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"Negative Calorie Foods... Where's the Beef?"

By Gary Giamboi

The idea which is propelling the "Negative Calorie Food" diet is actually one of the "best" marketing concepts a diet plan can offer:

Lose weight by eating more of foods you actually like and become healthier in the process!

Believe me, I also wish this to be true. However, I am a "Doubting Thomas" who was born in Missouri! I need to see the proof with my own eyes. And herein lays the problem.

I have done extensive research into this subject and I have not found one which has even one claim documented with evidence that would be accepted by the scientific community. It is all based upon assumptions stemming from a fact here and a fact there.

For example: an author will list the amount of calories in broccoli and then go on to explain that the human body uses more calories to digest the broccoli than it contains.

Therefore, broccoli is a "Negative Calorie Food."

My problem lays in the fact that I have never seen a study done which would proves to the scientific community exactly how many calories we burn digesting a piece of broccoli.

In other words, no test has been done which follows the accepted norm for producing unbiased, repeatable results.

I have read many of these articles and they say it takes X number of calories to digest broccoli. They do not provide any references and I can not find any credible sources anywhere. This is a RED-FLAG for any claim. At least Big Industry pays someone with at least quasi-credible credentials to get them results which seem to backup whatever claims they are currently looking to prove.

For example, one site says that 100 grams of broccoli contain 25 calories. It goes on to say that it takes our bodies 80 calories to digest this amount of broccoli and its 25 calories. Therefore, if we ate the 100 grams of broccoli, we would lose 55 calories.

Since I can't find any credible sources to backup the claims concerning how many calories are used in digestion of any particular food, I also can't find any to disprove them either!

Most credible sites and papers state that we burn approximately 10-12% of the calories we consume digesting and assimilating those calories. This jives with other sources which state that it takes about 45 of the calories in fat to digest fat, 10-12 % of the calories in carbohydrates to digest them and 20-22% of the calories in lean protein to digest them. And so you can see how the average could be 10-12% if we eat the proper "mix" of foods.

Unfortunately, the end result is that this concept is taking off faster than the "dot com" mania of the late 1990's. The only difference is that almost all of these food actually "pay" you a Healthy dividend: Great Nutritional Value in the form of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and enzymes. So nutritionally speaking, this diet is not so bad.

My problem with it lies in the fact that people who follow this diet may not achieve what they are looking for. And if they do, it will not be because of the reasons they think.

Substituting broccoli for white potatoes is a good way to cut caloric intake and increase our intake vitamins and minerals. However, if this is the only thing we are doing to lose weight, there is a good chance that at some point we will hit a wall and stop losing weight.

No calorie limiting diet, in of itself, is a healthy, smart or even a successful way to lose weight.

So let's ask some questions. Since I can't find any credible answers, I'll leave it to you to come up with answers you are comfortable with:

1) Whether you walk or run, it takes approximately 100 calories for an average person to travel one mile on foot. Let's grant the claim of 25 calories in 100 grams of broccoli (actually, it is about 15% low). And if it takes 80 calories to to digest the 100 grams, if I ate 125 grams (approximately 4.4 oz.) of broccoli, I would burn 100 calories.

Therefore, eating 31 grams of broccoli is as strenuous as running 1 mile.

What do you think?

2) If a vegetarian ate as much plant food as they needed to stay healthy, they would probably starve to death due to their caloric deficit.

I am a lacto-vegetarian. I eat a lot of vegetables and probably 3 servings of fruit/day. Some days all of my fruits and vegetables are on the negative food list. At the end of the day I should be exhausted from having used up my supply of readily available sugars for energy .

That should also make me feel very hungry. It should also put my body into the state of Ketosis. I should also have trouble creating and keeping muscle.

I should also be able to eat lots of junk food and not gain any weight.

None of the above is true for me or any other sensible vegetarian I have ever met.

What do you think?

3) The large primates whose bodily functions are very similar to humans should have all starved to death long ago. Instead, many have large pot-bellies.

What do you think?

We need calories to live.
Therefore, I say that eating a Truly Negative Calorie Food is actually not healthy!


If someone needed to eat a food which uses up something we need for survival, something is wrong with their lives.

But, don't worry. Except for celery, I don't find any credible evidence that calorie negative foods exist.

So what can a person do to Lose Weight Sensibly?

1) See a Professional, such as myself, with a Proven Track Record in helping people lose FAT.

2) Make sure the plan includes eating enough of the right kinds of food, at the proper times and in the proper amounts.

3) See my Ezinearticle at: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Principles-of-Natural-Weight-Loss-and-Management&id=290262

4) Make sure your plan includes a Strength Training Regime.

5) Subscribe to my Newsletter by emailing your request to subscribe to the "Training by Gary, LLC Newsletter" by going to my contact page: http://genbukan.biz/contact.html

If you are not sure how to do any of the above, contact me at http://genbukan.biz/contact.html and I will help you achieve your goals!

I hope this article has given you some things to think about!

About the Author:

Gary Giamboi is a NASM certified Personal Trainer, an E-500RYT Yoga Instructor, holds the rank of Kyoshi (Teaching Master) in several Japanese Martial Arts from the Genbukan World Ninpo Federation and the Kokusai Jujutsu Renmei and a Master's License in Taijiquan (Tai Chi) and Qigong.

He is available for Private Training and Consultations on losing fat, toning up, athletic performance, balance as well as, Martial Arts & Yoga seminars and the 200 hour Yoga Teachers Training courses.

Other articles by Gary can be seen here. He can be reached via his website.