What Can I Have When I Fast?
It is very common to ask what you can have when you’re intermittent fasting. It is important to understand that what you have and keep you in or take you out of the fasted state.
Anything that raises insulin levels will potentially pull you out of the fasted state. When you get pulled out of the fasted state some of the benefits of fasting stop even if you are only out of the fasted state for a short period.
Other benefits of fasting continue but some processes like autophagy don’t start until after 12-16 hours in a fasted state. Having things that have a small insulin impact may still stop those processes.
If you are not sure what intermittent fasting is then see my post What is Intermittent Fasting? before checking out what to have when fasting.
Recommended Drinks for Fasting Hours
The most important recommended drink is water. Continue to drink the amount of water you have during feasting times. This water is needed for your body to complete many functions including removing toxins as waste.
The second recommended drink is tea or black coffee. Both of these are no-calorie drinks that can provide benefits like antioxidants or hunger suppression. Remember to consider the impact of caffeine on your body. You may want decaf coffee or green, white or herbal tea to have lower caffeine.
The third recommendation is to add things to your water such as lemon juice, lime juice, or essential oils made for consumption. It is best to squeeze the juice from a fresh lemon or lime. If you buy store-bought juice then verify it is only the juice and no sugar.
The problem with store-bought juice is that it usually contains preservatives. Preservatives allow a longer shelf life but decrease your ability to digest properly.
Drinks with Calories for Fasting
The first recommendation is to drink Bone Broth. Bone broth contains so many good nutrients. The best bone broth is a homemade broth. Be very careful about store-bought broths as most contain added sugar or artificial flavors and monosodium glutamate.
The second recommendation is to add cocoa butter, heavy cream, MCT oil, or butter to your coffee. These fats help with hunger but do not spike insulin. Again all bodies are different so these fats that have about 0.4 g of carbohydrates might stop fasting for a short time. The only benefits that stop though would be functions like autophagy so it is important to understand your goals for fasting.
Another thing you can add to your coffee or tea is cinnamon. Cinnamon slows gastric emptying and may decrease hunger.
The final recommendation is chia seeds. The seeds absorb water and form a gel that can decrease appetite. Chia seeds are high in soluble fiber and omega 3 fatty acids. You can eat them dry or as a gel or pudding.
Choose What Works Best for You
Any of these drinks are good to use for intermittent fasting. The important thing is to try them out to determine what works best for you when you are intermittent fasting.
If you would like more information on fasting then get my free Easy Guide to Intermittent Fasting.
Have a wonderful journey with fasting.
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