Negative Calorie Foods – Healthy Helper or Just Hype?

The phrase “negative calorie foods” often crops up in dieting advice. The claim is that certain foods, including celery, cucumber, grapefruit, and lettuce, use up more calories during chewing, digestion, and absorption than they actually provide.

It sounds like the dream: eat as much as you like and still lose weight.

But is it true?

The Science Behind the Claim

When you eat, your body burns energy to digest and process food — this is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). On average, TEF accounts for around 5–15% of the calories you consume. 

While fibrous, water-rich foods like celery are very low in calories, research shows that no food actually takes more energy to digest than it contains.

So the idea of “negative calorie foods” is more myth than fact.

The Benefits of These Foods

Even if they aren’t truly “negative calorie,” the foods on these lists are still valuable:

Low in calories – Great for weight management when used as snacks or side dishes.

High in fibre and water – Promote satiety, regulate digestion, and support gut health.

Packed with nutrients – Grapefruit provides vitamin C, broccoli offers folate and antioxidants, and leafy greens support heart and bone health.

Encourages healthy habits – Choosing cucumber sticks or an apple over crisps or biscuits reduces overall calorie intake.

The Downsides of the Myth

False promises – Believing in “magic foods” can distract from the importance of balanced eating.

Nutrient gaps – Over-relying on very low-calorie foods could leave you short of protein, healthy fats, and essential vitamins.

Digestive discomfort – Eating large amounts of raw, fibrous veg can cause bloating in some people.

Unsustainable approach – Diets built on restriction or gimmicks rarely last long-term.

A Balanced Approach

The real takeaway is this: while negative calorie foods don’t exist, low-calorie, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables can play a central role in healthy eating. Instead of chasing myths, it’s better to:

Fill half your plate with vegetables.

Pair them with lean proteins, wholegrains, and healthy fats.

Use fruit and veg as additions rather than miracle cures.

Sustainable health comes from overall balance — not from hoping celery sticks undo a slice of cake.

To learn more please visit our sister site That's Food and Drink:- https://thatsfoodanddrink.blogspot.com/2025/08/negative-calorie-foods-myth-or.html

 

Great news, calories are meaningless!

There have never been more low calorie and low fat products in the supermarkets, with some “light” products doubling their market share year on year, yet we have higher levels of obesity and type 2 diabetes than ever before. So... how can this be? www.BeNiceToYou.com just might have the answer to that!

Because, as Kate Walker of BeNiceToYou.com told That's Health: “There is a direct correlation between the invention of manufactured fats and low calorie sweeteners and the increase in obesity and diet related diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

"If you plot them together on a timeline, the relationship between these products and such diseases becomes very obvious”.

She went on to say: “Low calorie manufactured foods have had the calories removed from them by replacing the natural sugars with sweeteners and the natural fats with manufactured ones, which on the face of it seems like a good idea, but these products are so alien to our systems that our bodies have no idea what to do with them. This puts the body under stress which then creates the right conditions for storing fat.”

According to a study published by The American Psychosomatic Society calorie restrictive diets increase the production of Cortisol in the liver, cortisol being a critical factor in fat storage in the body.

“Calories are meaningless because the way in which the calorific values of foods are determined bears absolutely no relation to the way our bodies process them. Humans break down food with enzymes in a chemical process that releases energy and, more importantly, the nourishment.

"What we don’t do is incinerate food at high temperatures using electricity in a bomb calorimeter. Calories are simply an unreliable measure of the energy potential in our food and bear absolutely no relation at all to how nourishing the food is. All foods contain calories to one degree or another, but not all foods contain nourishment. Nourishment is important because that’s the minerals, vitamins and trace elements the body needs to build and replace millions of cells that die every day. Calories don’t build cells.”

There are low calorie foods that contain little or no nourishment and these tend to be manufactured foods. Conversely there are low and high calorie foods that are packed with nourishment and these tend to be the more natural products. So the conclusion is that it doesn’t matter how many calories there are in the food we eat, the important thing is how much nourishment we are able to extract from the food. If we want to slim down as a nation and reverse the diabetes trend, we need to see our food differently. Counting calories doesn’t work because they don’t matter. We need to look beyond calories and see the nourishment in our food.

Dieting help for everyone

When it comes to dieting and losing weight, a little help is worth a pound of pity. Over the next several weeks, That's Health will be looking at a number of products that can help you to lose weight.

That's Health will look specifically at meal replacements and supplements that are scientifically and nutritionally designed to help you lose weight as part of a calorie controlled diet.

That's Health hopes that if you feel the need to lose weight to either look better or to feel better -you might have health issues that you are aware will improve if you can shed those extra pounds or stones- these articles will help you in your quest. 

However, if you are classed as clinically obese or suffer from some health issues (heart condition, etc) it might be advisable for you to seek the help of a medical professional such as a doctor or a properly qualified dietician before you commence on a weight loss programme.

In any case, good look in your desire to lose weight.

Nutritionist challenges over-simplified nutrition information as a threat to overall consumer health

The Department of Health’s voluntary Responsibility Deal will require signatories including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, ASDA, Compass Group, Premier Foods, Mars and Unilever to include prominent calorie labelling on all their food packaging from September this year.

Nutritionist Kate Cook is concerned at the impact this will have on consumers’ ability to make good overall choices for their dietary health. This in turn could affect the popularity and sales of key lines for the food and retail sector.

She explains what she perceives as a problem with this: “While some high calorie foods are empty of nutritional value, others have significant benefits in the daily diet. Conversely, some low calorie foods don’t deliver all they promise. For example, salmon is high in fat but contains vital omega 3 and protein. In a regime where only calories count, it ranks alongside low quality junk food, potentially being rejected as 'unhealthy'.

"Yet conversely, some 'diet' range sandwiches are very low in calories but encourage unstable blood sugar and don’t provide enough energy, leading to snacking and weight gain. A higher calorie alternative could be a better choice for sustainable weight loss.”

Kate Cook’s consultancy focuses on helping food retailers, manufacturers and restaurants convey a more balanced message about the nutritional value of their products. As well as analysing calorie information, she evaluates and explains the micro-nutrient and fat content.

She points out: “Brands need to communicate more helpful health and nutrition information to sustain customer confidence. This one-dimensional approach could pose new risks to the public’s health. There’s an opportunity for businesses across the food industry to provide more complete guidance that puts calorie labelling in context. Of course the challenge is doing so in a simple and authoritative way that customers will understand and act on to the overall benefit of their health.”

Kate Cook doesn’t dispute that the government health Responsibility Deal is a worthwhile initiative, with its broad aim of encouraging healthier lifestyles for the British public through a range of dietary and exercise measures. And she finds it easy to see why the government has chosen to focus on calorie counting. “Many consumers understand the measure because it’s been associated with popular diets and weight loss for decades.

But she feels that consuming enough micronutrients and 'good' fats is also of vital importance for good health. Without them, humans still suffer from conditions like scurvy and rickets which most of us assume have been consigned to the history books. Cases of both have recently been reported in the UK. And for weight loss, it’s so important to balance blood sugar throughout the day to avoid the peaks and troughs that lead to hunger pangs and bingeing, one of the main causes of obesity.

Kate Cook recommends retailers and brands develop and champion credible messages so customers can make informed choices about how to get all the macro- and micro-nutrients they need each day. To help your brands, individual products or meals to avoid losing share because of an incomplete picture of nutritional value, she suggests:

1. Provide relevant nutrition facts on packaging that help customers relate their choices to their lifestyle goals

2. Include micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) info as well as macronutrients (calories, protein, fat) on menu and product breakdowns and explain the benefits

3. Create nutritious menus for specific dietary needs, including weight loss, gluten or dairy free and mood boosting or high energy requirements

4. Develop consistent messages across all your PR, marketing, packaging and campaigns so your health headlines are always clear and focused.