Thermic Effect of Food: 9 High Thermogenic Foods

Is there truth to the claim that certain foods can “boost your metabolism?” For years, fat diets have claimed their high-protein approach facilitates more weight loss, but until recently, we didn’t know why. This has to do with the Thermic Effect of Food–how much energy. 

The thermic effect of food (TEF) is how much energy (calories) the body utilizes to digest and absorb foods. High-thermic foods include high-protein foods, spicy foods, and green tea. The thermic effect of food can change based on meal composition, meal size, meal timing, and individual factors like age, body composition, physical activity level, and overall dietary patterns.^1,4,7,14 

High-thermic foods may be helpful if you want to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. These foods are highly satiating due to their high protein content. Protein is a vital nutrient that supports maintaining lean body mass while losing weight. You can increase the TEF of a meal by sprinkling nuts or chia seeds on top of yogurt or oatmeal bowls, incorporating 5-6 oz of protein in a meal, adding beans to ground meat, or pairing a high-protein food and fiber-rich food to create a filling and satisfying snack.

Key Take Aways

• The thermodynamic effect of food (TEF) is the amount of energy (calories) the body uses to digest and absorb foods. 
• High-thermic foods are helpful in facilitating sustainable weight loss and/or weight management due to their highly satiating effect and high protein content, which helps maintain lean body mass while losing weight. 
• High-thermic foods include high-protein foods (meat, fish, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, egg), fibrous foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts), spicy foods, and green tea.
• The thermic effect of food can change based on meal composition, meal size, meal timing, and personal factors like age, body composition, physical activity level, and overall dietary patterns, which causes research outcomes to be varied.^1,4,7,14 

What is the Thermic Effect of Food

The thermic effect of food (TEF), also known as diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), is the increase in metabolic rate in response to digesting food. This occurs from your body burning energy while digesting, absorbing, and transporting nutrients in the body.⁶ Protein has the highest TEF of the three macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrate.⁶ This means a person’s body will burn more calories, to break down and utilize proteins in comparison to other macronutrients like fats and carbohydrates. 

Variability Within the Thermic Effect of Food

Individualized variables can impact the thermic effect of food, making measuring TEF in research studies challenging. Those variables can include but are not limited to:^1,14 

• Age
• Physical activity level
• Body composition
• Individualized dietary patterns 
• Composition of meal
• Meal size
• Meal timing

TEF generally decreases with age, increases with physical activity level, and increases with larger amounts of muscle mass within body composition.¹ 

Some studies indicated that the composition of meals (the ratio of protein to carbohydrates to fat) will change the TEF, but others indicate that TEF has more to do with the size of the meal. Older studies found that the TEF of a meal depends on the energy amount (number of calories) compared to the meal composition.^1,4,7 Some research indicates that TEF should be measured within 3 hours of consuming the meal; other studies indicate that TEF should be measured 5 hours post-consumption.¹⁴ More definitive studies are needed to work through these contradictory results.

What Factors Impact Metabolism 

To understand how the Thermic Effect of Food impacts metabolism, it is important to understand what goes into regulating energy balance and energy expenditure. Energy expenditure (EE) is broken down into resting metabolic rate (RMR), the thermal effect of exercise (TEE), and the thermal effect of food (TEF).¹⁴ RMR encompasses the minimum amount of energy (calories) needed to meet basic metabolic needs like maintaining lean muscle mass, breathing, blood circulation, heart regulation, brain function, and maintaining other organ systems. Energy expended through exercise (TEE) accounts for a very small percentage of daily energy expenditure, only around 3-10%.¹⁴ Although burning more calories during exercise is normally the focus when manipulating metabolism for weight or fat loss. TEF accounts for about 10% of the daily energy expenditure, with the TEF of fat, carbohydrates, and protein being 0-3%, 5-10%, and 20-30% respectively.¹⁸ 

High TEF Diets and Weight Loss

Outside of exercising, getting ample sleep, and staying hydrated, we know nutrition is fundamental for successful changes in weight. Modifying the thermic effect of meals could be an additional strategy to achieve this long-term weight management. 

A high-protein diet has been associated with less overall calorie intake.⁶ This is likely due to protein-rich foods being more satisfying and filling from their high thermic effect. Some other mechanisms that could account for this relationship are the increase in satiety hormone (GIP, GLP-1) secretion, reduction in the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin, and protein-induced improvements in glucose homeostasis.¹³ Outside of requiring more energy to digest and absorb, protein is extremely important when on a weight loss journey to maintain lean body mass to ensure the weight being lost is primarily body fat. 

It is worth noting that it is not recommended to consume high-protein diets in combination with the standard American diet as that can increase the risk of developing metabolic conditions.  Although current studies suggest that high-protein diets may support weight loss, more long-term studies need to be done to consider additional factors like meal size, meal composition, nature of previous diets, insulin resistance, activity level, age, and genetics.⁵ 

Increased Satiety from High Thermic Diets

An ideal weight loss diet should prioritize satiety and fullness, even though a negative energy balance diet is required (calorie deficit).¹³ Satiety is influenced by multiple factors like the endocrine system, the nervous system and brain, and the gastrointestinal (GI) system.¹³ Out of all the macronutrients, protein is the most satiating while also inducing an increase in metabolism.

A study found that a diet composed of 60% protein was more effective at increasing satiety and reducing hunger than a diet composed of 19% protein.¹⁵ This theory was confirmed again when a study of 10 normal body weight participants consumed meals made up of either 68% protein (high-protein), 69% carbohydrates (high-carb), or 70% fat (high-fat) composition. 

The protein-rich meal was found to have the highest sensation of fullness and thermogenic effect compared to the high-carb and high-fat meals. This was true even when the meals' caloric amounts were equal.³ Consuming satiating, filling foods that aren’t high in calories will help facilitate weight loss by allowing the individual to consume less food over time, resulting in a calorie deficit.  

9 Foods with High Thermic Effect

1. Lean Meat

Protein has the highest TEF and is the most satiating macronutrient. Whether it is 90% lean beef, pork loin, chicken, turkey, white fish, or wild game like venison or elk, incorporating more lean animal meat is ideal for boosting metabolism and weight management. 

2. High-Protein Dairy

Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and whey protein products are phenomenal ways to get in large amounts of protein without consuming meat. One cup of cottage cheese and Greek yogurt contain 25g and 23g of protein, respectively. One scoop of whey protein powder has around 20-30g of protein, based on the brand. Outside of their high protein content, these dairy products also contain calcium, which is beneficial for bone strength, and vitamin D, which is beneficial for bone health, cognition, mood, and cancer prevention.¹⁰ 

3. High-Fiber Foods

It is recommended to consume 25-35g of fiber daily. A study that had participants switch from refined white grains to whole grains found a boost in resting metabolic rate (in combination with other benefits) following this dietary change for 6 weeks.¹⁶ High-fiber foods to incorporate into your diet are kiwi, avocado, raspberries, bananas, apples, pears, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, green peas, chia seeds, quinoa, oats, and whole wheat pasta.¹⁰ 

4. Fatty Fish

Fatty fish are​​ great protein sources, with about 25g of protein per 100g. They also contain anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats, which benefit cognition, healthy aging, heart health, neuromuscular function, and preventing future chronic conditions.¹² Omega-3-rich fish include salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel. 

5. Beans and Legumes

Legumes contain protein and fiber, making them a double-hitter for being a high-thermic food. For example – 1 cup of black beans contains about 15g of protein and 14.2g of fiber.¹⁷ Other types of beans to incorporate are pinto beans, chickpeas, chili beans, and red kidney beans.

6. Eggs

Eggs contain 6-7g of protein per egg, making them a beneficial food to increase protein consumption. Eggs are also a valuable source of healthy fats and vitamin D. A recent review from 2023 found that consuming eggs in a balanced diet increased muscle protein synthesis and lowered fat mass, which supported an improvement in body composition.¹¹ 

7. Nuts

Nuts contain protein and fiber (in addition to healthy fats), making them a high-TEF food and an overall great choice for a snack when trying to stay satisfied until the next meal. Some great options can include almonds, pistachios, peanuts, and walnuts.

8. Spicy Foods

Spicy foods are not TEF foods due to protein content but instead due to their capsaicin content. Capsaicin is a compound in spicy peppers (like cayenne or red chili peppers) that can increase metabolism by enhancing fat oxidation – especially when consumed in high doses. Even though spicy foods do boost the metabolism in large amounts, they can lead to sensory burns or pain in the mouth.⁸ 

9. Green Tea

Green tea also contains compounds that can increase the metabolic rate – which are known as catechins. Catechins boost metabolism by impacting the body through several processes like hepatic metabolism, intestinal metabolism, and microbial metabolism. Catechins also have strong antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancerous properties to improve overall health and disease prevention.^19,21 

Tips to Incorporate High Thermic Effect Foods into Meals

When creating meals to support weight loss and satiety, consuming high-thermic foods can be helpful. To do this, Signos recommends centering meals around protein and fiber. Below are a few tips for trying to incorporate more TEF foods into your diet:

• Sprinkle nuts on top of Greek yogurt bowls instead of granola.
• Stir 2 tbsp of chia seeds or flax seeds into oatmeal.
• At snacks, focus on incorporating both a protein and fiber source. Try an apple with peanut butter, cheese with whole-grain crackers, cottage cheese with pineapple, or dried chickpeas and veggies with dip.
• You can incorporate 5-6oz of protein into your diet by having a salmon filet, chicken breast, steak, or tofu. Aim for 30-40g of protein per meal.
• Mix black beans into ground taco meat to give it a fiber boost. 
• For a high-protein alternative to ranch dressing, blend cottage cheese, a Ranch seasoning packet, lemon juice, and a little water to create a creamy, filling salad dressing.
• Add 1 cup of Greek yogurt or 2 scoops of protein powder into a smoothie.
• Utilize quinoa as a side carbohydrate source instead of always sticking to reliable potatoes or rice.

Bottomline

The thermic effect of food (TEF) refers to the energy your body expends to digest and absorb nutrients, with protein-rich and fiber-filled foods having the highest impact. While high-thermic foods can slightly boost metabolism, their real benefit lies in promoting satiety and helping maintain lean muscle mass during weight loss. Incorporating high-protein foods like lean meats, eggs, and dairy and fiber-rich options like legumes, nuts, and whole grains can support sustainable weight management. However, TEF is just one piece of the puzzle—factors like meal composition, activity levels, and overall diet quality play a significant role in metabolism and long-term health.

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