Tidbit Tuesday - Coffee and Fasting

Hello,

Welcome to another Tidbit Tuesday where we aim to teach you something new about health, nutrition, lifestyle, training, and so much more, every week!

Today we are talking about Coffee and Fasting!

Intermittent fasting is a popular diet pattern that involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting.

Intermittent fasting has been practiced by humanity since the dawn of time.

It can be a helpful strategy when travelling to adjust our circadian rhythm to new time zones quicker.

Research shows that our body uses times of fasting to clean our bodies of dead and dying cells. This is called autophagy and it helps keep us healthy and assists to prevent chronic disease, such as heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.

As well as promote weight loss!

Black coffee enhances fatty acid mobilization from adipose tissue, cognitive alertness, metabolism, and can suppress hunger.

Other benefits include improved brain function, protection against age-related neurological diseases as well as reduced inflammation, and blood sugar.

With lower inflammation throughout your body, you significantly reduce your risk of several chronic illnesses.

So, by fasting and drinking black coffee you may reduce the risks of mental decline, as well as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Studies also link coffee intake to a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes. What’s more, up to 3 cups (710 ml) of coffee per day is associated with a 19% reduced risk of death from heart disease.

Black coffee also acts as a hunger suppressant helping to curb your hunger during times of fasting. Because one of the toughest parts to starting intermittent fasting is the hunger and cravings.

Dealing with being hungry is tough at first. But know that being hungry is not an emergency and you will be okay going without food for a short period.

It becomes easier once more metabolically flexible, which takes about one month.

Things you can utilize to help get through the fasting times include:

Black coffee or tea, nicotine gum such as Lucy Nicotine (https://lucy.co/ ), Essential Amino Acids can be taken to stimulate protein synthesis during fasting, and sparkling waters have no calories, but the carbonation helps with hunger. My personal favourite is the San Pellegrino.

Many popular health and media outlets claim that you won’t break your fast as long as you stay under 50–75 calories during each fasting window. However, no scientific evidence backs these claims.

Instead, you should consume as few calories as possible while fasting.

For instance, lattés, cappuccinos, and other high-calorie or sweetened coffee drinks should be off-limits during your fasting windows.

Consuming too much caffeine from coffee could lead to side effects, including heart palpitations and temporary increases in blood pressure.

Most research indicates that up to 400 mg of caffeine per day is likely safe for most people. This equates to about 3–4 cups (710–945 ml) of regular coffee per day.

AS LONG AS IT ISN'T INTERRUPTING YOUR SLEEP!

Sleep is too important to sacrifice!

Having carbohydrates, a little before bed, either with a later dinner or as a snack, can help with sleep. Another simple, and free, method of relaxing is to meditate or practice breath work while lying in bed trying to fall asleep.

Other supplements or herbs you can use include CBD to help with the restfulness of your sleep. Valerian and passionflower can be used for Gaba production which makes you feel tired and sleepy. Melatonin is another similar option which can help you to fall asleep.

If you are using intermittent fasting to improve your fasting insulin levels or increase your insulin sensitivity, you’ll want to moderate your coffee intake.

Insulin is an essential hormone that controls your blood sugar levels.

When cells are insulin resistant, they can’t use insulin effectively, leaving your blood sugar high.

Prolonged high blood sugar can damage nerves and organs.

You are most at risk of insulin resistance if you have prediabetes or a family history of type 2 diabetes, as well as if you are overweight or obese.

Improving it can help you reduce insulin resistance and the risk of many diseases, including diabetes.

WARNING:

If you are diabetic, or at high risk, then you should be careful with fasting and closely monitor your blood sugar levels at all times. I recommend having your doctor or a medical professional following your progress closely!

Men and women should also consider different strategies of fasting because it can affect hormone levels.

If you are not used to fasting; men start with a flexible 12 to 16 hour fasting window. Women start with a flexible 10 to 12 hour fasting window.

This means that every day, you do not eat your first meal until your fasting window is up.

If you finish your last meal at 8pm, your first meal of the day will be between 8am and 12pm for men. And between 6am and 8am for women.

This is a style of intermittent fasting, however there are several ways in which you can fast.

The most common method is the 16/8. With a 16 hour fast and a 8 hour feeding window.

The 5 and 2 method:

With this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two nonconsecutive days of the week but eat normally the other 5 days.

Eat-Stop-Eat: 

This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.

Alternate day Fasting:

Alternate day fasting has you fast every other day, either by not eating anything or only eating a few hundred calories.

The Warrior Diet:

This diet encourages having only small amounts of vegetables and fruits during the day, then eating one huge meal at night.

However, you don’t need to stress about choosing the perfect plan, or even following a structured intermittent fasting plan to reap some of its benefits. Another option is to simply skip meals from time to time, such as when you don’t feel hungry or are too busy to cook and eat.

This only works IF you are getting your appropriate Calories and staying within your Macronutrient ratios, you will continue to reap the benefits and improve your health.

Once you have become more metabolically flexible and fasting becomes easier, you may consider starting to perform exercise while in a fasted state to gain even more benefits.

Begin with something easy like going for a walk in the sunshine or a leisurely bike ride.

Growth hormone can more than double during a fasted state, making this a great time to get in a dedicated session on some of our weaker areas. I believe this time is best utilized performing compound movements and working on the body as a system rather than isolating muscle groups.

If you are a regular gym goer and you’re concerned that you may lose muscle mass during a fasted state, don’t worry, it takes far longer than 16 hours to start breaking down muscle tissue for energy.

Intermittent Fasting and Keto seem to be good for maintaining muscle mass and losing body fat, but not for gaining muscle mass.

Another great option I mentioned earlier is Essential Amino Acids, not BCAA’s. These are low enough in Calories that they won’t break your fast but will provide your body with the building blocks for protein synthesis.

Fasting during pregnancy or breastfeeding is not typically recommended. Maybe short intermittent fasts and followed very closely by a medical professional. Otherwise, you want to show your ancestral body that it is not a time of famine, but rather a time to feast. Give your baby nutrients!

Performing extended fasts, 48 hours or greater, can be dangerous. A fast is a form of a detox and detoxification can be dangerous.

Fat soluble metals and toxins can be released and without anything to buffer you from the effects of these toxins you may experience side effects.

We in the 21st century are exposed to chemical and industrial toxins not historically known to humans. Toxins are stored in our fat. When you fast, you release these toxins.

You can easily buffer this by performing a refeed of protein and carbohydrates, around 300 to 600 Calories, every 36 to 48 hours, and you should mitigate any side effects.

Extended fasting helps reduce gut permeability by stimulating brain/gut pathways.

Consider fasting before trying other treatments or supplements for repairing the gut.

If you are interested in trying a longer fast be sure to consult a medical professional before attempting it and have them follow you closely throughout.

Happy Fasting!

Your friend in health & fitness,

Coach Sean