Does coffee creamer break a fast: Understanding what you can and cannot have while fasting

Fasting means abstaining from food for a given period of time. Technically, consuming calories in any amount means breaking a fast because it signals your body to stop producing energy from fat and can trigger insulin spikes. So, if you are wondering: Does coffee creamer break a fast? The short answer is “yes.” However, not everything is that straightforward.

Although coffee creamers contain calories and technically break a fast, you may consume them depending on the type and purpose of your fast. In particular, intermittent or dirty fasting is less restrictive and often allows consuming up to 50 calories during your fasting windows. If that’s the case, you can use a tiny bit of creamer with your coffee. But it’s important to consider sugar content and calories.

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Fasting can be an effective weight management tool. It implies a complete abstinence from food for a certain amount of time. And it can offer quite a few benefits. However, it’s important to ensure that you get through your fasting windows the right way in order to get those perks.

No matter how simple it sounds, getting started with any kind of fasting can be rather tricky. It’s normal to have plenty of questions concerning what you can and cannot have during your fasting windows. In this article, we are going to answer one of the most common questions frequently bothering women (particularly those practicing intermittent fasting) – Does coffee creamer break a fast?

What Is Fasting?

Long story short, fasting is a voluntary abstinence from food for a fixed amount of time. While it can be done for religious reasons, most people mean intermittent fasting when they talk about it. Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach that implies setting fixed hours (windows) during which you can and cannot eat. There are many popular approaches, for example, 16:8 or 14:10 fasting. The first number stands for the number of straight hours during which you are supposed to fast (go completely without food), and the second one indicates the eating window.

Regardless of the chosen approach, intermittent fasting typically has the following goals:

• Weight loss
• Metabolic reset
• Insulin regulation
• Autophagy (natural restoration of cells)

What Does It Mean to Break a Fast?

When you’re fasting, this triggers a number of important, deep processes in your body. During the first 8 hours, your body will continue to digest the food you’ve eaten earlier. After this, it will start using stored fat to replenish energy, so that’s when weight loss happens. And autophagy begins only after 24 to 48 hours of fasting.

Regardless of the duration of your fast, achieving the desired goal requires staying away from food completely. Respectively, “to break” a fast means to consume any calories, whether with food or drinks. Some fasts might be more forgiving and allow consuming a bit of calories, for example, by drinking lemon water. In intermittent fasting, it’s also typically allowed to have tea or coffee. However, it’s important to keep your calories very low in order not to break a fast.

Does Coffee Creamer Break a Fast?

If you can’t imagine your mornings without a cup of coffee, the good news is that black coffee is typically allowed in intermittent fasting. However, it gets trickier when it comes to various additives.

For everyone who is a fan of creamy coffee, it’s natural to ask around: Does creamer break a fast? The short answer to this question is “yes.” Technically, coffee creamers break a fast because they add calories to your coffee. Furthermore, they contain carbs, sugars, and proteins, which diminish most benefits of fasting. To be more specific, when you consume any calories, this gives your body a signal to stop processing fat for energy and take it from the obtained calories instead. This can impact the effectiveness of weight loss. And a combination of sugars, carbs, and proteins can also spike your insulin levels, which prevents fat burning.

So, should you stay away from creamers while fasting? It depends. Generally, it’s best to avoid consuming any calories during your fasting windows if you want to gain maximum benefits. However, it’s not all that black and white. The thing is that different coffee creamer brands come with different nutritional profiles and contents. Also, every person fasts differently – while some stick to a strict fast, others prefer more forgiving approaches, such as dirty fasting.

That is, whether you can or cannot drink your coffee with a creamer while fasting depends on your goals.

Does Sugar Free Creamer Break a Fast?

As we’ve mentioned earlier, traditional coffee creamers contain both calories and sugars, which means that they can break your fast. But what about sugar-free options?

Many people believe that if there is no sugar, it’s generally safe, especially if we’re talking about fasting for weight loss purposes. But there are a few considerations to keep in mind:

1. It’s not just sugar, but calories that break a fast. Sugar-free creamers may not contain sugar, but they have some calories. The calorie content can range from 10 to 30 per serving. This is a lower content compared to regular creamers. However, it’s important to remember that they are still present.
2. The type of sweetener matters. Sugar-free creamers typically use different sweeteners for taste. Some of them might be safe for fasting. But others may cause insulin spikes and cravings, which might hinder your fasting.
3. The number of servings adds up. There is a general 50-calorie rule applied to non-strict fasting, such as intermittent and dirty fasting. According to this rule, you need to make sure that you don’t consume more than 50 calories during your fasting window. If you follow this rule, adding 10-30 calories to your morning coffee with a creamer doesn’t sound like a big problem. But only if you have a single serving. If you drink several cups of coffee with creamer, you will likely exceed the 50-calorie limit.

How to Pick the Right Fasting Coffee Creamer

If you absolutely can’t imagine having your coffee black (and if your type of fast and goal allows this), you can use a bit of creamer. However, in this case, you may want to choose the lowest-calorie and healthiest options.

The best options include:

• Coconut or almond milk with no added sugar and low calorie content.
• Heavy cream (a very small splash).
• Unsweetened half-and-half.

When picking the right option for you, be sure to carefully read the label. Watch out for sugars (including added sugars), intense artificial sweeteners, and high levels of calories. And mind the total amount of calories you consume during your fasting windows. It’s crucial that you don’t exceed the 50-calorie rule.

FAQ

Does creamer break a fast?

Technically, yes. Coffee creamers contain calories, and consuming any amount of calories is considered breaking a fast. On top of that, many coffee creamers also contain sugars and carbs, which can cause insulin spikes and diminish the fasting benefits. 

Can I have coffee with creamer while fasting?

The answer to this question greatly depends on the purpose and type of fast you’re doing. If you are following a strict, religious fast or striving for autophagy, you want to avoid any calories. In this case, it’s best to steer clear of creamers. However, if you are following flexible fasting (e.g., intermittent fasting) for weight loss purposes, you can treat yourself with a tiny bit of creamer. But it’s important to mind the sugars and calories. 

What types of coffee creamers should I avoid completely?

Any flavored creamers, sweetened dairy creamers, and powdered creamers should typically be avoided. These products usually have hidden sugars and higher calorie content, which can undermine your fasting benefits.

Conclusion

So does coffee creamer break a fast? As you already know, fasting means going completely without food for a certain amount of time, which also means not consuming any calories. Given this, anything that contains calories technically breaks a fast. And a coffee creamer is not an exception.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you cannot use anything to make your coffee creamy. If you are not doing a strict fast or don’t have autophagy among your core goals, you can consume up to 50 calories in your fasting windows. This means that you can use some coffee creamers that contain few calories and have no added sugars. But you have to watch the total calorie number.

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