Does Food Cause Heat?

Approximately 20% of the food that you eat in calorie terms is used to consume the food. In science, they call it the thermic effect, the energy cost of breaking down food.

So what is the thermic effect and how does it affect you?

The food you eat needs to be broken down in your body. Food being broken down (burnt) is the equivalent of burning the carbon in coal to create a fire.

To do this, you need energy provided by the food itself or thermic effect.

Foods vary in thermic effect. Protein, for example, uses up to thirty percent of the calories as energy. Fat uses up to three percent.

So does this create heat in your body?

Are the naturalists and ayurveda practioners correct in saying that food causes heat in your body? Is that good or bad?

Much of the confusion comes from specific ingredients, especially spices. Cinnamon, turmeric, chilies, cloves, for example. It is believed that they generate heat in the body.

If a human being that was seventy kilograms ate a hundred calories, their body temperature would increase by about 1.7° C.

You would feel like you are burning up after each meal.

Obviously, this does not happen. Your body dissipates the heat through your skin. You might have experienced it as feeling colder or sweating after a meal.

The spices do not require any energy, but help in the process of breaking down food. So ginger or cinnamon boost thermic effect or metabolism creating "heat." The effect, though, is dissipated through sweat.

So should you avoid foods that cause heat?

Everything done in moderation is your best answer. Consuming a pinch of cinnamon is not going to kill you, but too much of water can. So use everything as a tool for a purpose with the understanding of what it does to you.

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