Negative Calorie Foods List – Can Foods Really Have Negative Calories?

What are negative calorie foods? And how can something you eat have less than zero calories?

Technically there is no such thing as a negative amount of calories. Almost all foods have calories (water has zero calories, which is the lowest amount you can get).

But it also takes us some effort to eat or drink food. When we eat or drink, we use up calories.

So the diet industry decided that a food that takes more effort to eat or drink that it provides is called a negative calorie food.

Before you get too excited, the list of these foods isn’t very long and isn’t exactly exciting either. You certainly wouldn’t be able to make a complete diet out of it:

• Apples
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Cantaloupes
• Carrot
• Cauliflower
• Celery stalk
• Celery root
• Cranberries
• Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Endives
• Garden cress
• Garlic
• Grapefruit
• Green beans
• Green cabbage
• Lemons
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Papayas
• Pineapples
• Prunes
• Radishes
• Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Tangerines
• Tomatoes
• Turnips
• Zucchini

But it does mean that you can use some of these foods to add variety to your diet without the worry of piling on the pounds.

For instance, you could make a very pleasant salad using lettuce, carrots, celery and tomatoes. Just be careful not to pile on the calories by smothering the salad with dressing.

Similarly, you could make a fresh fruit salad using apples, pineapples, strawberries and blueberries. Again, be sure not to ruin the negative calorie effect by adding a large dollop of cream!

One of the best ways to use negative foods is as a “filler”. They can make a good side dish and will have the effect of filling you up without piling on the calories.

You can also drink water instead of tea or coffee to help cut out the extra calories in the milk that you’d normally use. Twist in a slice of lemon or lime to add some interest.