—
This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.
Fasting is a voluntary period of abstinence from eating or drinking for medical, health, or religious reasons (such as during the month of Ramadan). During your fasting regime, you may wonder whether drinking lemon water could break a fast or not.
This insightful piece of writing reasons whether lemon water breaks your fast or not, depending on how you consume the drink.
What is lemon water?
Lemon water is simply squeezing a whole or part of a lemon in a glass of water. It is worth mentioning that lemon water contains added ingredients and nutrients, and certain chemical agents such as potassium, folate, some B vitamins, and most notably vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin with powerful immune-boosting and skin-care properties, among other well-known benefits.
During your fast – keeping your body hydrated is paramount – because of the various electrolyte variations in the body. Generally, water can do the hydration job efficiently; however, some people may fancy lemon water due to its supplementary taste, and the zest it offers.
Is lemon water safe to drink lemon water while fasting?
Lemon water is generally safe to drink during fasting. Theoretically, calories consumed in any quantity will break a fast. However, lemon water, which contains only minimal calories, is unlikely to affect your fast.
A study involved 1,422 fasting individuals, who consumed herbal tea mixed with honey and some freshly squeezed fruit. Scientists found out that all participants’ bodies functioned on ketosis, a common pointer indicating the fasting state.
Lemon water and its relation to fasting
When deciding whether to drink lemon water, it’s best to ponder over the reason for your fast. If you’re fasting for weight loss, you have the liberty of taking a fairly large amount of calories.
For instance, you could still achieve significant weight-loss results by consuming up to 800 calories a day. On the other hand, if you are fasting for health or religious reasons, your calorie intake could be very low or none at all (in the case of fasting during Ramadan).
So with lemon water alone, it is improbable you will break your fast, however, it’s advised to add a sweetener – like sugar or honey – if you do intend to break it.
Introducing intermittent fasting
Unlike the diets such as keto or the Mediterranean diet, which command what to eat and drink, intermittent fasting is about when you eat and drink. Notably, it has been found to be the most popular diet-based regime in 2020.
During your fasting periods, you may consume lower calories than usual; however, as seen on one of the popular fasting apps DoFasting reviews, you can have water or other drinks with nearly no calories, and that also includes lemon water.
Some commonly practiced types of intermittent fasting are listed below:
Time constrained fast: Eat within an eight-hour gap, say from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and fast for the other remaining 16 hours.
The 24-hour fast: Once or twice per week, fast for a total of 24 hours, while eating habitually for the remaining five or six days.
Alternate day fasting: On every alternate day, eat about 500 calories in total.
The 5:2 fasting: Eat about 500 calories during two days of the week, while eating routinely in the remaining five.
Is lemon water and lemonade the same drink?
Lemon water is both calorie and macronutrient-free, and water alone does not elevate insulin in your blood. Hence, it should not break a non-religious fast, per se. And we can’t emphasize enough; that it’s wise to stay hydrated during your fasting periods.
Another point to note is: When we mention “lemon water”, we are not referring to the sweetened lemonade or lemon-flavored caloric water you normally find in local supermarkets.
According to health experts, lemon juice contains no carbs compared to other fruit juices, so it can be used to flavor water without breaking a fast.
To be on the safe side, you could choose to squeeze only a quarter of a lemon in eight ounces of water. This will ensure no insulin is elevated in the blood.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) FoodData Nutrition Database mentions the juice from a quarter of a lemon contains:
- 3 calories
- 03 grams of fat
- 04 grams of protein
- 8 grams of carbohydrates
- 3 grams of sugar
Potential benefits and risks of drinking lemon water while fasting
Experts advocate that because lemon water does not contain any carbohydrates and calories, it does not hinder the body’s ketosis phase, as long as you do not consume more than three ounces of lemon juice – which is one strongly-tart glass of lemon water. Your body’s metabolism will probably not notice the meager amount of natural fruit sugars contained in the lemon juice.
So, lemon juice is unlikely going to break your fast or offer any macronutrients. It is worth rehearsing that lemon juice contains a high amount of the immune-boosting nutrient – vitamin C – which is a potent antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. It also plays a vital role in the repair of tissues, the build-up of collagen, and the production of certain neurotransmitters.
Another advantage of drinking lemon water is that one of its major constituents – citric acid – can help reduce excessive storage of calcium, a primary cause of kidney stones.
Perhaps, many people are tempted to drink lemon water because of a simple fact; it adds its typical tart flavor to bland water. On a side note, lemon juice is highly acidic, so drinking too much could lead to harming your tooth enamel. Though if you are diluting it in water, then it shouldn’t really be a problem.
The Takeaway
Lemon water is, undoubtedly, a healthy drink with a whole range of health benefits. If consumed as advised in this article, the drink should not break your fast. That said you should be cautious with the quantity of the lemon and the additional sweeteners in your drink.
—
