If you are wondering whether you can eat pickles during intermittent fasting or if they will break your fast, that’s exactly what we are going to discuss in this short blog.
One thing we can all agree on is that, whether you are fasting or not, taking pickles can offer several health benefits, more on this later.
People who are fasting usually consider topping up with pickles thanks to the popular belief that they are a zero-calorie “snack”.
But is that even true? Or pickles can break a fast and cause weight loss plateaus?
Let’s find out, and the first question we should answer is…
Do Pickles Have Calories?
Yes, pickles have calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are 11 calories in every 100 grams of pickled cucumber.
Now, I understand that pickles come in various flavors and they are prepared differently.
But as long as the popular, and main, ingredient (cucumber) remains, then we are dealing with the same number of calories.
When the pickles are made with extra ingredients that can add extra nutrients, then the calorie load might increase.
To the main question…
Do Pickles Break A Fast?
Yes, pickles will break a fast, that’s because they have about 11 calories per 100 grams, which can provide energy to your body and disrupt your fast.
All varieties of pickles, dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, sweet pickles, spicy pickles, and even pickles juice can break a fast due to the fact that the main ingredient has calories.
Depending on your fasting goals, 11 calories per 100 grams may be negligible, so it will likely depend on the size of your serving.
However, to fully enjoy everything fasting has to offer, your gut should fully rest and one way to make it rest is not to give it work to do – not to give it pickles to digest.
Resting your gut has a myriad of benefits including restoring the gut integrity and boosting its microbiome.
Can You Eat Pickles While Fasting?
On whether you can eat pickles when fasting, the simple answer is no, when fasting you need to rid your body of any external source of energy so that it can burn its own fat and upregulate other fasting processes like ketosis and autophagy.
Eating pickles when intermittent fasting will therefore kick you out of the fasting state into the fed state.
Benefits Of Taking Pickles When Fasting.
You can still get to enjoy the many benefits pickles have even when you are fasting.
Just make sure to take them before the actual fasting window start, the best time to take pickles will be when your fasting window is just about to begin.
Here are some of the benefits taking pickles will have on your fasts:
- It gives you one of the most important fasting electrolytes – sodium, which, just like magnesium, can help alleviate symptoms of low electrolytes(think muscle cramps and diminished energy) during the fast.
- Pickles, just like psyllium husk, also have a good amount of fiber which can keep you satiated throughout your fast with fewer calories, this can help you avoid binging after fasting.
- If fermented, they can be a great source of probiotics.
- They provide your body with antioxidants.
Can You Eat Pickles When Fasting – Summary.
As you might have learned, whether or not you can take pickles during your fast depends on the fasting protocol you follow.
But the thing is – pickles contain calories and if you are doing a clean fast, it is not advisable to take pickles in any form or flavor when fasting.
If you are doing intermittent fasting, such as the 15/9 Intermittent fasting and you have an eating window, you can safely schedule your “pickle-eating” for the eating window – that’s the way to get the benefits of pickles even when you fast frequently.
