There are a few foods, mostly veggies, that come with the title “negative calorie” food because the mythology is that they are so low in actual calories and high in fiber that the mere act of chewing them and digesting them uses more calories than the food itself, making them a “negative calorie” food.
Is there any truth to this? Well, celery is one of the foods that is considered negative calorie. I have actually been eating a lot of celery because I’m on a lower carb diet now (which is working for me thankfully) and I eat peanut butter with celery quite a bit now to tide me over mid day at work when I start to get hungry.
By the way, the peanut butter I’ve been using is Smart Balance, and it has flax seed oil added to it for extra health benefits, and it’s still pretty delicious.
I’ve noticed that the fiber in the celery helps to keep things moving along if you know what I mean, since on a low carb diet you risk not getting enough fiber. Eating things like cheese a lot doesn’t help since cheese binds you up easily. But eating a lot of celery and other high fiber foods like beans during the day helps to release that problem, so I do eat several pieces a day, without the peanut butter as well and I find it’s great for that.
While science says that the “negative calorie” thing is really a myth – you still gain calories from any food, I believe celery is probably one of the closest foods to being negative that you can get. I’ve experienced weight loss while eating tons of the crunchy, satisfying veggie, so I’ve got only positive things to say about it.
The one drawback to celery is that it does contain a lot of sodium for a vegetable, however the high fiber content likely counteracts some of that since it can increase your elimination of the salt. It is great for lower carb diets though, in my opinion because it is so satisfying.
