Wondering whether or not you can still drink coffee during a fast?
It depends why you’re doing it.
First off, as long as you’re not fasting due to medical orders, I’ve got some good news for you:
Black coffee probably won’t disrupt your fast.
That is, 0-calorie, or very low calorie beverages are unlikely to interfere with fasting.
And fortunately for you, that includes black coffee—which is, typically, about ~99% water, and contains about ~3 calories, according to USDA.gov.
(And depending why you’re doing it, the caffeine can be a great bonus.)
TL;DR: If you’re not fasting because you’ve been given medical orders to fast, feel free to drink up—in moderation.
Happy now?
Now don’t go telling me a doctor said you had to fast before a surgical procedure in the morning, but you read a blog on the internet that said you could drink coffee.
With that out of the way, let’s look at some specifics—and a slightly different, but highly relevant question.
Should You Drink Coffee While Fasting?
Good question!
If allowing yourself to drink coffee will make fasting significantly easier for you (which for many people, it does) then drinking moderate amounts of black coffee probably won’t break your fast.
Moderation is key—but so is omitting creamer, sugar/sweeteners, and other additives. Of course, if you’re already used to drinking your coffee black, that should be no problem for you.
All things considered, if you’re asking whether or not you can drink coffee while you’re fasting—there’s probably a very good reason you’re checking and not just deciding to do it.
Fasting for Medical Reasons
Let’s get this out of the way—If you’re fasting for medical reasons, ultimately, only your health provider/a qualified physician can advise you there. (And in case I wasn’t clear enough earlier, absolutely do not, ever, for any reason drink coffee before a procedure if you’ve been given a cut-off time to stop doing so.)
I’ll go so far as to say that there exist a number of common lab tests/panels where drinking coffee won’t affect the results in a meaningful way. But you’ll always need to call or message your physician or the lab and check with them to confirm whether or not drinking black coffee is allowed before your test. There are many fasting tests, blood tests, and so on where drinking coffee beforehand isn’t permitted at all.
Hey—I know coffee’s literally the best thing on the planet, but it’s probably not worth throwing off your lab results.
If coffee is allowed before your fasting lab test, make sure you remember to stick with black coffee. Sugar, creamer, etc. may alter lab results more strongly than black coffee without any additives.
Fasting for Personal Reasons
Now, if you’re fasting for personal reasons, it’s up to you.
That is, what are you wanting to accomplish by fasting?
Fasting for weight loss? Then mixing in some black coffee—in moderation—shouldn’t interfere with the reason for your fast. In fact, some of coffee’s health benefits overlap with the health benefits of fasting—plus the caffeine can assist with brain function and alertness, which can help compensate for some of that “foggy” feeling that can happen for some people who are new to fasting.
Fasting for spiritual reasons? Well, your first instinct about whether or not you’re “allowed” to drink coffee just may be the correct one. But on the other hand, I’m certainly not going to be the one to tell you you’re not allowed to drink coffee.
All things considered, if you’re fasting for personal reasons and not because you’ve been advised to by a healthcare professional, the decision is up to you—hopefully this info dump will help you to figure out whether it’s appropriate in your situation.
As a famous man once said:
“Figuring things out for yourself is the only freedom anyone really has. Use that freedom. Make up your own mind… Rico.”
–Michael Ironside, Starship Troopers (1997)
As a caffeine fanatic myself, I understand how hard it can be facing the world without your coffee fix. Fortunately, a lot of the time, you won’t need to for the reasons above.
Allowing yourself to indulge in the luxury of a little coffee in the middle of a fast doesn’t just make you appreciate how great coffee already is—it just might make your fasting go by a little faster.
