If you have honey in your morning tea or coffee while Intermittent Fasting, will this break your fast? Today, I'm covering the details of honey while Intermittent Fasting!
Does Honey Break a Fast?
Honey is primarily made of fructose and glucose, which are simple sugars. It's often used as an added sugar in baked goods, teas and coffees. Some people may use honey stirred into lemon tea while fasting. However, due the fact that honey is primarily made up of simple sugars that spike the storing hormone insulin, it will break a fast.
One of the main perks of Intermittent Fasting is that it naturally allows insulin levels to dip down during the fasting state.(1) This has a plethora of health benefits ranging from increased fat breakdown (lipolysis) and decreased water retention. This is why a 2020 review on Intermittent Fasting and weight loss found that Intermittent Fasting primarily allows the body to use fat as a fuel source -- due to this low insulin state.(1) If insulin is spiked, as it would be with the consumption of honey, then this will break the fast.
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What Can You Have In Your Coffee While Fasting?
If the goal with Intermittent Fasting is fat loss, then you can still add some ingredients to your morning coffee as long as it doesn't cause the storing hormone insulin to be secreted. As both protein and carbohydrates will cause insulin to be released (carbohydrates having the biggest effect), this leaves foods that are only made up of fat.
Ingredients such as 1 Tbsp. of heavy whipping cream or half and half or adding a bit of grass-fed butter or coconut oil to coffee can help to boost satiety (the sensation of feeling full and satisfied) without spiking insulin. This is why coffee recipes such as Keto Coffee (pictured above) can be used with this form of fasting. If you are following a clean fast with the goal of maximizing the Migrating Motor Complex and cleaning out the GI tract, then only water should be had during the fasted state.
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Your Nutritionist,
Autumn
Autumn Elle Nutrition