The FastDay Forum

I have found that 1 'large' meal at the end of the day seems to suit me best for my fasting days. However I have also found that my coffee intake has increased quite substantially during the day. I probably have at least 6 coffees during the day (with a touch of skimmed milk). Although I have so far not been affected by any caffeine side effects (in fact I probably better after each coffee) I wonder if additional caffeine on an empty stomach may be having affects I am unaware of?

anyone got any thought?

[carorees]

There had been quite a bit of research on the effects of caffeine in the body. It is difficult to tease out exactly what the effect are because it depends a lot on how much caffeine the person was used to drinking. In some studies the effects of caffeine they thought they had found turned out to be the effect of caffeine withdrawal (before the study as part of the study design) followed by readministration of caffeine (in the study)!

Anyhow, caffeine does seem to affect blood glucose, insulin sensitivity, blood flow in the brain, alertness and hunger feelings. The effects are not consistent from study to study though and are different in people with/without diabetes.

People who are fasting do find they feel better after having coffee, probably due to a combination of the above effects.

I drink a lot of coffee on fast days too!