If you’re fasting for bloodwork, your healthcare provider will likely ask you to avoid certain foods and drinks. This includes soda, energy drinks, and most coffee with added sugar, flavor, or creamer. This can make it difficult to get through your morning without a cup of coffee, and many people find it hard to start their day without a cup of caffeine in the morning.
The good news is that you can still have coffee while fasting as long as it’s black and does not contain added sweeteners or creamers. You can also drink iced tea during your fasting window, but it should be free of any added sugar and calories. Starbucks has a variety of options, including unsweetened iced green tea, Americanos with no sugar or milk, and Earl Grey, English Breakfast, and Emperor’s Cloud hot teas that are all low in calories.
While it’s important to stick with mostly black coffee during your fasting window, a little bit of cream or milk in your coffee can actually help boost the benefits of intermittent fasting. When you consume a small amount of fat while fasting, the body is more likely to burn fat for energy, and this can lead to better metabolic outcomes. You can even add clarified butter, also known as ghee, to your coffee during intermittent fasting, which will provide an additional source of healthy fat and is rich in vitamins K and A.