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The common misconception is that celery contains "negative calories". All foods contain calories. The way you must look at it is how many calories does one stalk of celery contain, versus how many calories it takes to digest it. According to the nutrition data website one 8 inch celery stalk contain about 6 calories. Many people believe you actually burn that off when chewing. Though celery does take a rather conscious effort to chew, chewing burns about the same amount as watching the grass grow. The calorie loss is going to be during the digestion of the celery.
Celery is actually loaded with latent energy, but the plant's composition only allows us to metabolize a small amount. The latent energy is packed tightly in the form of cellulose; a complex sugar which humans are unable to metabolize. It's not that the celery is difficult to digest, but rather it provides fewer calories than what is needed to digest it - so the overall effect is "negative calories".
Keep in mind, the amount of calories you lose is very minimal. This is not the miracle diet food. The amount of calories lost will probably be no more than 10-12 calories a day. The good thing is celery can quickly satiate your hunger, preventing you from eating other high-calorie foods.
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While celery does not have negative calories, the amount of effort required to chew celery consumes more calories then the number of calories in celery.
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It's a myth. Generally, the notion of negative food -- food that requires more calories for the body to metabolize than the food, itself, contains -- is a myth. If you are looking for a low-calorie snack that actually does require the body to work a bit to digest, try raw celery. An average-sized stalk contains only about 11 calories. Just make sure to leave off the cream cheese.
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It's a myth. The act of chewing expends about five calories an hour. An average stalk of celery, which I could scarf down in less than 30 seconds, contains about 10 or 11 calories. So a calorie deficit will not be created simply by chewing on celery.
Digesting and metabolizing celery may be another story, however. Celery is 95 percent water, and the rest is mostly cellulose, which is difficult for humans to digest. The body might expend more energy metabolizing celery than is contained in the celery, but even if that were true, the calorie deficit would be negligible.
People who experience weight loss eating celery (or grapefruit, another food thought to contain "negative calories"), probably lose the weight because the celery is displacing some other high-calorie foods, such as chips or nuts or candy, in their diets. This contributes to a calorie reduction and a daily calorie deficit that induces the body to burn stored adipose (fat) tissue.
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A stick of celery contains 6 calories. It takes the body about 6 calories to actually eat and digest it. However, it does contain calories to begin with.
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