The thermic effect of food is the phenomenon of increased energy expenditure due to eating.
The thermic effect of food refers to the human body in eating food, in addition to the consumption of food, chewing and other actions, the digestion and absorption of nutrients in the food, also need to consume heat, also known as the special power effect of food.
The thermal effect of food has many reasons, mainly in the process of eating and drinking, the movement of the digestive system, the secretion of digestive enzymes need to consume heat. The oxidative decomposition of food in the body also releases extra heat, thus increasing a person’s energy metabolism.
Different foods have different thermic effects. In general, the thermic effect of mixed foods is equivalent to 10% of basal metabolism or 6% of overall consumption. Protein has the greatest thermic effect, generally accounting for 30%-40% of the calories in the food itself, carbohydrates account for 5%-6%, and fats account for 4%-5%.
In ordinary life can be appropriate to use the thermal effect of food to control weight, appropriate to increase the intake of protein and other thermal effect of the food is obvious. But pay attention to control the amount, protein is not the more intake the better, too much intake of protein will lead to increased burden on the liver and kidneys, nutritional imbalance and other problems.