# Catabolic diet **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2000, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044 "2000-10-15T22:20:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2000, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/1 "2000-10-15T22:20:35Z")
Supposedly certain foods take more calories to diegest than they supply, for instance an apple might supply 80 calories but the body burns 100 calories to digest it. Are there any credible reports to support this theory? ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/2 "2000-10-16T00:11:13Z")
My understanding is that celery is such a food, since it’s mostly water and celluose. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/3 "2000-10-16T01:34:51Z")
I’ve heard the bit about celery too, but I’ve never seen any numbers to back it up. ---
**Author:** ![DVous\_Means](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@DVous\_Means](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVous_Means)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/4 "2000-10-16T05:46:30Z")
I’ve heard (and read) that capsicum and chillis have the same properties. However, apart from patting myself on the back whenever I eat capsicum (and now celery), I have never bothered to research the thruth of the matter. Maybe it’s a conspiracy by green grocers to get us to eat their product, or perhaps another by the health and fitness industry to give us all a guilt complex… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/5 "2000-10-16T05:52:31Z")
Note that even if the thing about celery is true (I’ve heard it as well) it has almost zero nutruitional content. You probably wouldn’t live long if you ate only celery. ---
**Author:** ![sethdallob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@sethdallob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sethdallob)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/6 "2000-10-16T05:54:29Z")
How about ice? 0 calories in, yet your body has to heat it up to body temperature…that takes energy. I doubt that this would be the foundation of a great diet, however you have to drink something anyway… ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/7 "2000-10-16T16:03:07Z")
Why bother with celery or ice? Go straight for the fully indigestible. Oak chips. Or pennies. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/8 "2000-10-16T19:59:29Z")
How about wax? It just passes through, but you used up some energy eating it. Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/9 "2000-10-16T21:49:11Z")
styrofoam is a good one, very filling. also cabbage I don’t think fruit (such as apples) would work because of the high sugar content ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/10 "2000-10-17T05:20:38Z")
Wasn’t there someone who ate an entire car? Not to be confused with the old lady who swallowed a fly. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/11 "2000-10-17T06:25:42Z")
A cold can of diet coke. It takes about 9 Calories to warm it up from fridge tempreature to body temperature. As for celery, my reference says it has 13 Calories per 100 grams. 95.3g of that is water, but there are 2.8 grams of carbohydrates, 0.9 gram of protein, and 0.1 gram fat. Now how does one calculate the energy needed to digest it? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/12 "2000-10-17T06:53:57Z")
\>\> the energy needed to digest it? How about the energy needed to earn the money to buy it and to go grocery shopping? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catabolic-diet/37044/13 "2000-10-17T11:49:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Wasn’t there someone who ate an entire car? that was Corporal Klinger, who tried it in an early attempt at a section 8. As I recall, he didn’t get much past the wiper blades. So he started wearing dresses.