Video | Methods & Materials | What Breaks a Fast? | Hypothesis | Ketone Results | Glucose Results | Conclusion

You guys asked, “Will Ghee break a fast?” so we ran the tests!

We spent two hours testing the effect that coffee with ghee would have on our blood ketones and glucose readings.

These painful moments pricking our fingers are for you!

Definitive Test Round 2! Will Keto Coffee, Coconut Oil, or Ghee Break Your Fast? We Ran The Tests [Video]

Becky:

We got some questions about ghee, which is clarified butter.

We have tested regular butter before, but you never know until you test it.

Methods and Materials

We stuck to using the scientific method. This means we:

1. Came up with our hypothesis
2. Tested our hypothesis
3. Analyzed the results
4. Drew our conclusions

Keith:

The materials we used we’re a precision Xtra blood ketone and glucose monitor.

You’ve seen it before. We have our ketone strips, glucose strips, and our mugs of coffee out along with all of our testing ingredients!

Becky:

For this test, we practiced 16:8 intermittent fasting. So we stopped eating at 8 p.m. the night before.

We did not exercise, we did not take supplements or anything like that, during our fast.

Keith:

Our experiments all lasted two hours.

So we took our readings initially at zero minutes, then again at 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 120 minutes.

What Breaks a Fast?

Keith:

We should mention that we decided an intermittent fast will be broken if the items added to our coffee cause a significant increase in our glucose readings.

That is because, if you have a spike in glucose, you are going to have a spike in insulin. This spike in insulin will shut down fat burning.

Becky:

Right. So we’ve talked about that in different videos and blog posts.

Basically, how it works, is insulin is your “fat-storing hormone”. If insulin is high, your body is in fat-storing mode and not in fat-burning mode.

Coffee With Ghee: Hypothesis

Keith:

So we hypothesize that:

If we drink coffee with ghee while intermittent fasting it will not knock us out of ketosis or spike our blood glucose.

So we drank 16 ounces of coffee mixed with 1 tbsp of ghee, and then tested our blood throughout the morning.

It didn’t taste that great.

Becky:

It wasn’t great, but it grew on me.

Keith:

Yeah, all right.

Coffee With Ghee: Ketone Readings

Becky:

So let’s take a look at what happened to our ketones after we drank coffee with ghee.

Keith:

So, this is pretty interesting.

Becky’s ketones actually started at 1.2 mmol/L and went up slightly at 30 minutes to 1.4 mmol/L.

Then she was at 1.2 mmol/L at 120 minutes. Basically, your ketones within two hours didn’t change at all.

Becky:

Right.

Whereas before, during a lot of the other tests we did, my ketones would often go up.

Keith:

Yeah, no matter what.

So, my ketone readings were really surprising.

I started at 0.4 mmol/L. It is not unusual for me to not be in ketosis that first part of the morning.

But after two hours my ketones went down.

They went down to 0.3 mmol/L at 30 minutes and 60 minutes, and then to 0.2 mmol/L at two hours.

Yeah, I’ve never had a drop like that with anything that we tested.

Becky:

Even butter?

Keith:

Yeah. Maybe I had a little bit of a drop with coffee alone when we tested that.

However, with butter, my ketones actually went up.

Becky:

So with butter, your ketones went up and with ghee, your ketones went down.

Coffee With Ghee: Glucose Readings

Keith:

So for glucose readings, Becky started at 101 mg/dL and ended at 94 mg/dL after two hours.

So you had a little bit of a decrease there.

Also, that was actually your highest starting point.

I started 106 mg/dL went up a little bit to 107 mg/dL at 30 minutes and 60 minutes, and back to 102 mg/dL at two hours.

So, still over 100 mg/dL, which is unusual for me.

Conclusion: Will Coffee With Ghee Break a Fast?

Becky:

So our conclusion. Will ghee knock you out of ketosis?

Keith:

It might, but it is inconclusive.

It did lower my ketones, but I wasn’t in ketosis specifically.

Becky:

Right.

Keith:

You stayed the same, and it did not knock you out of ketosis. So, I don’t know. it’s pretty inconclusive.

Also, I’m not a fan of ghee in my coffee?

Becky:

Another one that is in the “drinker beware” category.

Will it cause a rise in your blood glucose?

Keith:

It doesn’t seem to, but that was pretty questionable.

It pretty much flatlined our blood glucose and didn’t change much.

CONCLUSION: GHEE IN COFFEE

Becky: So would we say that ghee will break your intermittent fast?

Keith: Again, I think that that is inconclusive.

However, if you would like to use ghee in your coffee, do your own tests, and see how it affects you.

You didn’t mind the flavor, but I didn’t care for the flavor of it. With that said, I would not use it anyways because of the taste.

All right we hope this helps to give you some ideas of what you can use while your intermittent fasting. We will have more testing in the future.

Let us know what you would like us to test and we’ll go from there, but first, we will let our fingers heal!

Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel for more testing videos in the future!

What Breaks a Fast? Our Other Tests

• Will Coffee Break Intermittent Fasting?
• Will Cream, MCT Oil, or Butter Break My Fast?
• Will Keto (Bullet-Proof) Coffee Break Intermittent Fasting?
• Can I Have Cream in Coffee When Fasting?

About the Authors

Dr. Becky Gillaspy, DC graduated Summa Cum Laude with research honors from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1991.

Dr. Keith Gillaspy, DC, CFMP grew up in central Nebraska and earned his Doctor of Chiropractic in 1991 from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.