Negative Calorie Fruits and Vegetables: Are They Real?
negative calories, fruit, vegetables, caloric intake, calories
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Some sources say that certain low calorie fruits and vegetables actually contain negative calories.
What is a Negative Calorie?
Food has calories in it which the body uses to perform regular human functions. Negative Calories (supposedly) occur when the calories contained in the food are less than the calories needed to lift, chew, and digest the food.
It seems to make sense. Some fruits and vegetables with high water content contain such a low number of calories that it seems reasonable that it would take more effort to finish digesting them than your body would actually pull from the process.
Some Negative Calorie Vegetables:
- Asparagus
- Fennel
- Aubergine
- Gourd
- Cucumber
- Broccoli
- Leek
- Cabbage
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Cauliflower Peppers
- Celery
- Radish
- Chicory
Some Negative Calorie Fruits:
- Apricots
- Blackberry
- Melon
- Cantaloupe
- Raspberries
- Grapefruit
- Rhubarb
- Guava
- Watermelon
Some Experts Disagree with the Negative Calorie Theory:
There are those who insist that the negative calorie idea is wrong. Their primary argument is that the body uses different amounts of energy to digest foods of different complexity. They believe that the body designates a percentage of a food's energy content toward digesting it.
Calorie Breakdown Example: If an item contains 5 calories, the body would use 3 calories of energy to digest it - while a food item containing 50 calories would be digested using 30 calories of the body's energy.
So Which is Correct?
Well, no one has proven either side so it's up in the air. Some experts support the negative calorie theory while others claim it's impossible. I personally have no idea, but I'm hoping that the negative calorie theory is correct because it gives us veggie snackers an advantage.
One thing that did surprise me was the negative calorie fruit list. I didn't expect fruits such as strawberries to have negative calories. I've heard that celery has a negative net caloric intake before, because it requires more effort for the body to breakdown. The only conclusion that I can come to is that whether negative calories exist or not, any of the fruits and vegetables on this list should be good for weight loss.
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on 7/9/2008
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