Episode 15 - Does Coffee Break A Fast?

Whether coffee breaks your fast depends on why you’re fasting. Most people fast for one of three reasons: weight loss/metabolic health, gut rest, or longevity (activating autophagy). 

 It also depends on how you drink your coffee. Do you take it black? With cream? With butter? Even sugar? Coffee itself has almost no calories, but it does trigger some digestive functions. Coffee stimulates gastrin (a hormone that triggers the secretion of gastric acid and gallbladder contraction, both of which have an impact on our GI tract. Coffee intake may also elicit a reflux sensation, which isn’t ideal for those with heartburn issues either.

So The Verdict for Black Coffee:

• Fasting for metabolic health/weight loss: likely does not break a fast
• Fasting for gut rest: does break a fast
• Fasting for longevity/autophagy: likely does not break a fast

If you are using cream, milk, sugar and other dairy products contain carbohydrates, protein, and fat that do require digestion, so the gut is activated. To stay in a fasted metabolic state, it’s best not to add any cream or sugar to your coffee. However, if you’ve already fasted overnight or longer and you just can’t drink black coffee, a bit of cream, butter, coconut oil, or MCT oil likely isn’t going to kick you out of ketosis or a fat-burning state.

 

Regarding autophagy, this is the body’s mechanism of getting rid of all the broken down, old cells. It is equivalent to taking your car in for an oil change, tire alignment and check up.  It is a regulated, orderly process to degrade and recycle cellular components.  The verdict is still unknown if coffee and/or tea have any effect.  Interestingly, one animal study found that coffee actually induced autophagy in mice, but it's not clear if autophagy would have been greater in the absence of all calories or if the results would have even been the same in humans. 

In many cases, coffee and tea can make sticking to your fast that much easier because caffeine can help with appetite suppression. For some people, it can help them get through the fasting periods.  But if you're drinking black coffee and notice you're not getting results, I would suggest reducing or eliminating it and see if that helps.

For the most part, coffee and tea don't interfere with fasting perks like ketosis and fat burn, and coffee may even help amplify some of fasting's benefits such as improved insulin sensitivity. 

So I would say as long as you are not overconsuming coffee it can be helpful when fasting but would try to avoid adding anything to it because technically any calories break a fast.  But like I mentioned if you add a bit of cream or butter and it helps you make it through the fast then go for it especially if you are just looking for fat burn/weight loss.  If you are looking for autophagy or gut health I would perhaps just do water or sparkling water.

Lastly, if you do keep drinking coffee be sure to choose organic, whole bean coffee that is toxin-free. Coffee is one of the most chemically treated crops. Over 97% of the world’s coffee is considered “commercial coffee,” and is sprayed with pesticides, stored in a way that encourages mold growth and over- oxidation of the beans, all of which compromises the healthfulness of the coffee. 

One estimate that I saw suggested the average acre of conventional coffee is sprayed by about 250 pounds of chemical fertilizers, so it’s, like I said, one of the more heavily treated conventional crops. When I make coffee at home and I buy it, I buy organic coffee for that reason.

Hope this helps clarify whether coffee breaks a fast and be sure to buy organic coffee! Let me know if you have any questions.  Have a great day!

Links:

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