Nutrition Diet: Are ice cubes negative calories?

November 5, 2025 •

4 min read

While it's true that your body expends energy to warm up cold water, drinking 16 ounces of ice water only burns around 8 calories, a number so minimal it’s inconsequential for weight loss. This fact puts a damper on the popular diet question: are ice cubes negative calories? (Markdown OK)

Quick Summary

The concept that ice cubes have negative calories is a persistent diet myth. While the body expends energy to heat ingested ice to core temperature, this thermogenic effect is extremely small and has no significant impact on weight loss efforts.

Key Points

Negative calorie myth: No food, including ice cubes, burns more calories during digestion than it provides. The concept is unsupported by scientific evidence.
Minimal calorie burn: While the body uses energy to warm cold water, the number of calories burned is extremely low (e.g., around 8 kcal per glass of ice water) and insignificant for weight loss.
Dental and health risks: Excessive ice chewing can damage tooth enamel, and very large volumes of water intake can be unsafe.
The real benefits of water: The true value of water lies in its ability to keep you hydrated, aid metabolism, and increase satiety, helping you reduce overall food intake.
Hydration over gimmicks: Focusing on consistent hydration and replacing sugary drinks is a far more effective and healthier approach than relying on the negligible effect of cold water for weight loss.

The Science of Calories and Cold

To understand why the claim "are ice cubes negative calories?" is a myth, one must first grasp the basics of how the body uses energy. The body's energy is measured in calories, specifically kilocalories (kcal), which is what is commonly referred to as a "calorie" in nutrition. Your body burns energy through several processes, including your basal metabolic rate (BMR), physical activity, and the thermic effect of food (TEF). The TEF is the energy required to digest, absorb, and process nutrients. The theory behind negative-calorie foods, including ice, suggests that the energy needed for digestion (or, in this case, melting and warming) is greater than the energy the food provides. However, no scientific evidence supports this claim for any food.

When you ingest ice cubes or cold water, your body uses a very small amount of energy to bring the temperature up to your core body temperature (around 37°C or 98.6°F). This process is known as cold-induced thermogenesis. While this does burn calories, the numbers are minuscule, far too low to create a significant caloric deficit for weight loss.

Crunching the Numbers: Is the 'Ice Hack' a Waste of Time?

Let's put the thermogenic effect of ice into perspective. The energy required to melt and warm a substance can be calculated using physics, and some helpful sources have already done the heavy lifting. A key point of confusion is the difference between a small 'calorie' (the energy to heat one gram of water by one degree Celsius) and a large 'Calorie' (kcal), which is 1,000 times larger and used for nutritional purposes.

According to some calculations, consuming one liter (just over one quart) of ice-cold water could burn approximately 17-70 calories, depending on the source and specific calculation. For comparison, that's roughly the equivalent of a few pieces of sugarless gum or a very short walk. To see meaningful weight loss, you would need to consume an extremely high, and potentially dangerous, volume of ice water, which could lead to water intoxication (hyponatremia). Therefore, relying on ice consumption as a weight loss strategy is both ineffective and potentially unsafe.

The True Value of Water and Avoiding Common Diet Traps

Instead of focusing on the negligible calorie-burning effect of cold water, it is far more beneficial to focus on the established, positive effects of hydration. Drinking sufficient water, at any temperature, is critical for metabolic health.

Increased Satiety: Drinking water before meals can help you feel full, leading to a reduced overall calorie intake.
Improved Metabolism: Being properly hydrated supports your body's normal metabolic functions.
Replaces Sugary Drinks: Substituting sugary sodas, juices, and sweetened teas with water (cold or otherwise) eliminates empty calories, which can significantly aid weight management.
Enhanced Performance: For athletes, drinking cold water during exercise can help regulate body temperature and improve endurance.

Ice Cube Diet vs. Balanced Nutrition


Feature	Ice Cube Diet	Balanced Nutrition
Caloric Impact	Negligible increase in calorie expenditure.	Sustainable calorie deficit through smart food choices.
Weight Loss Effect	No significant or sustainable weight loss.	Long-term, healthy weight management.
Nutritional Value	Zero. Just water.	High in essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Health Risks	Potential tooth enamel damage, stomach irritation, and rare risk of water intoxication from excessive intake.	Minimal risks with a varied, healthy approach.
Real-World Application	Unrealistic and unsustainable long-term.	Forms the foundation of a healthy lifestyle.

The Problem with Excessive Ice Consumption

Aside from its ineffectiveness for weight loss, chewing or consuming large amounts of ice can pose several health risks. These include:

Dental Damage: Habitually chewing ice can cause significant wear and tear on tooth enamel, leading to cracks, chips, or tooth sensitivity.
Stomach Irritation: In some individuals, particularly those with conditions like achalasia (a swallowing disorder), ingesting very cold substances can trigger stomach or esophageal spasms and discomfort.
Iron Deficiency Anemia: A condition known as pagophagia, or the compulsive eating of ice, is often linked with iron-deficiency anemia. This is a craving, not a solution for the underlying medical issue.
Misguided Focus: Investing energy in an ineffective weight loss hack distracts from proven strategies like regular exercise and a balanced, nutrient-dense diet.

Conclusion: The Myth Debunked

The idea that ice cubes have negative calories is a persistent, but fundamentally flawed, myth. While your body does burn a small number of calories to warm cold water, the effect is so minimal that it offers no meaningful advantage for weight loss. True weight management is not about tricking the body with diet fads, but about creating a sustainable, long-term balance between calorie intake and expenditure through proper nutrition and physical activity. Instead of focusing on the temperature of your water, focus on its consistency. Staying well-hydrated, particularly by replacing high-calorie sugary beverages with water, is a proven and effective strategy for supporting your health and weight goals. For more on the subject of negative-calorie myths, you can explore resources like Healthline's comprehensive debunking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Drinking cold water results in a very small calorie burn as your body heats it to core temperature, but the effect is too minimal to cause significant weight loss. The true benefit of drinking water for weight management comes from staying hydrated and replacing high-calorie drinks.

A dietary Calorie (capital C) is actually a kilocalorie (kcal), which is 1,000 times larger than a small 'c' calorie. Nutritional discussions use kilocalories, which is an important distinction when considering the minuscule energy expenditure from drinking ice water.

Yes, chewing ice can be harmful to your teeth. The habit can wear down tooth enamel, leading to sensitivity, and can also cause cracks or chips in your teeth.

No, no food has been scientifically proven to have negative calories. While some foods are very low in calories, such as celery and cucumber, the thermic effect of food (energy used for digestion) is never greater than the energy the food contains.

Staying properly hydrated is essential for your metabolism to function effectively. Some studies suggest that drinking water can temporarily boost metabolic rate, but this effect is modest, especially compared to exercise.

There is no 'best' temperature for general hydration. For metabolic benefits, cold water requires slightly more energy to warm. During exercise, cold water can be beneficial for cooling. Ultimately, the best temperature is the one that encourages you to drink enough water throughout the day.

Effective and sustainable weight loss comes from a combination of a balanced, nutrient-rich diet and regular physical activity. This creates a healthy and significant calorie deficit that promotes fat loss over time.