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Can I Drink Coffee While Fasting?

Can I Drink Coffee While Fasting?

When it comes to taking care of our bodies and maintaining good health, one of the best things we can do is intermittent fast, but can drinking coffee while fasting go hand in hand? 

It sounds complicated, but intermittent fasting is actually a very simple concept. The idea is to do a short daily fast, only eating during certain hours of the day. For example, food for that day is consumed between the hours of 2 and 8 pm. As you grow accustomed to intermittent fasting, you can push that window of time to be even more compressed. Some prefer to eat earlier in the day instead of the evening hours, i.e. 9 am to 3 pm, and that works too. The key is consistency and finding what works for your schedule and lifestyle. Fasting is a simple concept, but a question I get often is about coffee while fasting: “Can I have coffee while fasting?” The short answer is “maybe.”  Pure water, organic coffee, tea, and other non-sugary drinks are perfectly acceptable. However, today let’s focus on coffee.

Some people are not willing to give up that morning cup of coffee. I can appreciate this! See if it works for you. For some people, caffeine increases cortisol, which in turn affects glucose. For others, they are not affected. Have your coffee ½ hour after testing your first glucose in the morning. Then test it again after your coffee. If your glucose goes up? Sorry to say this, but consuming coffee while fasting is not a good combination for you. If your glucose remains the same or goes down? You get the green light for coffee! This goes for tea as well. What about cream in your coffee? Test this as well. Sometimes black coffee on a fast is best for people, some people test better with cream in their coffee. Test your glucose 30 min after your cup of coffee, and see.

What are the Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee While Fasting?

cup of coffee with smile

Coffee is a controversial subject. Some tout the health benefits while others are not a fan of daily consumption. I am convinced that coffee qualifies as a health food. There have been over 19,000 studies on coffee, evidencing that it is in a class by itself when it comes to health and wellness.

Here are some of the stats on health benefits of 3-5 cups of coffee per day, courtesy of Purity Coffee:

  • 40% reduced risk of liver disease
  • 30% reduced risk of congestive heart failure
  • 24-40% reduced risk of Type 2 Diabetes
  • 30% reduced risk of Parkinson’s Disease
  • 22-25% reduced risk of stroke
  • 15% reduced risk of prostate cancer
  • 65% reduced risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

One studies found that coffee improves focus and another study found that high decaffeinated coffee consumption was found to be associated with a lower risk of death.1

The health benefits don’t stop there.

Drinking coffee while fasting could positively affects mental and physical performance. Many people are hesitant to exercise while fasting, but coffee on a fast may be helpful here as well. Zach Bitter, an ultramarathon runner, and coach at Zach Bitter Running is a fat adapted athlete who has competed in over 40 ultramarathon competitions. One of his notable accomplishments includes running 100 miles in an American record of 11 hours, 40 minutes and 55 seconds.

During a recent interview with me, Zach admitted he doesn’t like to eat when training. He prefers to work out in the morning, and instead of eating, will have coffee on a fast with coconut or almond milk, and a bit of raw honey. He goes on to say:

“Then I’ll go out, and I’ll train hard for a couple hours, sometimes over three hours. At that point, if I slept eight, nine, ten hours the night before and ate dinner at a normal time, by the time I could get back, I’ve metabolized enough calories to almost put together a fast of over 24 hours. I think just by that lifestyle, you get really fat adapted.”

Not All Coffee is Created Equal

As we can see, coffee on a fast has many amazing benefits, but, there’s one small problem: not all coffee is created equal. Many brands are actually toxic.

Many mass produced and imported coffees (even fancy brands) contain mycotoxins, which have a negative impact on our health. These toxins are created through the way the coffee is roasted and produced (we have very low standards for accepting coffee into the US).

A shocking 95% of these mass produced coffees are heavily treated with pesticides. Over-roasting or under-roasting coffee also produces negative compounds that impact our healing while drinking coffee while fasting. Finally, if you are consuming coffee that is more than 15 days old, the lipids in the coffee can begin to turn rancid, which can contribute to inflammation in the body.

There are several toxins that are found in mass-produced coffee that everyone should be aware of:

Ochratoxin A. Ochratoxin A3 is a naturally occurring foodborne mycotoxin. OTA has been shown to be toxic and carcinogenic in animals.

Acrylamide. Acrylamide is a naturally occurring chemical, found in coffee, which has been shown to cause several types of cancers in animals. Acrylamide occurs based on poor roasting practices.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAH’s are found during roasting and brewing, typically when high temperature roasting for darker roasts. PAH’s are suspected to be carcinogenic and mutagenic.

Pesticides. Pesticides (also known carcinogens) may be present in many coffee brands.

Our best efforts to be health conscious can be derailed by consuming the wrong foods. That also applies to drinking coffee. While it has many benefits, the key is to only consume the organic varieties.

We must remember that not all coffees are not created equal. It is all in the proper processing, sourcing, and production of the roasted coffee beans. Of course, certain folks are caffeine/coffee sensitive, and if that’s you, please listen to your body. Also, it’s not generally recommended for pregnant women to consume coffee.

Coffee While Fasting: Sweeteners

Personally, I will use pure a little Stevia extract. However, I also enjoy drinking coffee without anything sweet in it. When I taste a black coffee, I taste a lot of the coffee. When I put the real raw cream in it, it brings on a whole other characteristic of it, and I love it that way as well. However, I am one of those people who can drink coffee while fasting, as it doesn't impact my glucose. Other great sweeteners are butter, MCT oil or coconut oil. Again, if drinking coffee while fasting, you want to test your glucose before and after having any cream, MCT oil, coconut, or natural sweeteners to see how your glucose levels respond. Keep in mind we all respond differently. 

As responsible adults, it is up to us to figure out whether we can benefit from clean, health-conscious coffee consumption while fasting. We must also know our limits, and not to overdo it. Listen to your body. If you’re getting that jittery feeling, you’ve probably overdone it. If your glucose is rising, coffee is affecting your ability to reach ketosis. 

Intermittent fasting is not starvation, nor deprivation.

You’re not eating less, you’re eating less often.

When you do eat, you eat delicious, healthy foods until you feel satisfied. You won’t have to fear healthy fats, grass-fed meats, organic vegetables, or strategic amounts of healthy carbs. You hold off eating to allow your body to burn its own fat, and then eat until you are full.  See how your body responds to coffee while fasting, and test your glucose before and after. If your body responds positively, enjoy that cup of coffee!

 

Reference:

  1. Coffee consumption and total mortality: a meta-analysis of twenty prospective cohort studies. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24279995

Don’t Eat Less, Eat Less Often and Live Longer

When it comes to combating the obesity epidemic, the entire premise of treatment is incorrect. Modern medicine attempts to cure various ailments of today using an outdated approach:

In the 19th and 20th centuries, infectious diseases like cholera, smallpox and yellow fever were the major threats to people’s health. In order to combat these illnesses, antibiotics and penicillin were administered to needy patients. This was the beginning of the “one disease, one drug” treatment philosophy.

While giving someone a drug to cure them may have worked in the past, it is not as effective when dealing with diseases like obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and others in the 21st century. These are dietary diseases, and the best form of treatment is getting to the root of the problem (R1). In other words, instead of looking for the latest drug, the best form of treatment is to fix cellular dysfunction and incorporate ancient healing strategies such as fasting.

The Real Cause of Obesity

According to the CDC, more than 34% or 78 million of U.S. adults are obese, with obesity being a major factor in diseases various diseases, including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes and some cancers.1 Worldwide, obesity rates have increased as well: A study led by Professor Emmanuela Gakidou of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington found that obesity among adults increased 27.5% while obesity rates for children and adolescents increased by 47.1%2

In today’s society, consuming too many calories is believed to be the cause of obesity. People are advised to eat a low fat, low calorie diet and replace healthy fats with man-made fats and artificial sweeteners to maintain a healthy weight. Ironically, counting calories and eating a low fat diet was unheard of 200 years ago, and obesity was practically nonexistent as well.

While many believe the inability to lose weight or sudden weight gain is due to an excessive amount of calories, that’s just a symptom of the problem. In order to fully understand weight gain, it’s important to get to the root causes:

Insulin. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that allows the body to use sugar from the carbs in food for energy. It is also thought to be the major driver of obesity. If a person is insulin resistant, the cells in the body are resistant to insulin and are unable to use it effectively, which can lead to high blood sugar. The pancreas will then increase the production of insulin, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes.

When people are prescribed insulin, they may gain anywhere from ten to thirty pounds as an unwanted side effect. Doctors advise patients to lose weight to get their diabetes under control, but the insulin makes them gain weight. As a person continues to take insulin, their body begins to resist it even more, which in turn means they will have to take more and more over time. Similar reactions occur when a person takes alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, pain pills and other medications: if a person takes these drugs on a regular basis, they will have to gradually increase the dosage to get the same effect as when they first started taking the drug.

Their body is building a resistance or tolerance to the drug the same way a person will increase their resistance to insulin. The pancreas will produce less and less insulin, prompting a person to increase the amount of insulin they have to take, causing them to gain even more weight.

The current treatment of Type 2 diabetes focuses on lowering blood sugar by administering insulin, which just treats the symptom. In actuality, Type 2 diabetes is a disease of insulin resistance. Instead of making things better, this method of treatment causes the disease to get worse.

Calorie restriction. In today’s society, the widespread belief is calories cause weight gain, and if a person limits their calories, weight loss will occur. While a person may lose weight initially, it is estimated these diets have a nearly 98% failure rate. When a person attempts to cut calories, the following pattern tends to emerge:

  • Individual loses 10 pounds. While they are happy with their results, they don’t realize this is mostly water weight and small amounts of fat or muscle.
  • Hormonal metabolism starts to decrease. As a person cuts calories, their metabolism starts to decrease, matching their caloric intake. For example, if a person started out eating 2000 calories per day and reduced it to 1500, the body would simply reduce its caloric expenditure to 1500 calories.
  • Weight loss begins to plateau at 6 months. According to Dr. Jason Fung in CHTV Episode 112, author of The Obesity Code, studies have repeatedly shown that weight loss begins to plateau approximately 6 months from the start of a diet.
  • Weight gain resumes. Once the weight loss has reached a plateau, most people begin to gain weight.
  • Individual attempts to cut calories further. Once weight gain is noticed, many people will double their efforts by cutting even more calories. This will result in a few additional pounds being shed.
  • Weight loss reaches another plateau 2 to 3 months later. The weight loss is short-lived as the body adjusts again and weight gain resumes.
  • Individual feels frustrated and resumes pre-diet eating habits. As the body reaches another plateau, a person may become demoralized and feel the reason they can’t keep the weight off is because they aren’t trying hard enough. As a result, they get frustrated and give up.
  • Weight is slowly regained. Once they resume their old eating habits, the weight they lost comes back, oftentimes with additional weight gained.

Countless studies indicate these types of diets tend to fail over time:

  • A study in the New England Journal of Medicine studied 811 overweight adults, placing them into four groups, each following various calorie restricted diets. The calorie restriction diets worked initially, but by the second year, the majority of participants were eating more calories than the plan allowed. By the third year, the majority of participants in each group regained all the weight they originally lost.3
  • UCLA researchers conclude that a person may lose 5 to 10 percent of weight via calorie restricted diets, but the majority of the weight comes back. According to Traci Mann, UCLA Associate professor of psychology: “We found that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more. Sustained weight loss was found only in a small minority of participants, while complete weight regain was found in the majority. Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people.”4
  • Leptin: the hunger hormone. Another cause of obesity is leptin, the hunger hormone. Leptin is produced by fat cells and released into the bloodstream as you eat. When working properly, leptin tells the brain you’re full and to stop eating, but overweight people can produce too much leptin. As a result, the brain is tricked into thinking it is still hungry even after eating meals.

Weight loss resistance is not a calorie problem as we’ve been led to believe. Once a person understands that the issues described above are hormonal, they can begin to look for ways to decrease the resistance to insulin, NOT cut calories. And one of the most effective ways to lower insulin is by fasting.

The History of Fasting

Fasting has been used since ancient times for a variety of reasons, ranging from improved physical health, mourning, spiritual vision, to prevent or break the habits of gluttony, and purification of the body and mind. In other instances, fasting was simply a way of life. Previous generations did not have access to food as easily as current generations and often didn’t have the option of eating. Food was gathered by hunting, and that meant possibly eating just once or twice per day.

While modern medicine hasn’t embraced fasting as a viable health option (yet), the practice has been around since the beginning of time. Fasting is known to rejuvenate and revitalize the body. Even animals will fast when they are stressed, ill or feel unease. The refusal to eat is a form of self-preservation to remove waste products and promote healing of the body.

Hippocrates, Plato, Socrates, Galen and Aristotle all praised the benefits of fasting. Paracelsus, one of the original fathers of Western medicine once said “fasting is the greatest remedy–the physician within.”5 The ancient Egyptians also understood how excessive eating causes disease. An Egyptian pyramid has the inscription “humans live on one quarter of what they eat; on the other three-quarters lives their doctor.”6

The following religious and spiritual groups use fasting as part of their practices:

Buddhism. In Buddhism, fasting is considered essential for discipline and self-control.5

Christianity. Both old and new testaments in the Bible mention fasting, and notes it’s not “if” we fast, but “when” we fast:

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:16-18

Hinduism. Ancient Hinduism tradition calls for fasting once a week, consuming only water until the afternoon.7

Islam. Islam calls for fasting during the entire month of Ramadan before the break of dawn until sunset.8

Judaism. Yom Kipper and Tisha B’Av are two major fasts of Judaism. Fasting is designed to help reflect on human frailty.

Native American Indians. Fasting was described by a Cherokee priest as “a means to spiritualize the human nature and quicken the spiritual vision by abstinence from earthly food.9

Health Benefits of Fasting

Today, the philosophy on eating is the polar opposite of the ancient practice of fasting: We have gone from an average of eating three meals a (day, breakfast, lunch and dinner) to eating five to six meals a day: breakfast, a snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and another snack. A recent study showed more than half of the adults eat for 15 hours or longer every day!1

The basic food pyramid suggests eating bread, refined grains such as pasta and a minimal amount of fat. For some, “snacks” may consist of cookies, donuts and other sugary, processed foods. This type of eating clearly increases risk of developing insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.

Fasting will help eliminate these problems and has many other health benefits as well:

Decreased risk of diabetes. Many studies show fasting helps reduce Type 2 diabetes.

  • In 2014, Medical News Today reported a study that suggests fasting on water one day a week reduced the risk of diabetes among people high at risk.10
  • A scientific review in the British Journal of Diabetes and vascular Disease suggests fasting diets may help those with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and weight loss. The study concludes that fasting bodies change how it selects which fuel to burn, which leads to an improved metabolism and reduced oxidative stress.11

Decreased inflammation. Chronic inflammation (R4) can be the result of poor lifestyle choices. Too much sugar, processed food and gut issues can cause chronic inflammation. Studies show intermittent fasting helps alleviate these symptoms:

  • Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine describe how the body produces the compound β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) when fasting, doing high intensity exercise (burst training) or on a low carbohydrate, ketogenic diet. BHB inhibits the production of of NLRP3, a set of proteins called inflammasome. Inflammasome is the catalyst for many auto inflammatory disorders and diseases such as Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis, and Type 2 diabetes. 12
  • Two separate studies on Ramadan fasting found that individuals who fasted had noticeable reductions in the inflammation markers interleukin-6, C-reactive protein and homocysteine.13

Fasting and aging. Vegetable oils, margarine, white bread and processed foods can cause premature aging. Many studies support claims that fasting can help slow aging:

  • A study conducted by Dr. Valter Longo at the University of California conducted fasting tests on mice and discovered that they had less fat around their organs, greater bone density at old age, and increased nerve cell development compared to non-fasting mice.14
  • Fasting increases the effect of autophagy, which allows cells to remove waste products and old cell components from the body. Eating glucose and insulin can decrease the effectiveness of autophagy.

Fasting and human growth hormone (HGH). HGH is a hormone that’s produced by the anterior pituitary gland that promotes growth in humans.

  • A study at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute found that men who fasted 24 hours had a 2000% increase in circulating HGH and women had a 1300% increase.15

Improved cardiovascular health. Studies indicate intermittent fasting can lead to decreased cholesterol levels:

  • Intermountain Medical Center Heart studies on intermittent fasting found that fasting individuals significantly reduced their triglycerides, boosted their LDL cholesterol and stabilized blood sugar.15

Fasting energy sources. Unlike chronic calorie reduction where a person’s metabolism slows down, a person becomes more energetic because the body switches its energy source from using glucose, which is stored in the liver to using the body’s own fat for fuel. The result is MORE energy, a revved up metabolism, and a higher resting metabolic rate. By using fat for energy, the muscles are preserved, and weight loss begins.

Fasting Tips

Fasting may be challenging in the beginning, especially if a person is used to eating many times per day. Here are some tips to make the transition to fasting as part of your lifestyle easier:

  • Be prepared for food withdrawals. Many processed foods and drinks are addictive so a person may experience withdrawal symptoms as they eliminate them from their diet. Instead of giving up, keep going! A person would not give up if they fell off a bike the first few times, or couldn’t play the piano after one or two lessons. The same rationale applies to fasting. In time cravings and withdrawals will subside.
  • Drink pure water. Water flushes out toxins and keeps a person energized and well hydrated. (dehydration can cause a person to feel tired and hungry.) Aim for eight-8 ounce glasses of water daily, but listen to your thirst too.
  • Don’t overexert. While fasting, keep strenuous exercise to a minimum. Removing toxins, and repairing damaged cells is a workout for your body. Getting plenty of rest is critical as the body restores.
  • Be prepared for potential side effects. When the body releases toxins, a person may experience the following symptoms:
    • Fatigue
    • Nausea
    • Vomiting
    • Diarrhea
    • Headaches
    • Lack of focus
    • Bad breath
    • Lethargy
    • Joint pain
    • Minor depression
    • These side effects are common as the body eliminates various toxins. Drinking water helps to alleviate some side effects and remove toxins faster.
  • Be prepared. Being mentally and physically prepared is essential. Remind yourself why you’re fasting, and make sure you have the supplies you need readily available for the fast. For example, if doing a bone broth fast, ensure you have all the ingredients needed and have the broth ready to go before you begin.
  • Try intermittent fasting (IF). Intermittent fasting is simply skipping meals or eating fewer calories for an average of fourteen to thirty hours at a time. A sample intermittent fast would be the following:
    • Eating dinner a few hours before bedtime (6-8PM)
    • Sleeping 7-9 hours
    • Skipping breakfast and drinking water (or organic coffee/tea with health fat like MCT oil)
    • Eating a late lunch (2-3PM)
    • In this example, a person can easily go 14-18 hours without eating. If waiting until dinner, one may go 24 hours between meals. Some people prefer to intermittent fast daily, myself included.
  • Plan meals wisely. Unlike calorie restriction diets, fasting allows a person to eat until full. This conditions the body to know food is coming soon and to not go into starvation mode. The key is to enjoy healthy, nutritious meals when food is eventually eaten. Avoiding sugar, processed and fast foods is essential to reaping the benefits of a fast.
  • Focus on the long term. It may take time to reap the benefits of fasting. Make fasting a part of your life, not a one-time event. Illness and weight gain doesn’t happen overnight, and that same rationale applies to reaping the benefits of fasting. Patience and dedication is key.
  • Break the fast carefully. When coming off a fast, slowly incorporate cellular healing foods back into the diet one at a time, like bone broth, poached eggs, and blended soups and smoothies. The body (especially the digestive tract) is extra sensitive after a fast, which makes it an ideal time to determine which foods a person may be allergic to. Depending on the length of the fast, it may take several days for the body to adjust.

As a person gets accustomed to fasting, the body gest more and more efficient with every subsequent fast. Fasting on a consistent basis can help restore many of the ailments in today’s society. Cells become more efficient at utilizing fat, which burns cleaner than glucose. Brain fog dissipates, weight loss is easier, and most hormonal problems such as those dealing with the thyroid and diabetes may be eliminated.

Conventional medicine has many benefits for acute health care, but fasting may offer one of the answers to many of today’s chronic inflammatory health problems.

  1. “Adult Obesity Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html.
  2. Ng, Marie et al. “Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.” The Lancet 384, no. 9945 (2014): 766 – 781. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60460-8/fulltext.
  3. Mozaffarian, Dariush, Tao Hao, Eric B. Rimm, Walter C. Willett, and Frank B. Hu. “Changes in Diet and Lifestyle and Long-Term Weight Gain in Women and Men.” New England Journal of Medicine 364, no. 25 (June 23, 2011): 2392-404. doi:10.1056/nejmoa1014296. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1014296?query=TOC#t=articleTop.
  4. Mann, Traci, A. Janet Tomiyama, Erika Westling, Ann-Marie Lew, Barbra Samuels, and Jason Chatman. “Medicare's Search for Effective Obesity Treatments: Diets Are Not the Answer.” American Psychologist 62, no. 3 (April 2007): 220-33. doi:10.1037/0003-066x.62.3.220. http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/62/3/220/.
  5. “History of Fasting.” All About Fasting: For Health and Healing. http://www.allaboutfasting.com/history-of-fasting.html.
  6. “Fasting for Health.” http://www.geocities.co.jp/Beautycare-Venus/2032/english/paper.html.
  7. “Fasting in Hinduism.” Hinduism Facts | Facts about Hindu Religion. http://hinduismfacts.org/fasting-in-hinduism/.
  8. El-Ashi, Arafat. “Fasting in Islam.” Islamic Society of Rutgers University. http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~muslims/fasting.htm.
  9. “Native American Fasting.” Access Geneaology: A Free Genealogy Resource. https://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/native-american-fasting.htm.
  10. Whiteman, Honor. “Fasting: Health Benefits and Risks.” Medical News Today: Health News. July, 2015. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/295914.php
  11. Brown, J. E., M. Mosley, and S. Aldred. “Intermittent Fasting: A Dietary Intervention for Prevention of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease?” The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease 13, no. 2 (March 1, 2013): 68–72. doi:10.1177/1474651413486496. http://dvd.sagepub.com/content/13/2/68.full.pdf+html.
  12. Youm, Yun-Hee, Kim Y Nguyen, Ryan W Grant, Emily L Goldberg, Monica Bodogai, Dongin Kim, Dominic D’Agostino, et al. “The Ketone Metabolite β-Hydroxybutyrate Blocks NLRP3 Inflammasome–mediated Inflammatory Disease.” Nature Medicine 21, no. 3 (February 16, 2015): 263–69. doi:10.1038/nm.3804.
  13. Aksungar, Fehime B., Aynur E. Topkaya, and Mahmut Akyildiz. “Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein and Biochemical Parameters During Prolonged Intermittent Fasting.” Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 51, no. 1 (March 19, 2007): 88–95. doi:10.1159/000100954. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17374948.
  14. Brandhorst, Sebastian, In Young Choi, Min Wei, Chia Wei Cheng, Sargis Sedrakyan, Gerardo Navarrete, Louis Dubeau, et al. “A Periodic Diet That Mimics Fasting Promotes Multi-System Regeneration, Enhanced Cognitive Performance, and Healthspan.” Cell Metabolism: Clinical and Translational Report 22, no. 1 (July 2015): 86–99. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.012. http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/pdfExtended/S1550-4131(15)00224-7
  15. Intermountain Medical Center. “Routine periodic fasting is good for your health, and your heart, study suggests.” ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110403090259.htm.

Old Bay Spiced Kohlrabi Fries

Old Bay Spiced Kohlrabi Fries

  • 1 medium-sized kohlrabi
  • 4 Tbsp. coconut oil
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Old Bay seasoning
  1. Slice kohlrabi in half, and cut into “french fry” style slices.
  2. In a stainless steel pan, liquefy coconut oil over medium heat on the stove top.
  3. Place fries in heated oil, coat with salt, pepper, and Old Bay to taste.
  4. Continue stirring fries until pieces are browned to likeness.
  5. Dust with more seasonings if desired and serve.

Five-Day Water Fast: What Can You Expect Each Day?

Five-Day Water Fast: Fasting is an extremely powerful healing modality that we continue to delve deeper into as the science keeps on supporting its benefits. Today we explore the general things most people experience and what is happening inside the body day by day for a five-day water fast.

five-day-water-fast

Five-Day Water Fast: Nature’s Therapeutic Mechanism

Oftentimes the most powerful thing a doctor can do to help heal you is nothing. Fasting is indeed an ancient healing modality linked to every religion and culture across the globe. Animals do it when they’re sick for the same reasons humans should: the body has an innate healing intelligence. The benefits we discuss below generally require a five-day water fast or a five-day fasting-mimicking diet. Although the benefits of shorter fasting, or intermittent fasting, are still good, the body transitions into fat-adaptation usually around day three. So, give it five whole days.

To understand how fasting works, let’s explore the seven bodily effects of fasting.

Five-Day Water Fast: Day One

If you’ve adequately prepared for a 5-day water fast, which you can learn all about in my book Beyond Fasting, then day one generally is relatively easy. Prior to taking on a five day fast, it’s a good idea to get into intermittent fasting, as well as diet variation that will incorporate 24-hour fasts into your weekly eating cycles.

If you haven’t prepared, day one can be rather difficult and loaded with mood swings, short temper, frustration, low energy, and bouts of ‘hanger.’ This is really why it’s important to prepare properly for your fast.

You will typically get hungry around your typical meal times today, mostly out of habit. If you have very set meal times, it may be useful to ensure you are busy or distracted during these times, so that the hunger wave can come and pass with ease.

Sleep on day 1 is typically better than normal since your body is not dividing its energy between digesting and the other functions that happen while you sleep.

Day Two

Day two of the five-day water fast can bring about bouts of ‘hanger’, no matter how much preparation you have done. This is a result of your blood glucose levels dropping and your ketone levels rising. This is the hallmark of a fast: the shift into fat-adaptation, whereby the body is burning fat (ketones) for fuel instead of sugar (glucose).

Since your body is used to using glucose for sugar, and the brain is especially reliant on these sugars for rapid fuel, this second day can bear some brain fog and mild mood swings or energy dips. It is not necessarily going to be all that intense, especially if you’re generally healthy and have prepared for the fast. But out of all the days, day 2 is generally the hardest day as your body transitions into ketosis.

By the end of day 2, if you can get by, you’ll make it all 5. Emotionally this is the most common day that people quit, so use all your willpower to get to bed at the end of day 2 and trust that you will wake up on the other side of it.

The sleep of night 2 will probably be the most disturbed out of all 5 days since the body is under the stress of low-glucose without having fully transitioned into ketosis. This stress can cause the release of the stress hormone cortisol, that releases glucose into the bloodstream (a fight-or-flight response. Cortisol dump in the middle of the night can wake you up, although you should still fall asleep.

Many people, however, still report a deep sleep anyway. If you can avoid work or commitments for the first few days, leaving a buffer zone in case you do get poor sleep and need more rest during the day time.

Day Three

This is the transition day for most people, where you move from being a sugar burner to being fully fat adapted. For those who aren’t used to burning fat for fuel (if you normally have a low-fat diet or no experience with intermittent fasting) today may come with some hunger waves or slight brain fog, but most people should be feeling pretty good today.

Once your brain does adapt to burning ketones, you should be thinking more clearly than ever because ketones burn to incredibly clean. This clarity is one of the largest benefits of the fast; there is very little waste of this fuel source. Ketones are like burning a gas stovetop, whereas glucose is like burning firewood. Both heat up the stove, but fire creates a lot of smoke and waste, which shows up in the body as inflammation if the pathways aren’t working perfectly well (which often they are not).

These deep benefits of high ketone levels, which include clarity but also immune-boosting, gut healing, and more, require a high dose of ketones that simply isn’t available on a ‘keto diet’. Fasting provides the body with a therapeutic dose of ketones, which is why prolonged water fasts are so healing. Ketones by day 3 should be between 3 and 4 mmol/L, with levels raising up to 6, 7, and even 8 mmol/L towards the end of day 5. A keto diet with intermittent fasting hovers around 1 mmol/L.

By the end of day 3, your body may start to get cold. This is absolutely normal, as your body’s entire energy store is being focused on healing the body instead of the metabolic fire of digestion. Stay warm with extra layers, hot water bottles, sit by the fire or crank up the heat.

Day Four

Day four is the day where most people experience major autophagy. Autophagy is the process whereby your body eats out ‘bad’ cells (senescent cells) first, to use for energy and survival during a fasted state. These cells are inflammatory, sluggish, and essentially old or damaged, which are then replaced by a surge of fresh stem cells once you re-feed post-fast.

The way to test for deep autophagy is with a blood glucose test and look for a ratio of 1:1 with glucose and ketones. So with a glucose reading of 65, you would divide it by 18 to get the European standard, which is 3.6. A ketone measurement may be around 3.6 as well, which would highlight deep autophagy. The lower the glucose and the higher the ketone ratio, the better.

Today you should feel on top of the world, and around day 4 you should feel like you are capable and wanting to fast ‘forever’.

Day Five

By day five, your stem cell rise is peaking, and you should be feeling great. Today when you break the fast it’s absolutely crucial to do so properly since the way you break your fast dramatically influences the results.

When breaking a fast, go slowly by eating very soft, easily digestible foods such as berries, soft avocados, and veggies that are steamed or blended. A little coconut oil or olive oil can be good as well, but consume just a little bit at a time.

Remember: it will take the body time to adjust to eating again. Patience is key.

Ease back into eating by consuming very basic foods instead of big, heavy meals. Your digestive enzymes will be sluggish after the fast. It’s also beneficial to wait a few days before adding meat back into your diet. Your digestive system has just rested for a very long time and needs time to adapt back to processing food again.

Take the opportunity post-fast to really re-examine your relationship with food and your diet. Since your tastebuds will be ‘reset’, this is the perfect time to remove highly palatable processed foods, loaded with refined sugar, fat, and salt, and opt for a more natural whole-food diet.

To get a proper play-by-play on how to break a 5 day fast, and learn more about fasting, you can visit my website.

The Fasting Trio

If you’re doing all the right things and still feel sluggish, foggy, and suffer from unexplained symptoms, you’re not alone. A lifetime of stress, environmental toxins, and processed foods can cause a buildup of toxic waste in your cells called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. And AGEs lead to accelerated aging and conditions like nerve damage, diabetes, and organ failure.

But it’s never too late to detox your body at a cellular level. Fasting, ketosis, fat loss, and nutrient-dense foods can help release toxins and remove them from your system. But without an effective binding agent, there’s always the risk of re-toxification.

That’s where the Fasting Trio comes in. 

Fastonic (TFC)is a powerful supplement that reduces oxidative stress and neutralizes free radicals that are released throughout your day. That means more energy and better physical and mental power —even during longer fasts.

Gut CLR detoxifier contains highly activated carbon, humic and fulvic acids, and powerful zeolite crystals to safely bind and eliminate toxins from your system.

And Cell CLR, a fast and effective way to eliminate toxins like heavy metals, pesticides, and biotoxins at a cellular level. Without the risk of RE-toxification.

Whether you’re an expert at fasting, a novice at intermittent fasting, or simply want the benefits of cellular detox, this cutting-edge trio is for you.

Discount already applied! Go here to purchase The Fasting Trio now: https://store.healthcenters.com/

Bone Broth Fast and Bone Stock Recipe – Ancient Healing Tool

Bone Broth Fast and Bone Stock Recipe

An Ancient Healing Tool

Throughout history, nearly every civilization has been consuming bone broth for a variety of reasons. There are records of bone broth being used for health purposes as early as ancient Egypt. They are rich in valuable vitamins and minerals like calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium, and it provides them in their most base form so that they can be easily recognized and absorbed by our bodies. It is also a great source of collagen. Collagen is the base material of our cells, and integral to cellular regeneration and healing. This collagen will also help outside your body, as collagen can improve the appearance of your skin and help reduce cellulite. Bone broth is easy to digest, so it’s perfect for people with sensitive stomachs, or conditions like celiac disease. Not only is it easily digested, but it will actually help to heal the gut. It also supports joint, muscle, and bone health. Bone broths are versatile; you can drink them by themselves as a hot soup, or you can use them as a healthy base for some of your favorite meals. hey are easy to prepare – although the process is lengthy, once you have your bones, you just leave them in your crock pot. You can make them using different kinds of bones; everything from beef bones full of marrow, to the remains of a roast chicken, to fish bones. If possible, it is important to use bones from free-range, grass feed animals, as those will be the healthiest. Also, homemade stocks will taste much better than the ones you can buy at the store, and they are a fraction of the cost.

Bone broth, or beef stock, has been such an amazing tool for the many severely sick and sensitive people that I coach back to health.  Most, if not all, of the very sick have gut issues that compromise their healing. Detox plays a significant role in their care, but becomes nearly impossible when the gut is compromised. “Leaky gut” is a term that almost everyone has heard, but they most likely are not sure what it means or if it applies to them.

There are channels known as “tight junctions” that make up the gut wall.  These junctions are what become inflamed and cause undigested proteins to leak across the gut wall and cause the immune system to create inflammation throughout the body.  This is leaky gut. It is estimated that most Americans have this problem to some degree or another, however the very sick and sensitive have a gut that resembles Swiss cheese.  Everything they eat becomes an irritant and drives inflammation throughout the body.

Beef stock is one of the first tools I utilize for these difficult cases not only to fix the gut, but to bring much needed nutrition to a depleted body.   Most are allergic or intolerant to almost everything they are eating and do not connect their exacerbation of symptoms with food.  Beef stock remains one of the only super foods that even the most sensitive will not have a reaction to.  The Type II collagen in beef stock also works wonders for the inflamed, leaky gut, which will bring some immediate relief and less sensitivity.

Even most of the supposed “healthy foods” that people are eating are driving inflammation, not only in their gut, but also throughout their body.  In fact, every cell in their body is being affected. This not only impacts cellular function and therefore many of the unwanted symptoms they are experiencing, but it is also affecting the way their DNA expresses itself.

This is called epigenetics, meaning “above the gene” or “more important than the gene.” Genetics is not based on what you get from your parents as much as it is what genes are turned on or off.  The good news is that your DNA is not your destiny.  Inflammation, toxins, and other environmental stressors common in those with a compromised gut can turn on bad genes that express unwanted symptoms or diseases.  Conversely, there are specific nutrients and even certain bacteria more common in someone with good gut health that can turn off bad gene expression.  Currently, gene expression is at the forefront of medical research, especially in the area of gut heath and bacteria.

New science confirms that the good bacteria in our gut can actually turn on certain genes that help regulate inflammation.  In other words, if you don’t posses these bacteria in your gut, your own immune system will create inflammation that will be untreatable.  Simply put, you will have hormone problems, pain, or other unwanted symptoms that do not respond to the same treatments that most people swear by.

Many of my protocols utilize fermented whey water that will add very unique bacteria to the gut that you can’t find in a pill or powder. I know probiotics are very popular today, partly because of the massive increase in gut problems, but the truth is that probiotics do very little to fix leaky gut and the severe gut problems that I see so often. Whey water and other fermented foods not only have trillions of bacteria compared to the billions in the best probiotics on the market, but they contain unique bacteria that I believe we have yet to discover. More and more research is finding that the impact that many of these bacteria have on our health is far greater than we ever thought.  Because it can change gene expression and how our cells communicate with hormones, the lack of certain bacteria can lead to weight gain, and worse yet, the inability to lose weight, despite what you eat or how much you work out.

Whey water has many other qualities that make it another incredible tool for healing.  As a matter of fact, whey water is historically known as “healing water.” It received this nickname from the Father of Medicine himself, Hippocrates.  Whey water has a profound effect on three main detox pathways: the liver, the kidneys, and the gut, which is a part of the reason it received its notoriety in healing.  However, I believe it is its affect at the cellular level that gives it its nickname, “healing water.” The perfect ratio of sodium and potassium resets the most basic way a cell moves toxins out of the cell and nutrients in.

As Seen on Above Video:  Begin a simple 3 Day Cleanse for True Detoxification and Weight Loss.

Let me give you an idea of how I use these amazing tools to help so many people. For the very sick and sensitive, I utilize a combination of beef stock and whey water (the whey water is called SueroGold from a company called Beyond Organic).  A 4-day intermittent fast utilizing only beef stock starves down all gut bacteria, good and bad.  Following the 4-days, we re-inoculate with good bacteria found in the whey water (SueroGold).   This is accomplished in another 3-4 days with a combination of whey water and beef stock only.  Six SueroGold per day are to be consumed, as well as drinking as much beef stock as possible.

For many reading this article who simply want to take their health to the next level or perhaps to lose weight, I suggest doing an intermittent fast/cleanse for 3-4 days utilizing the SueroGold whey water only (6 bottles a day).  After the 3-4 days, continue to drink at least one bottle of whey water/day and consume beef stock daily for one month.  Watch what happens to your health!

To do a 4-day broth fast using a 5-6 quart crockpot:

by Sarica Cernohous, L.Ac., MSTOM, BSBA  Naturallylivingtoday.com

  • Plan to start your broth with 2-3 marrow, feet, neck, or shank bones, and a piece of organ meat, such as liver or heart, if you like.
  • If you’re using chicken or turkey, choose either whole birds, or cuts such as thighs, backs, drumsticks, and necks that have the skin and bones intact; include the giblets if they’re available.   You can also use the carcass from a roasted bird.
  • For fish, include the entire head and all the bones.

Add to this:

  • Purified water, 3-4 quarts
  • Celtic Sea Salt, 2-4 tablespoons (best to start low and adjust flavor as needed after cooking)
  • An acid (usually raw apple cider vinegar, organic balsamic vinegar, naturally fermented, unseasoned rice vinegar)
  • A chopped onion (Attention: If you are doing a Microbiom reset or Small Intestine Baterial Overgrowth (SIBO) Fast do not add onion)
  • You might also add a little bit of seaweed: a couple of pieces of dulse or kombu, a sheet of nori, 4-5 pieces of wakame – any of these choices is fine.  Doing so will increase the iodine composition of the broth, an important nutrient missing from the diets of those who don’t consume a lot of seafood and who use natural sea salts that are not commercially-iodized.  Personally, I like the flavor of the dulse the best – it doesn’t lend a “Chicken of the Sea” profile to the broth, yet is still full of trace minerals.

Place everything into a cool crock-pot, and set it for a 4-hour cook time.  Fill the pot with enough water to leave only about 1.5″ of space at the top, and cover with the lid.  At the end of the 4-hour setting, it will kick into the “keep warm” setting, where it will stay until you direct it otherwise (use a meat thermometer to insure that your lowest setting is at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit.)  Allow the ingredients to all cook together for at least 14 hours, preferably 20 or 24.

After this 24-hour cooking cycle, plan to remove any meaty bits, which you can set in the freezer to consume after your fast.

Pour yourself steaming mugs of broth to consume throughout this first full day of your fast.  If you find the broth is too oily, ladle most of it from the crockpot into glass jars to cool in the refrigerator.  This will cause the fat to congeal at the top of the broth.  Simply remove this disc of fat, then pour your broth back into the crockpot, and set the temperature to a 4-hour setting, with the bones in the broth.  (Don’t throw this fat away, though!  It’s an excellent medium for sautéing vegetables once you’re done with your fast.  Store it in a glass jar in your refrigerator for up to a week.)  The broth will re-heat quickly, and the pot will shift to the “Keep Warm” setting following this re-heat.

Each day, you should be consuming 3-4 quarts of broth.  Since you’re going to be adding so much fresh hot water to the pot to bring it back up to its original level, you will be removing many of the fats and proteins that otherwise would have overcooked in this continual process.

For each successive day:

  • Bring the level of liquid back up to the original amount with fresh, boiling water each time you pull a mug from it
  • Add a little Celtic Sea Salt, to taste
  • Add a splash of vinegar if you like, to continue to demineralize the bone
  • Add a sprinkle of seaweed from time-to-time, to keep the iodine and other trace minerals up in the broth
  • Keep the crockpot on the “Keep Warm” setting

After Day Two of the fast, you should consider adding a fresh bone or two, to keep the broth rich in gelatin and some fats.  Do this just before bed at the end of Day Two, so that it will be ready for you on the morning of Day Three.  When adding the bone(s), push the heat up to the 6-hour setting, before allowing it to settle into the “Keep Warm” setting once again.

In most cases unless an individual is super sensitive to all foods we are able to transition them from a bone broth fast to a whey water fast using 6 Suero Gold a day for 4 more days.

Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Purée

Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Purée
  • 1 head of roughly chopped cauliflower
  • 1 can full-fat coconut milk
  • 2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. garlic powder or 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic
  • 2 tsp. onion powder
  1. Bring a large pot to a light boil.
  2. Add the cauliflower and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Drain and blend until smooth.
  4. Add coconut milk to help liquefy in the blender. You may need to blend in batches.
  5. Stir in the spices.
  6. Pour into serving vessel or keep heated on stove top.
  7. Enjoy!

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