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Spinach May Be Worth It After All
By Karen Gates
You may have always turned your nose up at spinach but once you find out the more you eat the more calories you will burn you may look at it a little more fondly.
Spinach, along with strawberries, broccoli and green cabbage, is on a list of about 100 fruits, vegetables and fish that are considered 'negative calorie foods.' In theory, negative calorie food means that your body will burn more calories digesting them than it will eating them.
Certain foods in particular are more desirable because they are believed to be harder to digest and thus, burn even more calories. For example, if you ate a cup of fresh strawberries that contains 45 calories it may take 75 calories for your body to digest them. In effect this would be the equivalent of burning off 30 calories by walking, lifting weights or engaging in other forms of exercise.
This has not been scientifically proven yet but many people already adhere to the negative calorie diet in order to achieve weight loss. Supporters of this diet also believe that the types of food it requires a person to eat will speed up metabolism, which also aids in the burning of calories.
With all the fruits and vegetables the diet calls for, it's hard to believe that it could be anything but healthy. But it has raised speculation. Here's why. The original Negative Calorie Diet claims that following their plan can cause weight loss of up to 14 pounds in 7 days. If this is true, then you are losing seven times the amount of weight it is considered healthy to lose in one week.
You'll also be guided away from eating grains, which are important for the unique vitamins and minerals they provide. It is a strong debate because you'll actually be taking in large amounts of other vitamins that can have good effects on your metabolism and your overall health.
Eating the types of food that negative calorie diets encourage will, in most individuals, induce weight loss because they are simply lower calorie foods than most grains, proteins and dairies carry. This is true especially if you were to eat more calories everyday than recommended for your body and then go to eating rational portions of fruits and vegetables.
There are some negative calorie diets that claim you can eat as much as you want and still expect to lose weight. This is most likely false. Even if these foods really do create a negative calorie effect, you must exercise to get rid of excess energy storage.
They also don't take into account that the body burns off carbohydrates before it burns calories. Some of the foods on the list are low in calories but high in carbs.
That's why we suggest a nice compromise. Instead of adhering to a strict negative calorie diet, try eating these foods as often as possible and without adding any extras to them like butter or salad dressing that will quickly make them fattening. Whether the theory is true or not, you will benefit from decreased appetite through eating foods high in water mass, increased metabolism and a diet rich in vitamins. Combine this with regular exercise and you're participating in a lifestyle that is proven to cause weight loss.
About the Author
Karen Gates offers free information on hundreds of different weight loss methods. She also provides honest and unbiased dieting and weight loss product reviews. Go to Best Weight Loss Program also found at http://www.bestweightprograms.com.
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