3 important tips if you want to drink coffee while fasting

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks for Indonesians. In fact, most people who like coffee already have a schedule drinking coffee alone. Unfortunately, when the fasting month arrives, the routine of drinking coffee cannot be done as usual. Don't worry, fasting doesn't really make you stop drinking coffee, really. It's just that you need to adjust the time you drink coffee while fasting.

Can you drink coffee while fasting?

For healthy adults, there are no restrictions on drinking coffee during the fasting month. However, you can't just drink coffee at dawn or break the fast. You need to adhere to some safe rules for drinking coffee while fasting.

Coffee contains caffeine, which is a stimulant substance that affects the performance of the central nervous system. These substances can ward off drowsiness and also increase alertness. In addition, coffee is also an antioxidant that helps the body fight free radicals.

People who usually drink coffee will experience side effects if they suddenly don't drink coffee at all. The same side effects will also appear if you drink too much coffee.

Stop drinking coffee suddenly and drinking too much coffee can cause headaches and weakness. Apart from its caffeine content, coffee tends to contain added sugar which can make blood spike rapidly during fasting. In addition, in some people caffeine can trigger an increase in stomach acid (ulcers).

Of course you don't want that to happen while you are fasting, right? That is why you must pay attention to this coffee drinking habit during fasting. So that you can still enjoy the pleasure of coffee without interrupted fasting, follow the guidelines below.

Healthy guide to drinking coffee while fasting

1. Reduce caffeine intake in coffee during the fasting month

Actually, reducing the habit of drinking coffee should be done before the first day of fasting. However, if you don't have time to do it, reduce your caffeine intake from coffee when you start fasting. It's just that it becomes more difficult and challenging. However, reducing or stopping caffeine intake should be done slowly, not suddenly. This is useful for minimizing the appearance of side effects.

Reporting from the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, the safe dose of caffeine in a day is 400 milligrams for adults. This is the equivalent of 2-3 cups of black coffee. However, this dose is recommended for people with regular eating schedules, not those who are fasting. If you are fasting, you should cut back on your caffeine intake to 200-300 milligrams.

If you are accustomed to drinking three cups of coffee a day, then now you have to outsmart so that you can survive with just one cup of coffee. The trick, use a coffee cup that is smaller in size so that the amount of coffee you drink is reduced.

2. Drink coffee at the right time

When do you usually drink coffee? Morning, afternoon or evening? Remember, during this time of fasting you cannot drink coffee. You can only drink coffee from the time of breaking the fast until the time of the ruling.

Apart from being a stimulant, coffee is also a diuretic. This results in the production of more urine so that it is at risk of causing dehydration. If you drink coffee at dawn, the thick coffee taste in your mouth can make you thirsty quickly. In addition, it is feared that its diuretic properties can make you dehydrated. Therefore, drinking coffee at dawn is not the right time.

We recommend that you drink coffee an hour or two after breaking the fast. If you drink coffee just after breaking the fast on an empty stomach, your stomach wall can become irritated. So, make sure your stomach is filled with food before drinking coffee.

However, drinking coffee two hours after breaking the fast can be too close to bedtime for some people. If you drink coffee at 8 p.m. and you go to sleep at 10 o'clock, it could be that your sleep cycle is disrupted and you are not sleeping well. Therefore, try not to drink coffee after 8 o'clock at night and don't drink too much.

3. Select the type of coffee

Currently available decaf coffee (also called decaf coffee), which is coffee that contains less caffeine, about 94-98 percent of the caffeine has been removed. You can replace your regular coffee with this type of coffee. The caffeine content of decaf coffee varies depending on the grains used.

Reporting from the Hufftington Post, a 2006 study by experts from the University of Florida revealed that you need to drink 5-10 cups of decaf coffee to experience the same effect as caffeinated coffee in general.