How Do I Break The Fast | List of Best Foods to Break A Fast | Spinach and Kale | Eggs | Fruits | Bone Broth | Cruciferous Vegetables | Yogurt | Apple Cider Vinegar
How to break a fast? This article will lay out all you need to know about how to break a fast. Intermittent fasting has become a lifestyle choice for many in recent years. However, it is just a new twist to an old tradition. We have been following fasting for a religious purpose for centuries. The meaning of the word break the fast is going back to its age-old roots “Breakfast.” We will dive into what’s the best way to actually break a fast.
How to Break a Fast?
Start with a nutritious whole food, and be sure to stay hydrated. Do not eat a processed food, high sugar food, or a food that is generally nutrient deficient. You may choose the time you break the fast, that is less important than the quality of the food.
The Top 7 Foods to Break a Fast:
- Powerhouse Greens
- Eggs
- Fruits
- Bone Broth
- Cruciferous Vegetables
- Yogurt
- Apple Cider Vinegar
Breakfast for intermittent fasting or a fast is the meal consumed when you break your fast, be it at 7 am or 7 pm. Generally, not much concern was given to how to break the fast in ancient times.
However, with increasing western diet culture, it becomes crucial to know what to eat after your fast to achieve the most physical comfort and effective results for your long-term wellness goals. Certain foods are better than others to achieve your health and fitness goals. This article helps you understand how important it is to plan the foods to eat after breaking your fast. We will also talk about the best foods to eat after fasting. We will teach you the ins and outs of how to break a fast the BEST way possible.
How Do I Break The Fast? What breaks a fast?
It is essential to know how to break a fast and which are the best foods after fasting for 12 or 16 hours. Immediately after a long fasting period, it will be difficult to digest the high carbs foods; hence you should keep it light and small.
If you eat a large meal immediately after your fast, it gets difficult for your stomach to digest, and you will start feeling sluggish and bloated. Avoid carbs, fats and choose foods rich in proteins and vitamins to break your fast. It’s essential to break the fast in the right way to get the maximum benefits out of it.
List of Best Foods – How to Break A Fast
Here are some best foods you can choose to break your fast.
1. Break a Fast with Powerhouse Greens
Spinach and kale are the powerhouses of nutrients. This would be the perfect way to break your fast with a healthy, light, and nutritious spinach-kale soup or a salad. They contain multivitamins such as vitamin C, B2, B6, E, A, K, fiber, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, copper, calcium, and potassium. Spinach aids in better digestion, prevents constipation, and maintains blood sugar. Spinach is rich in insoluble fiber, which helps in weight loss. Another amazing food is Avocado to go along with your Greens, with healthy fats to kick start your brain functioning while breaking your fast.
Thylakoid-rich foods such as spinach, kale can reduce appetite and decrease food intake in the short term. Long-term usage of thylakoids in your diet can aid in weight loss. Hence, spinach would be a perfect choice to break your fast.
2. Eggs to Break a Fast
Eggs are a great way how to break a fast. An egg is a whole food that contains lots of proteins, vitamins, and nutrients. Egg gets digested quickly, is low in calories, and rich in proteins. It can be a great way to start with eggs because they can make you feel full quickly. They are natures SUPERFOOD, with am amazing amino profile and fats to help fuel your brain.
Eggs are easy to cook; you can go for a boiled egg, scrambled egg, or an omelet. Few qualities of eggs make it more preferable than other foods to break the fast, which includes:
- Eggs are a high protein food; it helps boost your metabolism, burns more calories and aids in weight loss
- Eggs are rich in leucine, which helps in muscle growth
According to a study, eggs for breakfast have helped in 65% weight loss in 8 weeks. Egg breakfast induces greater satiety and reduces short-term food intake, which aids in weight loss.
Consumption of eggs also aids in less variation of plasma glucose and insulin. Hence it would be perfect for breaking your fast with eggs.
3. Fruits can be a Delicious way to Break Your Fast
A bowl of fruits or fruit juice would be the perfect choice to break your fast. Include fruits such as apples, watermelon, bananas, and avocados to break a long fast.
Watermelon has 91% of water; it makes you feel full and also gets digested quickly. It is an excellent source of an amino acid called arginine that helps to burn fat fast. Hence we can say watermelon is satiating as well as helps in weight loss.
Apples are low-calorie fruits and have high fiber content. One apple has 166 calories and 5.4 grams of fiber. Apple is a filling fruit and helps you avoid frequent eating.
Apples are a major source of polyphenols, dietary fiber, carotenoids, and other nutrients. Many studies indicate that polyphenols present in apples promote weight loss by scavenging free radicals, regulating gene expression, and altering signals of fat tissues.
Avocados are rich in fiber; hence it promotes weight loss and regulates your body metabolism. High fiber foods help reduce hunger, decrease the risk of high blood pressure, and reduce your cholesterol levels. Mannoheptulose is a monosaccharide present in avocados that helps in weight loss and reduces calorie intake.
So a bowl of fruit salad would be a great start after long fasting hours. They would boost your digestion, body metabolism and also help to manage your weight.
4. Bone Broth to Break Your Fast
In the cold evenings, bone broth would be the perfect way to break your fast. The bone broth is also known as stock and is generally made from boiling animal bones and connective tissue.
When you are on fast, your body may face mineral depletion. The bone broth would be the perfect choice to break the fast as it is a nutrient-rich food that includes magnesium, potassium, calcium, vitamins, and sodium.
Bone broth makes you feel full, is high in protein, and supports calorie restriction. It’s an age-old tradition to have chicken bone broth or red meat bone broth when someone is sick or during any injury.
Bone broth has many advantages:
- It is rich in collagen, which is good for bone and tooth health
- It is rich in glycine, needed for good sleep
- It has various amino acids that have anti-inflammatory properties
- It has more proteins and fewer calories that aid in weight loss
It is good to have homemade broth. With so many advantages we can say it is the best choice to break your fast.
You can break your fast with some snacks like protein bars, bone broth powder, whole fruit bars, etc. to know more read – Top 10 Snacks For Intermittent Fasting Eating Window.
5. Cruciferous Vegetables to Break Your Fast
Fiber-rich vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels, and sprouts would be a good choice for breaking your fast. These vegetables are rich in vitamins, fiber, proteins, and other nutrients.
Broccoli salad would be the best choice among the cruciferous vegetables because it has enough carbs, is high in fiber, aids in digestion, prevents constipation, maintains low blood glucose, and curbs overeating. It is marked as a health-promoting food, with a high content of bioactive phytochemicals such as glucosinolates, vitamin C, mineral nutrients, and phenolic compounds.
Broccoli helps to fight against obesity as it is a low-fat, low-calorie vegetable and is an excellent choice for vegans. It is a fiber-rich vegetable and does not add any extra calories. It prevents many chronic diseases that are often caused due to obesity. Hence you can try broccoli salad, broccoli soup to break your fast.
6. Break your fast with yogurt
Fermented foods are good for your gut health. During fasting, your bacteria might lose most of the good bacteria necessary for gut health. Yogurt is an excellent choice to break your fast once or twice a week, and it is required to maintain your gut health.
Having probiotic food enhances your digestion. According to studies, yogurt is linked with lower body mass index, lower body weight, and fat. You should make sure that you choose unsweetened yogurt and with added preservatives. Experts and nutritionists educate the public to eat yogurt regularly and include it in your diet, contributing to better health.
7. Apple Cider Vinegar
Various studies recommend the usage of apple cider vinegar for weight loss. It is effortless to make; all you need is apple, sugar, and yeast, and allow the mixture to ferment; your apple cider vinegar (ACV) is ready.
Apple cider vinegar would be the best choice to break your fast because it has many advantages such as:
- It has significantly less calories
- It balances alkaline pH levels and reduces acidity
- It kills the harmful bacteria in the gut and promotes the growth of good bacteria
- It lowers your blood glucose and insulin levels
- It makes you feel full for a longer period
- And stimulates and improves your digestion
You can add one or two spoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water and drink. It can also be added as a salad dressing. This amount of apple cider vinegar contains just a few calories so it could be a great way to start your eating window. If you’re practicing less restricting fasting, you can even add a spoon of apple cider vinegar during your fasting window.
To see a full list – See our Intermittent Fasting Food List.
Final Words
Personally I like to break my fast with a food with healthy fats and protein. I have eaten eggs, a bulletproof coffee (butter, MCT, sea salt), or an avocado is a great option. Whole foods are the most important factor, no processed foods!
When determining how to break a fast, if you fast with the wrong foods it can harm your digestive system, intestine, and overall health. You shouldn’t break your fast with heavy foods such as meat, junk, and oily foods because they are hard to digest. Always choose low-calorie food to break your fast. Keep your meals simple and nutritious. I hope you enjoyed our list of best foods to eat after fasting, and the top 7 foods to break a fast.
Need an APP on your Mobile to help with Fasting? See our Top 6 FREE and Premium Fasting Apps
Want help Losing weight with our Programs?
