Asked by: Phil O’Farrell, Hebden Bridge
A stick of celery contains about six calories; chewing and digesting it will only take half a calorie. However, the rest of your metabolism doesn’t stop just because you are eating celery and a 2016 study found that a stick of celery provides 19 fewer calories than you normally burn during the time you are eating it.
So you’ll still starve on a diet of celery, just more slowly than not eating at all.
Read more:
Subscribe to BBC Focus magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts.
Authors
Luis trained as a zoologist, but now works as a science and technology educator. In his spare time he builds 3D-printed robots, in the hope that he will be spared when the revolution inevitably comes.
