Water, coffee, tea, broths, apple cider vinegar and unsweetened almond milk are some of the drinks you can have during intermittent fasting.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is not a diet plan where you are worried, calculating the calories you are consuming, it is instead a pattern of eating where you schedule your meals in a way to acquire the maximum benefit.
Intermittent fasting basically changes when you eat and not what you eat. Thus intermittent fasting is an excellent way to lose the weight, increase the muscle mass, improve your heart health, boost your brain capability and all the while without eating less and working out more.
How does it help lose weight and maintain the muscle mass?
To understand how intermittent fasting works you need to understand two states your body is in – the fed state and the fasted state.
The fed state is the state where there is digestion and absorption of the food consumed which generally lasts for three to five hours. During this time insulin levels are high and your body cannot lose the fat.
After the fed state comes the post – absorptive state which lasts for eight to twelve hours after your last meal and after this is when your body enters the fasted state. During this state, your body can burn the fat as the circulating insulin levels are quite minimal.
Intermittent fasting makes use of these states in your body where you can chose this fasting plan of skipping breakfast, having two meals in a day and keeping your body in fasting for 16 hours to burn the fat efficiently.
Top 6 Drinks that Make Intermittent Fasting Easier
During your period of fasting it is important to refrain from calories which basically mean – no food. But it is also essential to keep your body hydrated especially while fasting. Here are some drinks you can enjoy while fasting and some may even enhance the benefits of your fasting plan.
Water
Water, the elixir to life and the key to stay hydrated. It can be either still or sparkling, water still shows its benefits. It is recommended to consume more water especially when your food intake is restricted because the hydration to the body is provided by this water only and not the little food you consume.
You can enjoy your water by squeezing in some lemon or lime. You can also choose to flavour your plain water by adding in some slices of cucumber or orange or strawberries or even chop up some mint. Water also acts as an excellent solution to curb your hunger.
You should however refrain from any artificial sweeteners as they would in turn raise insulin levels and not allow you to lose the fat.
Coffee
Coffee, the beloved caffeinated beverage of many is really a life – saver when you have to stay up late doing your work and report early to work too. You can consume this drink during your intermittent fasting. In many, it even enhances the benefits of intermittent fasting, so it’s definitely a plus. You can spice up your coffee by adding some cinnamon but you will have to strictly refrain from cream, milk, or any other artificial sweeteners.
Some experience slight discomfort such as an upset stomach or racing heart after consumption of coffee, so you will have to check for yourself if this works out for you or not.
Tea
Tea, another beloved beverage especially of the British and Asians is an excellent choice for a drink during your intermittent fasting. Any type of tea – green, oolong, black or herbal can be used.
Green tea serves to be of the best choice as this helps to suppress the appetite and also enhance your weight loss. Teas moreover, promote probiotic balance, cellular detoxification and also gut health. You should however refrain from adding cream, milk or any other artificial sweeteners in your tea.
Broths
Broth is a soup made of vegetables or meat cooked in stock and sometimes thickened with barley or other cereals.
Bone broth is recommended when you decide to fast for 24 hours. Bone broth not only enhances the benefits of intermittent fasting but also has numerous health benefits such as,
- Boosts immunity
- Heals leaky gut
- Gives you healthier skin
- Gives you shiny hair
- Alleviates joint pain
- Promotes healthy bones
Apple cider vinegar
Drinking apple cider vinegar has numerous health benefits and it further enhances the benefits provided by intermittent fasting. It helps to regulate your blood sugar and also improves your digestion.
Unsweetened almond milk
You can try drinking unsweetened almond milk as this contains low calories but has enough of calcium and vitamin D for you.
Precautions to be taken during intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is quite an efficient way for weight loss and also boosting your health but it does come with certain precautions. One of the most important is the risk of dehydration. You need to keep yourself hydrated by drinking a lot of glasses of water.
There is also the fact that when fasting, your blood sugar levels drop and this creates a stressful situation for your body where cortisol is released. This is what needs to be avoided as this would only create a more stressful condition on your body. Which is why, you need to first get a control on your blood sugar levels instead of diving into intermittent fasting.
Conclusion
Intermittent fasting is an effective way to burn fat, increase muscle mass, boost brain, improve digestion and overall do this without having to crack your head counting for calories.
In the fasting period although you will not eat food you can indulge in some drinks that keep your body hydrated and also may enhance the benefits of intermittent fasting – water, tea, coffee, apple cider vinegar, etc. can be taken.
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