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Dynamic Action Food specification - ADS

The specific dynamic action of foods (acronym: ADS), also called diet-induced thermogenesis (acronym: TID), is a metabolic phenomenon by which, following the ingestion of food, the organism produces (therefore consumes) MORE ENERGY compared to the basal condition (Basal Metabolism - acronym: MB).

The specific dynamic action is different between food and food, since it depends above all on their nutritional composition; in practice, the specific dynamic action of food could be defined as the extraproduction of energy, or caloric surplus, by the body engaged in digestion, absorption and metabolization of food nutrients .

The specific dynamic action of a food is the result of the ADS of the carbohydrates, of the proteins and of the lipids it contains, which also vary according to their quantity. The highest specific dynamic action belongs to proteins, while it is lower for carbohydrates and even lower for lipids; in quantitative terms, it is possible to state that:

  1. The proteins have a specific dynamic action of 20-30% (ie, the cost of digestion, absorption and metabolization of proteins increases the MB by about 20-30%)
  2. Carbohydrates have a specific dynamic action of 5-10% (ie, the cost of digestion, absorption and metabolization of carbohydrates increases the MB by about 5-10%)
  3. Fats have a specific dynamic action of 2-5% (ie, the cost of digestion, absorption and metabolization of triglycerides increases the MB by about 2-5%).

It is possible that the specific dynamic action of the proteins is greater than the other two energy macronutrients due to the deamination and transamination costs of the amino groups, and to that necessary for the urea cycle of the same. However, making a rough estimate of the energy consumption related to the specific dynamic action of foods on the MB (assuming an optimal dietary composition), it is possible to hypothesize that this will increase the expenditure up to 10% of the total.

NB : Basal Metabolism represents on average 66% of the total energy expenditure, to be added to 14% of thermogenesis and to 20% of indiscriminate physical activity (more variable); 10% of the MB corresponds to about 6.6% of the total energy expenditure.

How to increase the specific dynamic action of food?

Obviously it is not possible to intervene on foods, significantly increasing the specific dynamic action; it is likely that by increasing or decreasing the cooking, in addition to the physical structure of the molecules, the specific dynamic action of the individual nutrients is also altered (positively or negatively, depending on the case), but this is certainly not a reasonable dietary intervention!

The most widespread behavior concerns the attempt to increase the specific dynamic action of the PASTO altering its nutritional distribution in favor of proteins and to the detriment of carbohydrates and fats; preferring peptides over other energy macronutrients, the specific dynamic action of the meal certainly increases, but not without giving rise to some negative implications. In fact, in the long term, distorting the nutritional balance of the diet could negatively affect psycho-physical efficiency and even the person's state of health; all the details of a diet rich in proteins, called protein or hyper-protein, are mentioned in the specific articles and published here on my-personaltrainer.it.