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Are there any negative calories?

Homepage Articles Are there any negative calories?

Are there any negative calories?

Nutrition provides the necessary energy, and with the right number of calories, we are able to perform daily activities, such as moving, talking, or digesting, but too much energy in the diet can lead to weight gain, and eventually lead to being overweight or obese, and more and more popular are products that are said to contain negative calories. Are there really any that not only don't provide energy, but also burn calories that have been accumulated before?

Table of Contents

1. What are the calories?

The energy value given on the packaging of a product determines how many calories are in it, so you know how much energy it will provide. This is very important when you lose weight, but not only. It allows you to estimate how much food you can consume in a day to take care of your health. From a physical point of view, it's simply the amount of heat that comes out after eating individual nutrients. Energy value can be divided into net and gross. The first is more accurate because it takes into account the energy that the body can completely consume after all the metabolic processes.

2. Negative calories are defined

According to the concept of negative calories, there is a select group of products that the human body has the ability to consume more energy after eating than the products provide, so that you can burn not only the calories supplied in that particular product, but also those that are excess.

3. Negative calories list of potential products

Among the most popular products that have the potential to help burn more energy than they themselves provide are: national celery, salad, ?? cucumber, blueberry, grapefruit, tomato. These are products with a high water content and very low fat, so their caloric efficiency is extremely low but not zero. Each of the above-mentioned products provides a certain number of calories, but not more than 40 kcal/100 g.

4. Negative calories from a scientist's point of view

The negative calorie theory intrigued not only overweight people, but also scientists. The whole concept sounds unrealistic, so the researchers decided to test it out. K. M. Buddemeyer and others used national celery in their analysis. This vegetable is the most commonly listed on the lists of products containing so-called negative calories. It contains very few calories and plenty of water. However, the whole concept is not very realistic, and the researchers also decided to check it out for the species of celery, which in the process of digestion and absorption of food is similar to that of the human body.

5. Products from zero

calorie free products should contain less than 5 kcal per serving. In many cases, they contain substances that are not metabolized by the digestive system, so they do not provide any or a small number of calories. However, there are no studies to confirm their negative effects. The only exception is water, which can increase food thermogenesis and metabolism. However the changes observed in studies (C. M. Brown et al., 2006) are so small that it is difficult to confirm that water is a significant aid in weight loss.

6. Negative calories is another dietary myth

The theory of negative calories is extremely interesting, but it has not been confirmed in scientific studies, so it cannot be used as an aid in weight loss. Products that were not supposed to deliver calories, but actually help burn them, although they do not have such an effect, are extremely valuable dietary ingredients because of their low energy and high fiber content. In addition, they provide vitamins and mineral ingredients. Instead of relying on magic methods, it is worth taking care of the energy properties of the diet, so that weight loss will be possible even with the participation of meals or meals.
Source

Boschmann M., Water-induced thermogenesis, „The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism” 2003, 88(12), 6015–6019.
Brown C.M., Dulloo A.G., Montani J., Water-Induced Thermogenesis Reconsidered: The Effects of Osmolality and Water Temperature on Energy Expenditure after Drinking, „The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism” 2006, 91(9), 3598–3602.
Buddemeyer K.M., Alexander A.E., Secor S.M., Negative calorie foods: An empirical examination of what is fact or fiction, biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/586958v1 (6.10.2021).
Clegg M.E., Cooper C., Exploring the myth: Does eating celery result in a negative energy balance?, „Proceedings of the Nutrition Society” 2012, 71(OCE3), E217.
Płazowska I., Ujemne kalorie. Prawda, ziarno prawdy czy mit?, dietetycy.org.pl/ujemne-kalorie/ (6.10.2021).
Kudełka W., Jachna D., Charakterystyka żywności o obniżonej wartości energetycznej, „Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie” 2009, 834, 69–96.
Olchowy K., Wartość energetyczna posiłków – czym jest i jak ją obliczyć?, zywienie.abczdrowie.pl/wartosc-energetyczna, (6.10.2021).
Tinslay G., Do Negative-Calorie Foods Exist? Facts vs Fiction, healthline.com/nutrition/negative-calorie-foods#fact-vs-fiction (6.10.2021).