Video post – what breaks a fast?

February 17 2019 by in Intermittent fasting

This week I decided to do a video post instead of a regular written one. Why? No reason. Just to change things up. After about five years of writing a weekly blog, I thought it would be a nice change of pace. Here it is:

—
Dr. Jason Fung

Also published on idmprogram.com.

Dr. Fung’s top posts

Intermittent fasting for beginners
Intermittent fasting for beginners - PT
Intermittent fasting for beginners - Draft cta

Type 2 diabetes

My low-carb story with Marc Gossange
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After living somewhat of a high-carb life and then living in France for a few years enjoying croissants and freshly baked baguettes, Marc was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Living low carb with Chris Hannaway
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What does living low carb look like? Chris Hannaway shares his success story, takes us for a spin in the gym and orders food at the local pub.
"I have been following the wrong advice!"
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How Antonio Martinez finally managed to reverse his type 2 diabetes.
How to help patients reverse type 2 diabetes
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How exactly do you as a doctor help patients reverse their type 2 diabetes?
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What is the root of the problem in type 2 diabetes? And how can we treat it? Dr. Eric Westman at the Low Carb USA 2016.
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Yvonne used to see all those pictures of people who'd lost so much weight, but sometimes didn't really believe they were real.
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Is it possible to reverse your diabetes with the help of a strict low-carb diet? Definitely, and Stephen Thompson did it.
How to prevent chronic disease – Dr. Trudi Deakin
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In this interview, Kim Gajraj interviews Dr. Trudi Deakin to learn all about her and other health care professionals work at X-PERT Health, a registered charity in the UK.
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Everything goes in the right direction
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Arjun Panesar is the founder of the diabetes organization diabetes.co.uk, which is very low-carb friendly.
Why low-fat diets don't work — Dr. Jason Fung's diabetes course
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Does a low-fat diet help with reversing type 2 diabetes? Or, could a low-carb, high-fat diet work better? Dr. Jason Fung looks at the evidence and gives us all the details.
What's it like being a low-carb doctor on TV?
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What’s it like working with patients and giving controversial low-carb advice in front of a TV audience?
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In this presentation, Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt goes through the scientific and anecdotal evidence, and also what clinical experience tends to show, regarding the long-term effects of low carb.
Trouble shooting high blood-glucose levels
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Are you struggling with high blood glucose, even on a ketogenic diet? There are many factors which can have an impact on blood sugar!
The problem with sugar
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Is it fat or sugar that has triggered the unprecedented epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease? Taubes at Low Carb USA 2017.
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"We are not designed to be chronically ill"
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How to reverse type 2 diabetes
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In this interview Dr. Jay Wortman tells us how he reversed his own type 2 diabetes and then did the same for many, many others.
How to formulate a low-carb keto diet
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Low-carb pioneer Dr. Eric Westman talks about how to formulate an LCHF diet, low carb for different medical conditions and common pitfalls among others.
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Part 7 of Dr. Jason Fung's diabetes course
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Dr. Fung gives us a comprehensive review of what causes fatty liver disease, how it affects insulin resistance and, what we can do to reduce fatty liver.

Weight loss

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When Kenneth turned 50, he realized that he wouldn't make it to 60 the way he was going.
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At nearly 500 lbs (230 kg) Chuck could barely move at all anymore. It wasn’t until he found a keto diet that thing started to change.
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In this presentation from Low Carb Denver 2019, Drs. David and Jen Unwin explain how physicians can finetune the art of practicing medicine with strategies from psychology to help their patients reach their goals.
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Can medications prevent or hinder your efforts to lose weight and become healthy? Jackie Eberstein at the Low Carb Cruise 2016.
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Are all calories created equally – regardless of whether they come from a low-carb, low-fat or a vegan diet?
Living low carb with Yvonne Lane
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Yvonne used to see all those pictures of people who'd lost so much weight, but sometimes didn't really believe they were real.
My success story with Jim Caldwell
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Jim Caldwell has transformed his health and gone from an all-time high at 352 lbs (160 kg) to 170 lbs (77 kg.
Diet Doctor Podcast #35 with Ben Bikman, PhD
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Why is insulin so important for us to control and why does a ketogenic diet help so many people? Professor Ben Bikman has studied these questions in his lab for years and he is one of the foremost authorities on the subject.
Living low carb: Sue Jones and Michael
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How fast can a couple start losing weight and feeling better when they begin a low-carb diet? For UK couple Sue and Michael, it was rapid. “A couple of weeks for sure.”
Will a low carb diet shorten your life?
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In this highly insightful presentation from Low Carb Denver 2019, Robb Wolf takes us through studies which can help us better understand weight loss, food addiction and health on a low-carb diet.
Pie-making champion goes low carb
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Learn how this pie-making champion went low carb and how it changed his life.
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Q&A with Franziska Spritzler
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Questions about how to formulate an optimal low-carb or keto diet.
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Kristie Sullivan struggled with her weight for her whole life in spite of trying every diet imaginable, but then she finally lost a 120 pounds and improved her health on a keto diet.
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Larry Diamond has transformed his life and lost 125 lbs (57 kg) on a low-carb diet, and here he shares his insights from his journey.
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Dr. Peter Brukner explains why he went from being a high-carb to a low-carb advocate.
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Dr. Eric Westman answers questions about low-carb and keto diets and how they relate to specific health concerns.
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Dr. Jeffry Gerber has a long history of treating patients with low carb. What are the benefits and the concerns?
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Keto

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What is it like running the very popular YouTube channel Keto Connect?
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If your muscles can't use stored glycogen, is it then a good idea to eat a high-carb diet to compensate for this? Or can a keto diet help treat these rare glycogen storage diseases?
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What is the root of the problem in type 2 diabetes? And how can we treat it? Dr. Eric Westman at the Low Carb USA 2016.
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Can a strict keto diet help prevent or even treat some cancers, like brain cancer?
My success story with Jim Caldwell
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Jim Caldwell has transformed his health and gone from an all-time high at 352 lbs (160 kg) to 170 lbs (77 kg.
Diet Doctor Podcast #35 with Ben Bikman, PhD
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Dr. Priyanka Wali tried a ketogenic diet and felt great. After reviewing the science she started recommending it to patients.
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Are you struggling with high blood glucose, even on a ketogenic diet? There are many factors which can have an impact on blood sugar!
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Can a ketogenic diet be helpful in cancer treatment? Dr. Poff gives an answer in this interview.
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How can low-carb ketogenic diets help athletes perform better, improve endurance, and prevent bonking?

Intermittent fasting

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Dr. Fung's fasting course part 5: The 5 top myths about fasting – and exactly why they are not true.
The 7 benefits of fasting
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Dr. Fung's fasting course part 4: About the 7 big benefits of fasting intermittently.
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Why is counting calories useless? And what should you do instead to lose weight?
The top 5 tips to make fasting easier
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Dr. Fung's fasting course part 7: Answers to the most common questions about fasting.
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Dr. Fung's fasting course part 3: Dr. Fung explains the different popular fasting options and makes it easy for you to choose the one that fits you best.
Breakfast! Is it really that important?
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Dr. Fung's fasting course part 6: Is it really that important to eat breakfast?
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Dr. Fung about what you need to do to start fasting.
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Can fasting be problematic for women?
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Can fasting be problematic for women? We'll get the answers from top low-carb experts here.
Diet Doctor Podcast #23 – Dr. Jason Fung
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In this video, Dr. Jason Fung gives a presentation on diabetes to a room full of medical professionals.
How to maximize fat burning
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Diet Doctor Podcast with Joseph Antoun
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In this episode, Dr. Joseph Antoun talks about fasting for health and longevity.
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If you’re wondering if intermittent fasting is right for you, Dr. Bret Scher will help you sort through the hype and learn how to use fasting to reach your health goals. This course is designed for health coaches who want to add intermittent fasting to their toolbox of options for helping clients improve their health.

More with Dr. Fung

All posts by Dr. Fung

Dr. Fung has his own blog at idmprogram.com. He is also active on Twitter.

Dr. Fung’s books The Obesity Code, The Complete Guide to Fasting and The Diabetes Code are available on Amazon.¹

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11 comments

1
Virginia
February 17 2019
I have been reading about autophagy and like the idea of cleaning out the weak and dead stuff from my body. Makes room for healthy new stuff ❤️ My question is does the little bit of cream or tea or broth stop the autophagy aspect of fasting? You mentioned most of the benefits would still be there. I have looked at a lot of videos and stuff on line and came to the conclusion it has to be water fast for this autophagy to happen. I also read it works best from hour 12 to 48 hours after eating. I am just a little bit confused about it. Would love clarification if possible! And Thank You! I love this site and all the wisdom you and the others pass on :)

Replies: #2, #3
2
Reply to comment #1 by Virginia
Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
February 18 2019
In an answer on another page, Dr Fung has said that a small amount of cream shouldn't break a fast for most people. Unsweetened tea, coffee and bone broth are generally find while fasting.
3
Reply to comment #1 by Virginia
Aaron
February 20 2019
Hi Virginia. As I understand autophagy it is regulated by mTOR (and the AMPK molecule). Insulin is also involved in that the genes that carry out autophagy are regulated by insulin. When mTOR is upregulated, then no autophagy. When AMPK is low (indicating high energy in cells), also no autophagy. When insulin is high, no autophagy.

mTOR is very sensitive to dietary amino acids, so cream in your coffee would not add protein and so have little to no effect. Any energy intake would effect AMPK (fat, protein, or carbs) but I understand AMPK to be a long term process. Over long periods of time if AMPK is low, then autophagy may be halted. Seems like cream in your coffee would have little effect on AMPK.

Cream in your coffee would not have much effect on insulin either.

Given that mTOR is sensitive to dietary protein, my own wondering is whether broth would have an effect and should be avoided in favor of fat (cream). I'm just learning all of this myself so maybe someone else has some insight there. And I'm not at all an expert so I welcome comments that would help me learn more!

Personally, I fast 20 hours most days and 60 - 72 hours about 3 times a month. I have (1) coffee with heavy cream every day, whether I fast or not. It does not at all seem to effect weight loss or how I feel during fasting. Maybe I'd eek out a little more benefit without the heavy cream, but my guess is it's negligible? Anyone have ideas on what benefit(s) I may be missing out on?
4
Cassieoz
February 23 2019
My understanding is that it depends on the reason for fasting. If it's to drop insulin the a little cream or fat in coffee wont make a significany difference. If your aim is autophagy then the fast is a 'no calorie' fast.
5
Fast Food in Islamabad
May 29 2019
We are here in Islamabad, Gujranwala, Risalpur, and Quetta Visit roadstoves to hit the taste of Fast Food lover
6
Karyn
October 17 2019
Understand no sugar in coffee or tea...what about keto-friendly sweetener?
1 comment removed
8
Nikaia
September 24 2020
Is this the same for collagen powders?

Reply: #9
9
Reply to comment #8 by Nikaia
Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
September 25 2020

Is this the same for collagen powders?

As collagen has a lot of protein, yes, it likely does break a fast.
10
Annika
October 17 2020
So I'm new to this...I'm guessing I can't have diet sodas during fasts? What about actual coffee creamer that doesn't have sugar?

Reply: #11
11
Reply to comment #10 by Annika
Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor
October 17 2020

So I'm new to this...I'm guessing I can't have diet sodas during fasts? What about actual coffee creamer that doesn't have sugar?

We recommend avoiding artificial sweeteners completely, and all sweeteners during a fast. The general consensus is that a small amount of heavy cream is OK if needed during a fast.
12
teacher
March 29
You can use Stevia as sweetener but only one with 0 kcal!