10 things that you can add to your water while fasting!

Spice up your water! This post is all about addressing the  common question – ‘what can I add in the water that would not break my fast’? If you have been Intermittent fasting and you are stuck to the plain old water in the fast, these are the 10 things that you can add during IF and which will provide you with flexibility and make your fasting window enjoyable.

1. Sea Salt – Salt contains 0 grams of protein or carbs and won’t break your fast. Salts also provide electrolytes that are often lost during the fast. A pinch of sea salt in your water is surefire way to keep you going during your fasting window.
2. Lemon – You can definitely add some lemon to the water . Keeping it to 1/4of a lemon is perfect to make sure it doesn’t break your fast( remember the 1 gram rule- anything with more than 1 gram of protein and carbs tog will break your fast). Remember do not add honey to the water as it will spike the sugar levels and will break your fast.
3. Ginger – is a great tool to use during the fast. It helps to stimulate the gut cleansing process MMC which helps to flush out left behind food and bacteria that could normally cause bloating. Aim for upto 1 tablespoon of freshly sliced ginger in your tea or water.
4. Sparkling water – Add some bubbles to your water. The unflavoured version can be sipped through the day.
5. Tea and coffee – Black tea or black coffee can be an exciting addition over just plain water. Making sure you limit your caffeine intake to not more than two cups and drink it in the first half of the day.
6. Chia seeds – This can be a tricky one. Up to 1 teaspoon can be added to the water ( this is because of the carbs/protein/fat in chia seeds) can break the 1 gram rule. If you chew the seeds , it will definitely break your fast as it would stimulate digestion.
7. Cucumber – About 1/8th of cucumber added to the water will not break the “one gram” rule- therefore wont break the fast, just being sure not to chew the cucumber as it can stimulate digestion. Adding slices of cucumber to the water will suffice
8. ACV (apple cider vinegar)- This has been found to have blood sugar stabilising perks, which can be a useful tool to double down on IF perks. Dilute 1 tbsp of ACV into 10 oz of water.
9. Supplements – As long as the supplements does not have to be taken with food or contains protein or sugar and is not a “gummy” vitamin ,it will not break a fast.

I hope this gives you options to make your fasting window exciting and easy . Be adventurous but do make sure to follow the 1 gram rule so that you are right on track with the fasting principles in general.

Stay healthy,

Swati

Ref:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32201919/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31667860/