Actually, there is no such thing as a negative calorie. A calorie is a unit of heat and it cannot be negative. So when people talk about negative calorie foods, this just means a food whose calorie level is too low that it takes more energy to eat and digest it than the food contains.
Let we consider water to be a food, then cold water is certainly a negative calorie food. It contains no calories at all and the body has to use more energy to bring it up to blood temperature. So every time we drink a glass of cold water, we burn up a few calories and lose a little weight. That is why people call it a negative calorie food. But there are very few foods like this.
Negative calorie foods are most attractive to anorexics. A negative calorie diet would obviously result in starvation in the long term and nutritional deficiencies can occur very quickly. The calories burnt usually come from muscle mass, and the result is debility and wasting.
A better way to use a negative calorie diet is as a form of fasting or detox. You can do it for one to three days right after the Christmas season or when you have been eating an over-rich diet. Provided you are otherwise healthy, it can be a great way to clean out the system. However it is still best to take medical advice before doing this.
If you decide to use a negative calorie detox, please consider the following points first:
1. Do not eat big quantities of one type of food, especially fruits. A lot of foods contain substances that can be damaging if taken too much. For example, the acid in pineapple and grapefruit can damage your stomach lining. Other foods put an excessive burden on the liver or may cause diarrhea. So try to use all the different foods in small quantities.
2. Better for you to eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. You will also use more calories that way. If the foods can be eaten raw, it will be more effective than cooking them. Foods like carrots and beets will also be more satisfying if you eat them grated.
3. Do not spend all day eating. You will just become bloated and feel sick. If you are only doing this for a couple days, you should not feel too hungry. Plan four or five salad meals each day, and let your digestion rest at other times.
4. Schedule your time when do not have any important commitments. As with fasting or any kind of detox, you may suffer some uncomfortable symptoms including headaches, depression, tiredness and irritability. If these become severe, stop the diet and see a doctor.
5. When you end the detox, plan a gradual return to normal eating.
Below is a list of negative calorie foods.
* Apples
* Asparagus
* Beets
* Blueberries
* Broccoli
* Carrot
* Cauliflower
* Celery stalk
* Celery root
* Cranberries
* Cucumbers
* Eggplant
* Garden cress
* Garlic...
* Grapefruit
* Green beans
* Green cabbage
* Lemons
* Lettuce
* Onions
* Papayas
* Pineapples
* Prunes
* Raspberries
* Spinach
* Strawberries
* Tangerines
* Tomatoes
Please use this list of negative calorie foods wisely.