Foods With Extremely High Thermic Effect. The thermic effect of food, explained. Carbs have a thermic effect of about 15% proteins have a thermic effect of about 30%.
The thermic effect of protein is around 20%. In reality, all foods are thermogenic because the body must use energy to digest them. This extra energy needed is called the thermic effect of food.
Protein has been shown to reduce feelings of hunger and has a higher thermic effect than fat or carbs (10, 11).
Fats and carbs fats, oils and carbohydrates have a thermic effect between about 5 and 15% meaning if you consume something with around 100 calories, 5% will be burned off while the other 95 calories will be moved into your fat storage. This extra energy needed is called the thermic effect of food. Thus each food item has different thermic effect, and food items categorized under the proteins have a higher thermic effect than the others. It is full of carbs and fiber and therefore has a high thermic effect (though not quite as high as lean proteins).