Can You Drink Coffee While Doing Intermittent Fasting? - Healthline

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Evidence BasedCan You Drink Coffee While Doing Intermittent Fasting?

Medically reviewed by Amy Richter, MS, RD — Written by Ansley Hill, RD, LD — Updated on April 16, 2025

Basics
Benefits
Added ingredients
Recommendation
Takeaway

Drinking coffee may not break your fast, but it can depend on the ingredients you add to it.

Intermittent fasting is a popular diet pattern that involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting.

Research suggests that intermittent fasting may promote weight loss and reduce risk factors for certain chronic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.

If you’re new to intermittent fasting, you may wonder what you can and can’t do during a fasting period. This article explains whether intermittent fasting allows coffee during fasting periods.

Black coffee won’t break your fast

Drinking moderate amounts of very low- or zero-calorie beverages during a fasting window is unlikely to compromise your fast in any significant way.

This includes drinks like black coffee.

One cup (8 fl oz) of black coffee contains less than 3 calories and very small amounts of protein, fat, and trace minerals.

For most people, the nutrients in 1–2 cups of black coffee aren’t enough to initiate a significant metabolic change that would break a fast.

Research suggests that coffee may suppress your appetite, making it easier to stick with your fast in the long term.

Overall, drinking coffee moderately won’t significantly disrupt your intermittent fast. Just be sure to keep it black, without any added ingredients.

Summary
Black coffee is unlikely to hinder the benefits of intermittent fasting. It’s generally fine to drink it during fasting windows.

Coffee may bolster the benefits of fasting

Surprisingly, coffee may enhance many of the benefits of fasting.

These include improved brain function, reduced inflammation, blood sugar, and heart disease risk.

Metabolic benefits

Chronic inflammation is a root cause of many illnesses. Research suggests that both intermittent fasting and coffee intake may help reduce inflammation.

Some research suggests that moderate coffee intake (less than 5 cups per day) is associated with a decreased risk of metabolic syndrome, which is an inflammatory condition characterized by high blood pressure, excess body fat, high cholesterol, and elevated blood sugar levels.

Studies also link coffee intake to a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes. What’s more, up to 3 cups (710 ml) of coffee per day is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease.

Brain health

One of the major reasons intermittent fasting has surged in popularity is its potential to promote brain health and protect against age-related neurological diseases.

Interestingly, coffee shares and complements many of these benefits.

Like intermittent fasting, regular but moderate (1-3 cups) coffee consumption is associated with a reduced risk of mental decline, as well as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

In a fasted state, your body produces energy from fat in the form of ketones, a process linked to improved brain function. Research indicates that the caffeine in coffee may likewise promote ketone production.

Intermittent fasting may also support brain health through increased autophagy.

Autophagy is your body’s way of replacing damaged cells with healthy ones. Research suggests that it may safeguard against age-related mental decline.

Thus, it may be especially beneficial to include moderate amounts of black coffee in your intermittent fasting regimen.

Summary
Coffee shares many of the same benefits as fasting, including reduced inflammation and improved brain health.

Added ingredients could reduce fasting benefits

Although coffee alone isn’t likely to break your fast, added ingredients could.

Loading up your cup with high calorie additives like milk and sugar can disrupt intermittent fasting, limiting the benefits of this dietary pattern.

Many popular health and media outlets claim that you won’t break your fast as long as you stay under 50–75 calories during each fasting window. However, no scientific evidence backs these claims.

Instead, you should consume as few calories as possible while fasting.

For instance, lattés, cappuccinos, and other high calorie or sweetened coffee drinks should be off-limits during your fasting windows.

While black coffee is the best choice, if you have to add something, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of heavy cream or coconut oil would be good options, as they’re unlikely to significantly alter your blood sugar levels or total calorie intake.

Other considerations

A single cup (8 fl oz) of coffee contains just under 100 mg of caffeine.

Consuming too much caffeine from coffee could lead to side effects, including heart palpitations and temporary increases in blood pressure.

Excessive coffee consumption can lead to potential side effects, particularly when intake exceeds 400 mg of caffeine per day, which is roughly 4 cups. These side effects may include sleep disturbances, anxiety, and digestive issues

Summary
If you drink coffee during your fasting periods, avoid high-calorie, high-sugar additives, as they may break your fast.

Should you drink coffee while fasting?

Ultimately, drinking coffee during a fast is up to personal preference.

If you don’t like coffee or don’t currently drink it, there’s no reason to start. You can obtain many of the same health benefits from a diet rich in whole, nutritious foods.

However, if a hot cup of joe seems to make your fast a little easier, there’s no reason to quit. Just remember to practice moderation and avoid extra ingredients.

If you find that you’re overconsuming coffee or having trouble sleeping, you may want to cut back and focus solely on intermittent fasting.

Summary
Drinking a moderate amount of black coffee during intermittent fasting is perfectly healthy. Still, you’ll want to moderate your intake and avoid most additives like sugar or milk.

Takeaway

You can drink moderate amounts of black coffee during fasting periods, as it contains very few calories and is unlikely to break your fast.

In fact, coffee may enhance the benefits of intermittent fasting, which include reduced inflammation and improved brain function.

Nonetheless, you should steer clear of high calorie additives. It’s also best to watch your intake, as overconsumption may harm your health.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

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Evidence Based

This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument.

This article contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses (1, 2, 3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Medically reviewed by Amy Richter, MS, RD — Written by Ansley Hill, RD, LD — Updated on April 16, 2025

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