Did you know that there are some foods, which require more energy to metabolize than we get from eating them? This result is usually referred to as the negative calorie effect (NCF).
Below is a list of foods, which although they supply calories, the amount is less than the body needs to do nothing. This is called your Basal Metabolic Rate. It’s the amount of energy you need to breathe, circulate
the blood, remove the toxins and filter it. It doesn’t include the energy needed to get out of bed, bathe, etc.
These foods are a wonderful boost for someone wanting to lose weight, but only if used the right way. A healthy diet plan includes items from all the main food groups. From these, we get the nutrients which are necessary to maintain the body in a healthy state. A diet consisting entirely of NCFs would result in your body drawing energy demands from your muscles. This results in weakness and wasting of the body. Anorexics are a prime example.
So how can you use NCFs without harming yourself?
The answer is quite simple. Use them as part of a balanced calorie wise diet. For example, 1/2 grapefruit (vitamin C, fibre) 1 egg-white (protein) 2 slices melba toast (carbohydrate) pat of margarine (non-saturated fat) 1 cup of 1% milk (protein, carbohydrate, low-fat, calcium, vitamins) makes an excellent low calorie but nutritious breakfast.
Here is the list.
- Apples
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Blueberries
- Broccoli
- Cantaloupes
- Carrot
- Cauliflower
- Celery stalk
- Celery root
- Cranberries
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Endives
- Garden cress
- Garlic
- Grapefruit
- Green beans
- Green cabbage
- Lamb’s lettuce
- Lemons
- Lettuce
- Onions
- Papayas
- Pineapples
- Prunes
- Radishes
- Raspberries
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- Tangerines
- Tomatoes
- Turnips
- Zucchini