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What Can You Drink While Fasting

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Clean Vs Dirty Intermittent Fasting

What Can You Drink While Fasting?

Some people fast clean and others practice dirty intermittent fasting. While clean fasters may have only plain water, black coffee, or unsweetened tea during their fast, dirty fasters might enjoy cream in their coffee, bone broth, or even Bulletproof coffee.

Intake of calories from fat and electrolytes during a dirty fast can help make a fast more comfortable by limiting hunger and helping you feel more energized.

Dirty intermittent fasting is effective when fasting for weight loss, however other benefits like gut rest and autophagy are diminished.

Personally, I am a fan of dirty intermittent fasting for weight management because a splash of half & half in my coffee and the occasional Bulletproof coffee have made a world of difference in the comfortability of my fasts.

Fasting should be flexible and not miserable. The best intermittent fasting protocol is the one that you stick to!

Finally Can You Drink Coffee While Fasting

The moment you waited for

Can you consume coffee while intermittent fasting? The answer is

YES!

If you need a caffeine fix while youre intermittent fasting, it must be a cup of black coffee. A brewed cup of coffee is about 5 calories and contains no fat, therefore it can be consumed during periods of fasting. If creamer, sugar, milk, or flavor syrup is added to the black coffee, the fast has been broken. Thankfully, black coffee is an approved, safe beverage to consume during intermittent fasting.

In Short What Is Intermittent Fasting

As a ketonian on a weight-loss journey, you must have heard about it. You can find numerous articles online, of which the most informative is the one you can read in this link. Of course, intermittent fasting is not a new idea. People have been doing it for medical, spiritual or even cosmetic reasons since the beginning of time. Even the father of modern medicine Hippocratesmentioned something that could be described as fasting.

Everyone has a physician inside him or her we just have to help them in their work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. But to eat when you are sick is to feed your sickness. Hippocrates

Instead of using medicine, rather, fast a day. Plutarch

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What Are The Acceptable Foods When Fasting

The fundamental objective of fasting is to abstain from consuming anything. To avoid dehydration or other health issues, you can consume non-caloric drinks or anything that keeps you hydrated and energized throughout your fasting hours.

As such, before starting any fasts, especially prolonged ones, you should seek out medical advice first to determine what type of fast you should try first, or whether your body can even handle it.

Typically, clear liquids are allowed to consume when doing a fast. Heres a list of fast-friendly drinks you can try to hydrate your system:

  • Black coffee
  • Lemon water
  • Flavored water

If you want to learn more about acceptable liquids while doing intermittent fasting, heres a great video presentation by Dr. Eric Berg DC on YouTube:

General Benefits Of Drinking Tea

6 Awesome Drinks You Can Still Have While Intermittent ...

There is a scientific explanation to support the reasons for drinking tea more than you drink coffee during a fast. While coffee can make you feel jittery, tea can do the opposite. The caffeine and other compounds in coffee cause your body to release three major stress hormones which include epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol. This can lead to feeling on edge, jittery, or make your heart rate go up. Tea leaves contain caffeine, but they also include the amino acid I-theanine.

Drinking coffee releases the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. This is a significant reason why people experience higher heart rates, jitters, and fidgety feelings after one or a few cups of coffee.

However, tea leaves contain a calming amino acid known as l-theanine. This powerful ingredient has the opposite effect of caffeine: it calms your nervous system and supports reduced stress levels, lower heart rates, and healthy blood pressure.

When you combine l-theanine with the caffeine in tea, you get the best of both worlds: sustained focus, higher cognitive function, more positive moods, and better stress management.

According to the l-theanine effect in tea, increased alpha wave activity in your brain brings about a state of calm focus/alert relaxation while reducing the caffeines stimulant effects.

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Other Electrolytes Can Also Make Fasting Easier

Theyre not nearly as important as sodium, but taking some other electrolyte supplements can also be helpful.

Mainly this means magnesium, and potassium.

Basically, by getting some extra potassium and magnesium , you can lower your chances of getting things like muscle cramps or palpitations that occasionally accompany prolonged fasting.

If you have normal kidney function, you dont have to worry too much about the amount you mostly pee out any excess.

I use some powder supplements that I ordered online, and I take a little bit each day when I do a multi-day fast.

One word of caution about magnesium-

In some people, extended fasting can cause loose stools. Taking a lot of magnesium by mouth can also cause diarrhea. So obviously, thats a potential double whammy.

Probably the best forms of magnesium to prevent diarrhea are magnesium glycinate and magnesium bisglycinate. Lately Ive been using both of these in powder form, without any problem.

Yet another way to get magnesium is to take an Epsom salt bath. The magnesium in the Epsom salt gets absorbed through your skin, so it doesnt cause any GI side effects at all.

Are Electrolyte Combos a Good Idea?

They might help, but theres one main problem-

Because theyre trying to combine sodium, magnesium, potassium, and other minerals all into one supplement, theres usually not NEARLY enough sodium.

One thing you could do would be to use a combo supplement, but also get some extra salt from other sources.

Why Intermittent Fasting Can Be Effective And How Alcohol Impacts If

Alcohol consumption is thought to have long-term effects on fat burning, metabolism, and other weight-related body functions. But, to fully understand the implications of those changes, you need to know why and how intermittent fasting works.

Intermittent fasting only works if, by limiting the amount of time youre eating, youre also limiting your calorie intake for the day. Since alcohol is calorie-dense, a little alcohol can easily make up for the calories youre not eating during your fast.

If youre interested in learning more about what are the benefits when you use an intermittent fasting diet, read this article.

Increasing your calorie intake on occasion wont prevent your diet from working. But, if you choose to drink occasionally, you should know that doing so will likely put you over your ideal calorie consumption.

Your diet will be most successful if you moderate and limit your alcohol consumption. But, drinking alcohol wont, by itself, prevent intermittent fasting from being effective.

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Can You Drink Milk During Intermittent Fasting

Since 100 ml of milk contains not only 5 g of lactose but also approximately as much protein, it makes the difference .

Even a milk shot impairs intermittent fasting since it spikes blood sugar and insulin levels mostly if its skimmed and low-fat.

Both milk powder and vegetable milk drinks are industrially produced and are not suitable for fasting due to their composition.

Only unsweetened almond milk moves in a grey zone. After the nut milk is remarkably thin, a splash in the tea will not necessarily break the fast.

The same applies to cinnamon, which also yields exciting health benefits.

How Can You Tell If Something Else Is Okay To Drink While Fasting

What can you Drink while Intermittent Fasting? (Fast Breakers 2021)

If youve read this far, you probably have a pretty good idea already.

Basically, if theres not a lot of sugar , and not too many carbs or total calories, youre probably fine.

What breaks a fast varies from person to person, depending on your goals and health status.

Heres are some rules of thumb I typically use:

  • Keep carbs down to about 1 gram per serving
  • Keep calories as low as possible ideally under about 10-20 per serving
  • Be careful with sweeteners, and dont overdo it
  • The main exception would be if youre using some type of training wheels to make fasting easier as a beginner. And thats totally reasonable to do.

    Training wheels include things like bulletproof coffee, bone broth, MCT oil, and various others.

    The common theme is theyre all low in sugar / carbs, but have extra calories because of the fat or protein content. Thats why they can boost your energy without significantly raising your insulin or blood sugar.

    So as long as you dont overdo it, they wont disrupt your fast too much.

    Keep in mind, using training wheels constitutes a kind of dirty or modified fasting, and some people are opposed to that approach.

    But I think when youre first starting out, anything that makes fasting easier is worthwhile. Youll still get a ton of health benefits, and you can always clean things up later on.

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    Skip These Drinks When Fasting

    Merotto gives a thumbs down to these beverages during fasting windows:

    • Sweetened tea or coffee Once you add sugar, flavored syrup, milk or cream, these drinksdecaf or caffeinatedwill officially break your fast.

    • Alcohol Beer, wine, cocktails, and spirits are a hard no for Merotto. These all contain calories and should be consumed only in moderation, if at all, during the non-fast portion. If youre following a calorie-limited fast, note that alcohol will replace some of your food calories.

    • Diet soda or soda While most diet sodas are technically calorie free, we dont have enough evidence as to whether they should be consumed during a fast, says Merotto. There is some evidence that artificial sweeteners such as sucralose and aspartame often contained in diet sodas may cause a rise in insulin response due to a chemical reaction in the brain similar to when actually sugar is consumed. More research is needed, but neither diet sodas nor their sugar-laden regular soda counterparts have been shown to be supportive of weight loss goals, she says.

    • Protein shakes or smoothies Protein supplements and powders contain calories and will trigger an insulin response, breaking a fast, Merotto says. They can, however, be a good way to break a fast as protein is very satiating, and can act as a quick and convenient recovery drink for those who work out in the mornings before ending their fast.

    Should You Try Intermittent Fasting?

    Establishing An Intermittent Fasting Plan

    So, what’s the ideal way to design an intermittent fasting plan? It depends on your schedule and what works best for you, but a good template to start is:

    • Start your day off with a glass of water. Your body is made up of around 60 percent water, and every one of your cells needs it to function, per the U.S. Geological Survey.
    • After your water, have a cup of plain black coffee or tea if you’d like.
    • Continue fasting for your chosen length of time.
    • When it’s time to eat, keep your intake of sugar and other carbohydrates low and eat plenty of nutritious, fiber-rich foods.
    • Continue drinking water throughout the course of the day until you reach your goal intake.

    Read Also: What Foods Should You Eat On Intermittent Fasting

    Intermittent Fasting An Eating Pattern

    During a fast your focus is when you abstain and when you eat and not on what you eat. When practicing IF, there is no need to count calories or intentionally restrict your caloric intake however, most people consume fewer calories as they eat fewer meals and do less snacking during the day. Some people do overeat during their feeding window initially, but this lessens and becomes a non-issue over time.

    Intermittent fasting is not a diet per se rather, it is an eating pattern with fasting periods, a minimum of twelve hours to achieve a fasted state, a period for eating, and then cycling back and forth. There are several variations to IF, including the 16:8, the fast five , the 12:12, and alternate-day fasting, to name a few. The 16:8 or the 18:6 are popular strategies as primarily they require you simply skip breakfast and have your first meal of the day either 16 or 18 hours after dinner. Now, think back to the Ferris interviewees, were they not practicing a form of IF?

    Consider trying IF and follow a ketogenic or low-carbohydrate diet during your eating window for accelerated weight loss. Want to see results even faster? Add a training program the synergistic effect will help you maintain lean muscle mass while reducing body fat.

    Can You Drink Milk While Fasting

    What Can You Drink While Fasting Without Breaking the Fast ...

    Milk, even skim milk, should be avoided during your fasting period. All varieties of cows milk contain lactose, which is a naturally occurring sugar. Abstaining from carbohydrates, fat, and protein during your fasting period is important to avoid triggering a metabolic response in your body.

    Milk alternatives, like almond milk, oat milk, and soy milk are free of lactose but not of carbohydrates. If you absolutely need something for your coffee or tea, try adding a small splash of unsweetened almond milk. It has the lowest calorie count of about 30 calories per 8 fl oz. Those following stricter eating plans should not drink milk during fasting periods.

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    Gentle Foods To Break A Fast

    When youre ready to break your fast, its best to ease out of it. Toward the end of your fast, you might want to introduce small portions of foods that are more easily digested, so you dont overwhelm your digestive system.

    Breaking your fast with foods that are especially high in fat, sugar, or even fiber can be difficult for your body to digest, leading to bloating and discomfort.

    Foods and drinks that can be even more shocking to your system after a fast include those like a greasy cheeseburger, slice of cake, or soda. Even high-fiber raw produce, nuts, and seeds may be difficult to digest.

    On the other hand, nutrient-dense foods that easy to digest and contain a bit of protein and some healthy fats can break your fast more gently.

    Below are a few examples of what to eat to break your fast.

    Breaking your fast with healthy foods that may be better tolerated can help replenish important nutrients and electrolytes while easing food back into your diet.

    Once youre tolerating gentler foods, add in other healthy foods like whole grains, beans, vegetables, nuts, seeds, meat, poultry, and fish and return to eating normally.

    What To Never Drink While Fasting

    Even when following a fast that allows for small calorie intake, there are drinks that will break your fast no matter how little you have. Avoid any liquids that are high in sugar, have added protein or that have carbohydrates to stay fasted.

    Juices

    Avoid juice. Even vegetable or fresh-squeezed fruit juices will break your fast because they are full of sugars and carbs. Lemon slices are okay in your calorie-free drinks because you are only consuming the citrus from them. A smoothie or juice will be full of sugar and should be saved for your eating window. Do not drink juice while fasting.

    Soda

    Filled with sugar, even a sip of soda will break your fast. While carbonated drinks, like seltzer water, are okay, sugary sodas are not okay to drink while fasting.

    Alcohol

    Alcohol is full of carbs and calories and should never be consumed on an empty stomach. Much like caffeine, the effects of alcohol are even greater if you havent eaten before. This doesnt necessarily mean that you will be more inebriated, but that your body could face greater negative side effects from the alcohol. Save your alcohol for when you are not fasting and limit your drinks to one to avoid undoing the work of your intermittent fasting.

    Artificial Sweeteners

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    What Can You Drink During Intermittent Fasting

    Medically Reviewed by Babar Shahzad DR, on January 27, 2020.

    It doesnt matter if youre into fasting already or just thinking about starting it not having any food for 16 hours sounds like a challenge.

    Drinks are here to save you. But you have to understand that liquids often have a lot of sugar and calories hidden. You want to avoid that, as it would break your fast.Keeping this in mind, we have compiled a list of seven drinks that will not break your fast. In addition, this article also explores drinks that you should avoid while fasting.

    It goes without saying that intermittent fasting offers a myriad of health benefits, especially those related to healthy weight loss and its maintenance.First things first, intermittent fasting does not advocate the intake of any specific diet or drink.Rather, it is an eating pattern in which people eat/drink only during a certain period of the day. Simply put, there are cycles of fasting and feeding periods. Some common ways to do intermittent fasting include the 5:2 diet, 12-hours fasts, 16-hour fasts, 20-hours fasts, and 24-hour fasts.

    Nonetheless, you should be aware of certain drinks that break a fast and probably reduce or even negate the benefits of fasting.For example, you have been fasting for 14 hours and suddenly, you are tempted to drink soda. We all know sodas are loaded with sugars, which can cause insulin surges and sabotage your weight loss efforts.

    Best Beverages You Can Drink While Fasting

    What can you drink while intermittent fasting? (2018)
    • 4 minute read

    What can you drink while fasting?

    Intermittent fasting is all the rage these days. And with its purported health benefits, its certainly one to try!

    Theres definitely something appealing about a plan that only contains one essential rule. And that rule is: eat for these hours but dont eat for the others.

    For people who follow a keto diet, its not hard to overlap intermittent fasting with it.

    But when it comes time to actually do it, questions may pop up. And one of those questions is, what can I drink?

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