#270 Does Coffee Break Your Fast?

Coffee is still a topic of huge debate with Life By Design. Not mentioning any names, but some of us believe coffee should be included in the same category as dairy. This means if you're adapted, go for it, if not, stay away. 

 

You might wonder "what does this have to do with coffee and fasting" and the answer is everything. The argument hinges on how coffee is digested and metabolized. Understanding digestion is the cornerstone for understanding fasting and its benefits.

 

The benefits of intermittent fasting are:

 

1) Your body is in a state of ketosis

2) Fat burning

3) Insulin sensitivity

4) Autophagy - your body killing off unwanted or diseased cells

5) AMPK - an enzyme that inhibits your body from storing fat.

 

It's not that fasting causes your body to do those things, your body would do them anyway, it's just that your metabolism is a massive energy user. When your body is engaged in processing and breaking down food, other aspects of your physiology don't receive the same attention.

 

A similar example is not having an appetite when you're not feeling well. Increased immune system activity is a huge energy cost for your body, so much that suppressing metabolism is necessary to optimize the efficiency of your body's immune system.

 

The purpose of this podcast is to discuss coffee and how it relates to intermittent fasting.

 

What we cover:

• What is intermittent fasting, should you do it, and what you hope it accomplishes.
• The nature of coffee - why do some people say it's good and others claim it's bad?
• What the data says about coffee and does it, in fact, end your fast?