What Can You Drink While Fasting?

While most people know that fasting means avoiding food, you may still be curious about what beverages are allowed during a fast.

Let’s explore what you can drink while fasting and learn which beverages are the best options for staying hydrated and curbing hunger without compromising the health benefits of caloric restriction. 

What is fasting? 

Fasting is a dietary practice of time-restricted eating that involves abstaining from food for a set period. 

One of the most popular methods is intermittent fasting, which allows you to eat during designated windows of 1 to 8 hours while fasting for the remainder of the day.

There are several other fasting techniques, such as one meal a day (OMAD), dry fasting, which restricts both food and water and prolonged fasting, in which a person refrains from eating for several days.

Fasting has gained popularity among those looking to improve their health, as it can trigger cellular renewal, enhance insulin sensitivity, and promote fat burning. These benefits support weight management, metabolic functions, and overall health and well-being. 

Moreover, a study published in Biomolecules & Therapeutics revealed that intermittent fasting may help regulate immune responses by increasing regulatory T-cell activity and promoting anti-inflammatory mechanisms.

Watch the video below to learn about the best drinks to help you stay hydrated during a fast.

Can you drink while fasting?

Yes, you can and should drink fluids during fasting periods. While fasting, your body depletes its glycogen reserves, which triggers fluid loss as glycogen is stored in muscle and liver cells bound to water.

As a result, the body tends to lose a lot of fluids during fasting, particularly when low-carb diets such as Healthy Keto® and intermittent fasting are combined. 

However, there are fasting protocols that abstain from consuming fluids, widely known as dry fasts. When considering different fasting approaches, it’s crucial to understand the distinctions between dry fasting and water fasting.

Dry fasting vs. water fasting

While water fasting is the most common approach, dry fasting is often linked to spiritual or religious practices.

One of the primary benefits of dry fasting is that it can accelerate autophagy, the body’s natural process for repairing and recycling damaged cells. This can be especially advantageous for those practicing fasting to enhance healing and detoxification processes. 

However, dry fasting can quickly deplete electrolytes and lead to severe dehydration, linked to various serious health risks. This explains why dry fasting is considered an advanced technique that should be approached with caution and medical supervision.

What can you drink while fasting?

There are several beverages you can enjoy that will keep you hydrated without interrupting your fast.

Here are four fasting-friendly drinks.

1. Water

Drinking water is essential during the fasting period as it helps ensure proper hydration without affecting blood sugar or insulin levels, keeping the body in a metabolic fasting stage. 

You can drink mineral water, sparkling water, and soda water or make delicious water infusions by including sliced cucumbers, lemons, limes, or even berries to create a flavorful and refreshing drink. 

Additionally, you can help boost the fat-burning effects of fasting by adding lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, and diluted apple cider vinegar to prepare a fasting-friendly weight loss shake.

2. Tea

Unsweetened teas, including black, green, and herbal varieties, are also excellent choices for fasting. 

In addition to keeping you hydrated, they contain antioxidants called catechins that help protect cells from oxidative damage and support metabolic balance.

Research published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that drinking green tea helps promote steady blood sugar and insulin levels, which can help maximize the health benefits of caloric restriction.

However, caffeinated green or black teas should be consumed in moderation. Too much caffeine can dehydrate the body and stimulate insulin release, which may interfere with the natural fasting stage.

It's worth noting that green and black teas also contain a significant amount of tannins that may cause nausea when consumed on an empty stomach. 

For this reason, it’s best to enjoy herbal teas as they’re generally gentler on the stomach and less likely to cause discomfort during a fast. 

3. Coffee

Black coffee is a popular choice when intermittent fasting as it can boost your metabolism, improve focus, and reduce appetite, making it easier to fast for longer periods.

People who fast while following a ketogenic diet also often add healthy fats such as grass-fed butter, coconut oil, and medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) to create a fasting-friendly drink known as bulletproof coffee or keto coffee.

This can be especially helpful for beginners as it supports the body's transition into fat-burning and keeps them feeling satiated for longer, enabling them to extend their fasting window.

While it may seem counterintuitive to consume calorie-dense fats during fasting, these healthy fats can actually support the fasting process by providing sustained energy without significantly affecting insulin levels.

Although this method can be effective in the initial stages, if your aim is to burn body fat, it's advisable to avoid fats during fasting. Consuming fats can lead your body to prioritize burning dietary fats instead of tapping into stored body fat.

4. Electrolyte drinks

"As your body sheds water during a fast, it also loses vital minerals, including sodium and potassium," explains Dr. Berg. "This is why replenishing electrolytes while intermittent fasting is essential to prevent dehydration-related fatigue and maintain muscle function."

One of the best ways to promote optimal mineral and electrolyte balance is to consume water enriched with a zero-calorie, sugar-free electrolyte powder. 

However, opt for electrolytes sweetened with natural sugar replacements such as stevia or monk fruit, as they won’t raise blood sugar or insulin levels, making them safe during a fast. 

Beverages to avoid while fasting

While there are various beverages you can enjoy during a fast, it’s essential to be aware of which ones to avoid.

Sugary beverages, such as sodas, fruit juices, and sports drinks, should be avoided. Their high sugar content elevates blood glucose and insulin levels, which disrupts fat burning and interferes with the body’s natural fasting state.

Additionally, milk and many milk substitutes are high in carbohydrates and sugars and will break a fast.

Even diet sodas can cause problems as they often contain artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin. These sweeteners have been shown to trigger insulin release and may negatively affect the gut microbiome.

According to research published in Nutrition Journal, “chronic consumption of sucralose reduces insulin sensitivity in young adults,” which can lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Coconut water, though considered a healthy drink due to its exceptional electrolyte content, should also be avoided while fasting as it contains too many natural sugars to maintain a fast.

Alcoholic beverages are also off-limits during fasting, as they can disrupt the fasting process by causing fluctuations in blood sugar levels and increasing insulin resistance. 

Additionally, alcohol can lead to dehydration and may impair the body’s ability to burn fat effectively, counteracting the benefits of fasting.

Key takeaways

What can you drink while fasting? While water is one of the best choices, there are several other beverages you can enjoy while fasting, including coffee, herbal tea, and sugar-free electrolyte drinks.

Avoid beverages containing added sugars, artificial sweeteners, or those high in calories, as these can disrupt a fast and hinder the potential benefits of fasting, including weight loss and autophagy.

FAQ

1. What can you drink while fasting?

You can consume beverages that won’t affect blood sugar or insulin levels during a fast, such as water, black coffee, herbal teas, and zero-calorie electrolyte drinks sweetened with natural sugar alternatives such as monk fruit or stevia.

2. Can you drink coffee while fasting?

Drinking moderate amounts of black coffee while fasting is safe. However, consuming too much caffeine during fasting periods may trigger hormonal imbalances that can interfere with the natural fasting state. 

3. Can you drink alcohol while fasting?

No alcohol should be avoided while fasting as it can spike blood sugar levels and break your fast. Furthermore, alcohol can cause dehydration and interfere with the body’s capacity to burn fat efficiently, undermining the benefits of fasting.

4. Do you have to drink water while fasting?

Unless you're practicing dry fasting, it’s recommended to drink plenty of water and replenish electrolytes during fasting periods to stay hydrated and maintain the body's mineral balance. 

In addition, you can enjoy other fasting-friendly drinks with zero calories such as black coffee, unsweetened tea, sparkling water, soda water, and water infusions.

5. Can you drink Coke Zero during your fasting period?

Despite Coke Zero having zero calories, it contains artificial sweeteners that can trigger spikes in blood sugar and insulin, potentially breaking a fast.

6. Can you have lemon while doing intermittent fasting?

Yes, adding a small amount of lemon juice to water won’t break a fast. Lemon water also supports hydration, can boost metabolic processes, and may help prevent kidney stones.

7. Does stevia break a fast?

No, stevia doesn’t break a fast. It’s a natural, zero-calorie sweetener that doesn’t raise blood sugar or insulin levels, making it safe to use while fasting.

Sources

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10762271/

2. https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsfa.10442

3. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12937-020-00549-5