Do Negative-Calorie Foods Exist?

Yes and No

Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

Being healthy is becoming one of the top priorities of many individuals nowadays. We exercise, follow instructed diets, log our calorie intakes and do much more to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

As we all know calories in the foods we eat provide energy in the form of heat so that our bodies can function. We need to eat a certain amount of calories just to sustain life. Our body spends additional energy to digest and process the food we eat. Calories used in the process are less than the calories these foods provide.

Moving on is it possible there exists negative-calorie food meaning that you lose calories by eating them?

Let's find out, but first what is a calorie?

What Is a Calorie?

A calorie is a unit of measurement. Specifically, it is defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

Calorie needs for adult women range from 1,600 to 2,200 per day. For men, the estimates range from 2,000 to 3,200 per day.

What Are Negative-Calorie Foods?

Food marked as negative-calorie are usually fruits and vegetables with very high water content. They produce very few calories.

Some specific examples include:

• Celery: 14 calories per cup (100 grams), 95% water
• Carrots: 52 calories per cup (130 grams), 88% water
• Lettuce: 5 calories per cup (35 grams), 95% water
• Broccoli: 31 calories per cup (90 grams), 89% water
• Grapefruit: 69 calories per cup (230 grams), 92% water
• Tomatoes: 32 calories per cup (180 grams), 94% water
• Cucumbers: 8 calories per cup (50 grams), 95% water
• Watermelon: 46 calories per cup (150 grams), 91% water
• Apples: 53 calories per cup (110 grams), 86% water

So There Isn’t Calorie-Negative Food Then?

Technically no however cold water is an exception.

Water is a zero-calorie item.

Let's assume you drink 1 liter of cold water at 0° Celsius. Your normal body temperature is around 37 °C. Accordingly, our body will burn around 37 calories to bring the water to internal body temperature.

On a daily average if you drink 2 liters of cold water, then you will end up burning 75 calories which is almost negligible to our daily calorie intake(my advice is don’t rely on this method to lose weight).

Additionally chewing ice cubes can burn more calories but again in the grand scheme of things it is futile.