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When did you eat dinner last night? And breakfast this morning?
For most people, that gap is already around twelve hours. You're fasting already. You just didn't schedule it.
Intermittent fasting gives that gap a structure: a daily eating window, a 5:2 pattern, or a longer fast once a week. It's one of the most talked-about approaches to eating right now, and a whole category of supplements has grown up around it.
In this episode, we look at what's actually happening in your body while you're not eating, why many people hit headaches and flat energy during a fast, and which supplements have research behind them for keeping things steady.
You'll learn:
Supplements can support a fasting pattern that suits you. They can't rescue one that doesn't.
Transcript :
Hey, how's it going? I've got another quick question for you. When did you eat dinner last night, and when did you have breakfast this morning? Do the math. For a lot of people, that gap is already somewhere around 12 hours. You're already fasting, and you just didn't sign up for it. Intermittent fasting takes that idea and gives it a schedule. Eat within a window. Go without food for the rest of the day. 16 hours off, 8 hours on, or 5 days normal, 2 days lighter, or a single long fast once per week. It's become one of the most talked about approaches to eating in the last decade, and alongside it, a whole category of supplements have shown up, promising to make the fasting easier, the energy steadier, and the results faster. Uh. So today I'm going to be asking a practical question: When you're going without food for part of the day, what's actually worth supporting? And what's just marketing that happens to be printed on a pretty label? All right, let's get into it. Here's where it gets interesting. Think of your body like a household running on a schedule. When you eat, food arrives, glucose rises. Insulin responds and your body stores some of that energy for later. A few hours after your last meal, that stored glucose gets used up. Your body starts drawing in glycogen. That's the storm, ah sorry, the stored form of carbohydrate in your liver and muscles. Somewhere in the longer fasting period, your body leans more on fat for fuel. Your liver starts producing ketones, uh which some tissues, including the brain, can use. Everyone's time lag is different here, and how long it takes to shift depends on what you ate, how active you were, and how you're built. But here's the pe- that people miss: the body doesn't just flip a switch like that; it's gradually adjusting the whole time, and that adjustment is where a lot of the discomfort shows up: headaches, irritability. Feeling flat around the time you'd normally eat, and often those are signs of electrolyte balance shifting, not a sign that fasting is failing you. This is the part I wish people heard. When you eat less, your body holds on to less sodium, and insulin usually helps with sodium retention. And when insulin levels drop, your kidneys release more of it. Add a bit of extra fluid loss, and you can end up low on sodium, potassium, and magnesium before you feel anything obvious. That's where people get the headache at 2 p.m. or the pounding heart after a long walk, or those cramps that show up at night. Research suggests that keeping electrolytes in a reasonable range may help people feel more comfortable during fasting windows. Here are the main ones. So sodium, like I just mentioned, often it's the most overlooked. A pinch of salt and water or an electrolyte drink without adding sugar may help, especially if you're training, sweating, or in hot weather. Potassium, so this one supports normal nerve and muscle function. Food sources are fine during an eating window, but a supplement can help fill the gaps there. And one of our faves. Magnesium, so this is involved in hundreds of enzyme reactions and muscle function. Many people already fall short, and fasting can make it harder to reach daily intake through food alone. Uh. If you take one thing away from this episode, make it this: most people who struggle with fasting aren't short on willpower; they're short on salts. Okay. So uh what are the supplements people ask most about? So we've covered electrolyte powders and tablets. So the sweet spot is a product with sodium, potassium, and magnesium. No sugar or very little. Always read that label and plenty of electrolyte products are basically a sugar drink with a flavor. So you want to stay away from those ones. Uh. Magnesium glycinate. So glycinate is well. Absorb form. The glycine part adds a calming effect that some people like in the evening. Research suggests magnesium may support sleep quality and muscle relaxation. That matters during fasting because sleep is often the first thing to suffer when you're running on less food. Ask any bodybuilding competitor when they're like doing um that lead up to their show. Uh. B vitamins. Uh. So these help your body turn food into usable energy. During a fasting window, you're not eating, so you're getting fewer of them. Our research here indicates B vitamins may support that energy metabolism and nervous system function. A B complex is a sensible option, especially if you're eating less overall. Uh. One thing that I can't live without is. Protein powder, uh so not a fasting supplement in a strict sense, but a practical one. When you're eating in a shorter window, you need to fit in enough protein to protect muscle, especially if you're training. Protein powder makes that much easier to hit those macro goals. Uh. Next on my list here, we've got omega-3 fish oil. So your body doesn't make EPA and DHA, so you need to get them from food or supplements. Research here suggests omega-3s may support healthy heart, healthy inflammatory balance, and taking them with your eating window meal is a simple way to keep them consistent. Uh. Next one we haven't talked about much uh on the podcast is MCT oil. Uh. So here is a warning though uh because this one does get oversold. MCT oil is a fat that's processed quickly by the liver. Some people add it to coffee to feel full. Or steady during a fast, but it does contain calories. So if your goal is a strict fast, it breaks it. If your goal is a flexible eating pattern, it may be a useful tool. Um. Just know which one you're doing. And last but not least is ketone supplements. So these are everywhere. Um. Some people use them to try and feel like they're in ketosis without the diet. Uh. The research is still developing on these ones and the results aren't consistent. I wouldn't spend money on these expecting major changes, um but if you try one, treat it as an experiment and not a shortcut. Here's the honest bit: supplements, as always, don't fix a fasting schedule that doesn't suit you. The things that make the biggest difference tend to be boring. Ha, eating. Uh. Enough in your window, not just cramming in a few big meals, getting roughly a quarter to a third of your plate as protein, uh drinking enough water and salting your food, sleeping properly properly sorry because hunger hormones and recovery both suffer on a short night, uh and choose a window you can actually keep up for months, not just the one that looks good on social media. If you're fasting for 16 hours but spending the other 8 eating chips and skipping vegetables, no supplement is gonna save you. Um. So this isn't a free-for-all and it's not for everybody. If you have a history of disordered eating or you find fasting is pulling you into a tighter and tighter rules around food, you should step back from this one. Fasting isn't a good fit for every relationship with food. And nothing in a supplement is going to change that. Uh. Also if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, managing diabetes or taking medication that affects blood sugar or blood pressure, definitely check out with your doctor before you change into an eating pattern like this. Electrolyte and supplement changes can interact with those medications too. You feel dizzy, faint, unwell, or your heart is racing, stop and definitely get checked. Don't grit through the pain. Um. All right. Well, I think that is a little bit about intermittent fasting and some supplementation. Uh. Just remember your body is already doing this every night. Uh. Just the question is whether you're giving it what it needs while it does. Uh. So always remember to stay curious, stay consistent, and definitely good luck out there.