I have been reading about TEF or "the thermic affect of food" which is the calories expended by our bodies in order to consume (bite, chew and swallow) and process (digest, transport, metabolize and store) the food we eat.
I've seen different estimates about the percent of calories burned in the digestion etc. of food, but all the sources agree that protein is the highest ... we apparently burn up to 30% of the calories of protein in our eating/digestion process. (The comparable numbers for fat burning is maybe 3% and carbs up to 8%.) So if you eat 100 calories of protein, it translates into only about 70 calories because you apparently "use up" 30 calories or so in the process of eating and digesting the protein.
So ... my question is ... does anyone take advantage of TEF by eating lots of protein? Has anyone had any negative effects from eating too much protein ... and if so, how much is too much? Thanks!