Bone Broth & Fasting: Is It a Diet-Breaker?

Yes, bone broth can break a fast. While bone broth is often praised for its nutritional benefits and is sometimes seen as a “gray area” in fasting, it contains calories, primarily from protein and fat. Consuming calories can stimulate digestion and insulin production, which disrupts the fasting state. However, the extent to which bone broth breaks a fast depends on individual fasting goals and the specific type of fasting you are following.

In this blog, I will walk you through everything you need to know about Does Bone Broth Break a Fast? how it can affect your fasting, and why it might or might not fit into your fasting regimen.

Understanding Bone Broth

What Is Bone Broth?

Bone broth is a nutrient-rich liquid made by simmering animal bones and connective tissues in water for an extended period, often with the addition of herbs, spices, and vegetables. The simmering process extracts essential nutrients like collagen, amino acids, and minerals from the bones.

Bone broth has become popular due to its numerous health benefits, including supporting joint health, improving gut health, boosting skin elasticity, and providing hydration. However, bone broth contains calories from protein and fat, which makes it different from water or herbal tea when consumed during fasting.

Nutritional Profile of Bone Broth

Bone broth can be rich in nutrients, depending on the type of bones used and how long it is cooked. Here’s what bone broth typically contains:

Calories: Around 30-80 calories per cup
Protein: Collagen and gelatin, rich in amino acids like glycine and proline
Fat: Depending on the broth, there can be trace to moderate amounts of fat
Minerals: Calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus
Electrolytes: Sodium, which is important for hydration

Because bone broth provides nutrients that your body uses for energy and cellular processes, it breaks a fast by providing caloric content. Yet, it’s less disruptive than eating a full meal.

How Bone Broth Affects Fasting

Why Bone Broth Breaks a Fast

To understand why bone broth breaks a fast, it’s important to recognize that fasting, in its strictest sense, means refraining from consuming anything that causes an insulin response or digestion. Bone broth contains proteins and fats, which prompt the release of insulin, signaling the body that it’s no longer in a fasting state.

Here are key reasons bone broth breaks a fast:

Caloric Intake: Bone broth contains calories, which disrupt the state of energy deprivation that fasting creates.
Protein Content: The protein in bone broth can trigger the production of insulin and activate mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), which halts autophagy—a key process during fasting where cells recycle damaged components.
Digestion: Any caloric intake, including bone broth, stimulates the digestive system, breaking the fast.

Autophagy and Bone Broth

One of the main benefits of fasting is autophagy, the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells and regenerating new ones. Autophagy is triggered when the body is deprived of nutrients for an extended period. Bone broth, being a source of calories and protein, can inhibit autophagy, which is why consuming it during fasting isn’t recommended if you are fasting primarily for cellular renewal and longevity.

However, if you are fasting for reasons like improving metabolic health or weight loss, small amounts of bone broth may be acceptable and won’t necessarily disrupt your fasting goals as much.

Bone Broth and Different Types of Fasts

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a popular eating pattern where you alternate between periods of eating and fasting. The main objective of IF is to extend the body’s fasting window long enough to improve insulin sensitivity and metabolism. During intermittent fasting, the goal is to avoid all calorie-containing foods or drinks during the fasting window.

Does bone broth break intermittent fasting? Yes, bone broth will break intermittent fasting due to its caloric content. However, if you are using IF for general health and weight loss, incorporating a small amount of bone broth might not severely impact your results. Some individuals use bone broth to make intermittent fasting easier, especially during longer fasting periods, as it can help prevent hunger and replenish electrolytes.

Extended Fasting

Extended fasting lasts longer than 24 hours and can range anywhere from 36 hours to several days. During these prolonged fasts, your body uses fat stores for energy and undergoes deeper processes like autophagy.

Does bone broth break an extended fast? Yes, bone broth breaks an extended fast because it contains calories and nutrients that activate digestion. However, for those who find it challenging to fast for several days, bone broth can be a beneficial aid to support electrolyte balance and prevent extreme hunger. While it technically breaks the fast, some fasters include it to make the process more sustainable.

Fasting for Autophagy

If your goal is autophagy, any caloric intake, including bone broth, will inhibit this process. Therefore, to maximize autophagy, it’s best to avoid bone broth and stick to water, black coffee, or tea during the fasting period. Autophagy typically starts after 18-24 hours of fasting, and bone broth interrupts this cellular cleaning process.

Final Words

Yes, bone broth does break a fast due to its caloric and nutrient content, primarily from proteins and fats. For individuals seeking the maximum benefits of fasting, including autophagy or strict intermittent fasting, bone broth would interrupt these processes. However, for others, particularly those engaged in extended fasts or fasting for general weight loss and metabolic health, bone broth can be a helpful tool to maintain electrolyte balance, curb hunger, and make fasting more manageable.

Ultimately, the decision to include bone broth during fasting depends on your goals. If your aim is cellular repair and deep fasting benefits, it’s best to avoid bone broth. But if your fasting goals are more flexible, bone broth can be an excellent ally to support hydration and make fasting less daunting.