What are negative calories?

The expression "negative calories" is somewhat confusing as it implies that there are foods which contain no calories at all. Every type of food possesses some energy since they incorporate quantities of carbohydrate, protein or fat either alone or in different amounts.

All these macronutrients are the basis of energy and hence all food includes a certain amount of energy.

Negative Calorie
  • The term negative calorie describes specific foods which have so little energy that the body requires more energy for digesting and absorbing the energy and nutrients.
  • This implies that by consuming these foods there is possibility for a net loss of calories from the body or a negative calorie balance which is necessary so as to lose weight.

There is some degree of debate regarding negative calorie diet and some experts consider it to be completely devoid of any authenticity. Some are of the opinion that the quantity of energy utilized may be comparative to the quantity and nature of the meal ingested.

The Negative Calorie Diet is rooted in the assumption that one consumes food that contains negative calories.

"Negative Calorie Foods" are foods that utilize greater amounts of caloric energy to assimilate than the calories that they contain. The human body needs to use up energy so as to digest and absorb foods. In reality, 10% of the intake of calories is utilized for processing food in the body.

Hence these "negative" calorie foods are those that require greater amounts of calories for digestion than real calories in food item.

Foods for example asparagus, broccoli, beets, green cabbage , cauliflower, clams, celery root, hot chilly peppers, cucumber, dandelion, carrots, endive, garden cress, garlic, papaya, radishes, spinach, turnip, zucchini, cranberries, apples, oranges, lettuce, grapefruit, pineapples, tangerines, strawberries, raspberries, and onions are some of the foods that require greater energy to digest than the calories that the foods contain.

One thing that has to be borne in mind is that, negative calorie foods should be consumed in their unaffected condition. If such foods are cooked or additional ingredients added. it can alter the caloric composition of the food. Additionally, this diet strategy is only limited to merely fruit and vegetables. It would be extremely difficult for persons to adhere to it unless they are dedicated vegetarians.

Negative calorie food is a good choice for lasting weight loss accomplishment together with proper exercise.

There is a great degree of uncertainty surrounding negative calorie foods and many wonder whether they really exist or are a product of human imagination. There is greeter necessity for extensive research so as to establish or reject the theory. People tend to believe that if negative calorie foods aid people consume less calories it can be a suitable beginning to a stable weight loss program.

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