie food is not meant to be interpreted as a zero calorie food. Here are the facts to help you understand how this process works.

What is the Negative Calorie Food Theory?

All food contains calories. Even a little bitty baby carrot has calories, about 15 calories per ounce. The theory goes that it takes more calories to digest the 15 calorie carrot than the 15 calories the carrot provides. It is the overall equation related to the amount of energy required for digestion in comparison to the amount of energy in the food item itself.

Fat-Burning Effect?

Supporters of the negative calorie diet claim that by eating these particular foods your body will dip into stored calories, better known as fat cells, to obtain the necessary energy to digest the negative calorie food. This brings about the term “fat-burning”. However, your body will use the most immediately available calories first before diving into the pool of fat. Hence, the energy from the piece of chicken you ate with the baby carrot will be used and most likely will provide an adequate amount of power to digest the carrot. It may be possible, in theory, that stored calories will be reached if overall intake is extremely low.

In any event, this theory is here and here to stay. There is a negative calorie diet available, and both the The Cabbage Soup Diet and the Grapefruit Diet follow this premise of fat-burning effect.

Negative Calorie Food List

These are the most common negative calorie foods:

• apples
• asparagus
• beets
• broccoli
• carrots
• cauliflower
• celery root
• chicory
• chili peppers
• cranberries
• cucumbers
• endive
• garlic
• grapefruit
• green beans
• green cabbage
• lemons
• lettuce
• mangos
• onions
• oranges
• papaya
• pineapple
• radishes
• raspberries
• spinach
• strawberries
• tangerines
• turnip
• zucchini

As you may have discovered, all the foods listed are produce items. Many fruits and vegetables are high in fiber content, thus requiring a long digestive process.

Resources

Besides the negative calorie diet itself, this theory is written about by other medical professionals as well. Dr. Dean Ornish, the founder of the Life Choice Diet, supports the idea that the enzymes produced for the digestion of a particular food accelerates many chemical reactions in the body that leads to a higher metabolic rate. His diet is based on low fat, vegetarian fare. Also, Dr. Lindlahr authored a book titled Eat and Reduce. This book reflects the same principles as the negative calorie diet by encouraging the consumption of low calorie foods that require high energy to digest as a method to lose weight. Dr. Neal Barnard is a firm believer of this approach as can be seen in his book Food For Life.

Health Precaution

As with any weight loss plan, it is always advisable and safest to eat at least 1200 calories per day. This is the standard amount of energy necessary to sustain the human body of most people and keep it functioning as it is intended to do. Also, if extreme restriction of calories is undertaken, metabolic rate will drop and weight loss will not occur due to its energy conservation mechanism. Thus, strictly eating foods from the list of negative calorie foods is not healthy and will cause you to be deficient in the other macronutrients, such as protein and unsaturated fats.

Summary

Whether these foods indeed cause a fat-burning, enzymatic reaction in the body to shed pounds or simply are low calorie foods that help regulate total caloric intake, there is no question of the benefits gained by eating them. Study after study have found that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is key to good health and disease prevention. For example, it has been shown that a decreased risk of heart disease, certain cancers such as colon and breast, stroke, diverticulitis, cataracts, and macular degeneration are outcomes of eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Also, lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels are evident with these healthy food choices. There is no risk to eating negative calorie foods as part of a balanced diet, so go ahead and give it try. Your body will thank you in several ways.

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