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Intermittent fasting is probably one of the most popular choice of fasting for those who are looking to be healthy or lose weight. While you are fasting, you are expected to not eat or drink anything with calories. However, stevia is a popular sweetener that is often used to replace sugar. Because there is 0 calories to stevia, most people wonder if it is alright to consume stevia while drinking black coffee.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is considered an eating pattern where you cycle between a period of eating and a period of not eating. The most common type of intermittent fasting is the 16/8, this is when you fast for 16 hours and eat within an 8 hours window.
During your eating period, there is no specification on what you eat. Instead, all that matters is when you should be eating. When you are fasting, you are not allowed to eat anything and can only drink liquids with no calories. This usually comprises of water, tea and black coffee.
Stevia
Stevia is a sugar substitute that is made from the stevia rebaudiana plant. The plant has been used to sweeten drinks since the 16th century. It is considered as a non-nutritive sweetener because it contains little to no calories. This natural sweetener is around 200 to 300 times sweeter than regular sugar.
Stevia is considered a natural sugar substitute. It is extracted from plant and then processed to make the final stevia extract. Some of the stevia brands are Truvia, Stevia in the Raw, Enliten, PureVia and SweetLeaf.
Stevia actually contains a little bit of calories, although it is low enough for it to be classified as 0 calories. The low amount of calories is low enough for it to be included as 0 in their nutritional information.
Does Stevia in Black Coffee Break a Fast?
While you are fasting, you are not suppose to eat or drink anything with calories. This is why black coffee is allowed to be drank while you are fasting. But some people don’t really like drinking their coffee without any sugar or milk.
What you should know is that food does not have to have calories to break a fast. Calories in a food or drink is only one factor you should consider when thinking about whether something you eat or drink breaks a fast. Also, depending on your goals, sometimes calories might not even be the most important thing.
Stevia might possibly be the best choice of sweetener for those who find that they need to sweeten their black coffee. As a whole, current research seems to suggest that stevia does not seem to impact your fast. Obviously, you should always use stevia in moderation. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suggest that you should have at most 1.8mg per pound of your body weight. For example, someone who weighs 140 pounds should have at most 252 mg of stevia per day.
Weight Loss
Drinking stevia in your black coffee does not increase your carbohydrate intakes or calories in moderation. Because of the lack of carbs, it does not spike your blood glucose levels or insulin. When you eat, your body uses the carbohydrates and converts them into glucose. But when you have too much glucose in your system, it can lead to a situation called high blood sugar.
The hormone insulin helps your body move the glucose from your bloodstream into your cells to be used for energy. If you too much glucose for a long period of time, you might develop insulin resistance and can lead to type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that stevia did not raise blood sugar and insulin. This means that stevia might be an effective alternative to sugar for those who are concerned about type 2 diabetes.
When you have lower levels of insulin, it can lead to an increase of body fat breakdown. When we do not eat, our insulin levels will go down and this leads to your fat cells releasing the stored sugar to be used as energy by your body. Because current studies suggest that stevia does not raise your insulin, it is fine for you to drink black coffee with stevia during your fast.
Gut Reset
Those who fast has found that intermittent fasting could have a beneficial effect on the balance of your gut flora. It helps remodel your gut microbiome and improve your metabolic health and decrease inflammation. In addition, fasting for longer periods gives time for your gut to restore itself.
Current studies on the impact of stevia on your gut has gone both ways. However, the general consensus is that stevia has negative implications for your gut health. More recent studies have shown that stevia might contribute to you having an unbalanced gut. It might even disrupt the communication between the bacterias in your gut and lead to some people getting stomach issues after consuming stevia.
For those of you who are fasting to improve your gut health, I would suggest to avoid drinking black coffee with stevia. However, if you feel like you need it to help with your fast, you might want to consider trying it out in minimal amounts first and see how you feel.
Autophagy
Autophagy is when your body breaks down the damaged cells and recycles it to produce new and better cells. There are many benefits to autophagy such as increased longevity, fighting against infectious diseases and protecting your mental health. On average, it takes around 14 to 16 hours of fasting to reach the beginning of autophagy.
Since stevia has no calories (negligible enough to be considered 0) and no protein, it is likely that it does not impact autophagy. This is based on theory and assumption that stevia does not have the qualities to impact autophagy. Currently, there has been no scientific research done on the impact of stevia on autophagy. Expects often suggest that it should not impact impact with autophagy.
If your goal of fasting is to achieve autophagy, it might be fine to drink black coffee with stevia. However, I would err on the side of caution and avoid it as there is just not enough evidence to suggest that it does not impact autophagy. But if you really need to drink your coffee with stevia, then I do not think there is much of a harm to give it a try with stevia. Just make sure you are conscious of how much stevia you are using.
Bottomline
When it comes to fasting, if stevia in your black coffee helps you fast, I would suggest you should give it a try. I understand that fasting can sometimes be a difficult task and if drinking a cup or two of coffee with stevia helps, then try it out and see how your body responds to it.
When it comes to fasting, nobody is exactly the same as the other person. This is why you really need to experiment and give it a try to see what works for you. If you plan on drinking stevia with your black coffee, try to choose a brand that uses only pure stevia extract and does not mix with other types of sweetener in their blend.