Expert: Tanya Zilberter, PhD - 6/15/2005

Question
Hello, I was wondering if you could help me get some nutritional information straight. Latley I've been reading up about negative calorie foods, or more specifically catabolic foods with complex carbhydrates. I understand the principles behind them and how they work, but what I can't seem to get a straight answer on are the foods themselves. I've found a lot of conflicting and non-specific lists, and even more websites that charge to get a book or downloaded list of what they say are 100 of these "Negative Calorie" foods. So I would like to know if there is a reliable place I can get this list or one like it without having to spend money. Also, I have a list which while is not complete contains some foods which are not entirely specific but very appealing to eat as negative calorie foods worked into my diet.  I was hoping you might be able to verify some or all of these foods as negative calorie. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated, thank you. Enclosed is the list: GRAINS: rice, pasta, oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, corn, pretzels, air-popped popcorn (optional, "I can't believe it's not butter spray")
VEGETABLES: potatoes, broccoli, spinach, Swiss chard, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans.
LEGUMES: black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, vegetarian baked beans, chick-peas, green beans.
FRUITS: apples, bananas, cherries, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, pears, apples, bananas
OTHERS: beans, whole grain breads, broccoflower, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, citrus fruits, corn, cranberries, grains and grains products, grapes, fruit preserves and jams(sugar free & low fat), leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, peas, peppers, pineapple, potatoes, root veggies, spinich, tomatoes, zucchini, pickles(no sweet),leafy greens, apricots grapefruit, carrots, onions, sourkraut, eggplant.  

Answer
The Negative Calorie Diet is based on the idea that some foods cause you to burn more calories digesting these foods than the actual calorie content of the food itself.

It's true that some foods raise your metabolic rate more than others do. Carbohydrate and protein, for example, contain about four calories per gram. But, the thermic effect of protein is far greater than that of carbohydrate.

In other words, some of the energy in each gram of protein is wasted as heat during the process of digestion and metabolism. The thermic effect of nutrients is approximately 2-3% for fat, 6-8% for carbohydrates, and 25-30% for proteins.

The foods you eat on The Negative Calorie Diet are mainly fruit and vegetables. For breakfast, you might have a bowl of strawberries or an orange. A snack might consist of apples or celery. You can have soup for lunch and dinner, though foods like chicken or fish are allowed after the first few days. Read the whole article:

http://www.dietandbody.com/Negative_calorie_diet.html

I'll be happy to answer your further questions. In this message, I just wanted to give you the basics of two concepts.

You can contact me directly at http://dietandbody.com/mfeedback.html