Lists of negative-calorie foods are all over the Internet. These foods are purported to help people lose weight because the body expends more energy, or calories, in utilizing them than they provide. A number of websites offer free information about negative-calorie foods, from diet reviews to insight into the science behind the theory.
Identification
Negativecaloriefoods.com bills itself as the originator of the negative-calorie diet. The website offers a list of some negative calorie foods for free. It also offers for sale an e-book with an extensive list of such foods, a diet plan and recipes. The site defines negative-calorie food as food that is difficult for the body to digest, causing the body to burn more calories in the digestion process than the food contains. For example, according to the site, the body has to use 80 calories to digest a 25-calorie piece of broccoli. The claim is that eating "a lot of these foods" will help people lose weight naturally. Many other sites offering free information reference negativecaloriefoods.com. Critics at dietsinreview.com point out, however, that the negative-calorie diet is a actually a theory advanced by one particular website or unnamed "inventor."
Considerations
Some other websites offer free lists of foods that are said to be negative-calorie foods with the caveat that there truly is no such thing. Weightlossinternational.com says cardboard is the only "food" that would really fit into this category. The body is such an efficient engine that even hard-to-digest, low-calorie foods give the body more energy than it takes to digest them, weightlossinternational.com says, but "in the interest of completeness" presents a free list of foods said by some to be negative-calorie foods.
Foods
Negativecaloriefoods.com says there are 100 negative-calorie foods, including apples, asparagus, beets, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, berries, cauliflower, cucumber, celery, chili, garlic, grapefruit, lettuce, lemon, orange, onion, spinach and pineapple. Other sites that offer free lists, such as weightlossinternational.com and healthrecipes.com, include foods such as hot chili peppers, endive, dandelion, cress, strawberries, cranberries and tangerines. Radishes, turnips, lamb's lettuce and zucchini also make the list.
Expert Insight
The "negative-calorie" food craze has led to expert scrutiny, including that of Dr. Nancy Snyderman, chief medical editor for NBC. Snyderman debunks the "negative-calorie" food theory in a May 2009 Time magazine article available for free on the Internet and also in her book, "Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat." She points out celery and citrus fruits have been key components of this type of diet and other fad diets for years. However, calories burned to fuel the digestive cycle are minuscule in comparison with the calories these foods provide. "Although chewing celery might seem like a strenuous activity, it burns about the same amount of calories as watching grass grow," she says in her book and in Time magazine. Dietsinreview.com points out there is no scientific evidence to support assertions about negative-calorie foods.
Benefits
The negative-calorie food plan does have some proven pluses, despite the lack of scientific evidence. It promotes eating vitamin- and nutrient-rich foods, points out dietsinreview.com. The plan also advocates eating foods that are full of fiber. The user rating for the diet is 86 percent, meaning 86 percent of people who tried it and submitted feedback to Diets in Review liked the plan.
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