Supplementing with the right nutrients during your intermittent fast will help you improve your athletic performance and gain a competitive advantage at a faster rate. With so many supplements on the market it's hard to know which supplements you can take so you remain in the fasted state. When your body produces an insulin response to ingesting caloric energy, you quickly go from a fasted state to a fed-state, therefore it's important to know which and what type of supplements you can take while fasting to gain the competitive advantage you're looking for. 

Can You Take Supplements While Fasting

Yes, you can, and you should! Getting the proper nutrients during your intermittent fast is paramount to power your performance and optimize your outcomes. Considering the fact that you're in a nutrient and caloric deficit, supplementation to power each aspect of your training (endurance, strength, recovery) is vital. 

You Should Take Supplements During Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting has a number of health-related benefits, such as reducing inflammation, oxidative stress, utilizing body fat for fuel, and increasing autophagy (the cellular self-cleaning process). While intermittent fasting is efficient on its own, introducing supplements to help fuel your performance, can further optimize your results. During your fasted period, your body maintains low insulin levels and switches energy utilization from Glycogen to ketones. Therefore, delivering vital nutrients to fuel your body while maintaining a fasted state, will help you perform better. 

In a fasted-state muscle protein breakdown exceeds muscle protein synthesis, meaning that your body is in a catabolic state. Your body must be in a net positive amino acid balance, in order to build and rebuild lean muscle mass. Therefore proper supplementation is key to your overall performance and goals. 

What Supplements Should You Take While Intermittent Fasting

The key to intermittent fasting is to maintain a fasted-state so that your body can utilize body-fat for fuel as opposed to using the glycogen produced from carbohydrates for energy. Taking supplements during your intermittent fast can help your performance, especially since you're the body is in a nutrient deficit.

RELATED The Quick 1-2-3 Guide On Intermittent Fasting

NOTE: Before we get into the exact supplements to help fuel your athletic performance while in a fasted state, there are a few rules to follow to ensure the supplements you’re taking maintain your fasted state. 

1. Use Unflavored Supplements When You Intermittent Fast

Unflavored supplements guarantee that there is no added sugar or caloric energy for flavoring. Supplements with added flavors will frequently add sugar, which will take you out of the fasted-state since it creates an insulin response. That being said, it's important to read the label to ensure that there is, in fact, no added sugar or calories as a safeguard. All of the products listed in this article are unflavored.

2. Use Clinically Dosed Supplements When You Intermittent Fast

Most supplement companies only sprinkle or underdose the proven ingredients you need, to actually improve your performance and training. It's important to use supplements, that provide the full dose according to clinical trials and research to help improve your performance and training. 

The Best Supplements To Take For Intermittent Fasting Workouts

1. Kre-Alkalyn

Kre-Alkalyn is a patented pH corrected form of creatine phosphate that corrects for the negative side effects typically found with conventional creatine monohydrate

Kre-Alkalyn helps increase your energy supply by generating the production of ATP. The human body uses stores of creatine phosphate during very intense bouts of activity, such as lifting, jumping, and sprinting. With the addition of creatine to support ATP regeneration together, they can support a maximum physical effort since your body can’t depend on the breakdown of carbohydrates, specifically glucose to provide energy since you’re in a fasted state. Kre-Alkalyn is reported to increase the content of creatine phosphate in muscle mass up to 20%¹ Having more creatine phosphate in your muscle cells means more ATP can be rapidly produced during exercise, which can lead to great gains in strength, power, speed and muscle growth.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT Kre-Alkalyn (Unflavored, 100 Servings)

RELATED ARTICLE The Best Form Of Creatine: Kre-Alkalyn vs Creatine Monohydrate

2. Beta-Alanine

Beta-Alanine is one of the best supplements you can take while intermittent fasting. Beta-Alanine is a non-essential beta amino acid, proven to improve muscle endurance by counteracting the development of lactic acid. During high-intensity training, lactic acid produces a burning sensation and causes increased fatigue, resulting in a loss of power and eventually muscle fatigue.

Imagine if you were able to fight fatigue and the time between lactic acid buildup, increasing your time to exhaustion? You could increase your training volume. More training volume, you can improve athletic performance, which means increased strength, more reps, faster times, and boosted endurance. 

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT Beta-Alanine (Unflavored, 100 Servings)

RELATED ARTICLE Beta-Alanine: The Best Supplement For Increasing Muscle Endurance

3. L-Glutamine

L-Glutamine is the most abundant conditionally essential amino acid in the human body, meaning that in certain situations, synthesis (production in the body) can be limited. During intense training periods, your body will actually use and deplete all of its glutamine, which inhibits its function and decreases strength, stamina, and lengthens the recovery period. By supplementing L-Glutamine, you’re therefore ensuring your body has an adequate supply of glutamine stores to maintain a positive protein balance to reduce muscle soreness and protect yourself from workout induced muscle mass breakdown.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT L-Glutamine (Unflavored, 100 Servings)

RELATED ARTICLE L-Glutamine: The Best Supplement For Muscle Recovery And Soreness

4. Citrulline Malate

Citrulline Malate is one of the most impressive supplements you can take, fasted or not. Citrulline Malate is a unique combination of L-Citrulline which is derived from watermelons and malate, which comes from apples.

So why is Citrulline Malate one of the best supplements to take while intermittent fasting? One of the greatest benefits of Citrulline Malate among many is in its proven ability to help delay muscle fatigue, by promoting an increase in aerobic energy production.

A study published in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine found that Citrulline Malate taken daily at a dose of 6g per day reduced muscle fatigue by producing a 34% increase in the rate of oxidative ATP production during exercise. The study also found a 20% increase in the rate of phosphocreatine recovery after exercise, indicating a larger contribution of oxidative ATP synthesis to energy production.² Thus supplementing with Citrulline Malate can help you fight muscle fatigue, due to the increase in ATP production and phosphocreatine release after exercise. When you’re intermittent fasting generating more energy can provide a sustainable impact on your athletic performance.

Not only that, but Citrulline Malate promotes the production of nitric oxide, Nitric Oxide is a vasodilator which widens blood vessels and improves blood flow and circulation to the muscle tissue. With more nutrients delivered to your muscle tissue, your body can recover faster, increase strength and improve endurance.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT Citrulline Malate (Unflavored, 100 Servings)

RELATED ARTICLE Citrulline Malate: 3 Clinically Proven Benefits Of How Citrulline Malate Can Improve Your Training

5. Collagen

The best protein powder to take while intermittent fasting, is Collagen protein. 

Collagen makes up approximately 30% of the total protein in the human body. Collagen is a structural protein that can be found in the joints, ligaments, and tendons. It’s also found in the connective tissues of the human body, which promotes firm, hydrated, and supple skin.

What’s unique to Collagen unlike other proteins, is that Collagen contains a high concentration of four distinct amino acids, that often lack in the modern-day diet; glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and arginine, which help promote protein synthesis, joint health, bone health, and wound healing. 

So why is Collagen Protein the best protein to take while intermittent fasting? Well, Collagen Protein, does not contain any of the other macronutrients and other ingredients (fat, carbohydrates, sugar etc) that most other protein powders have. Even Whey Protein Isolate, which is cross filtered and purified, still has small amounts of fat and carbohydrates, which will take you out of the fasted state.

With Collagen, you can get an extra boost of protein before your fasted workout by adding it to your black coffee in the mornings. Just make sure you use, Unflavored Hydrolyzed Collagen, so that you remain in the fasted state. 

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein (Unflavored, 45 Servings)

RELATED ARTICLE The Ultimate Guide To Collagen Protein - Benefits, Uses

6. EAA & Electrolytes

Intra workout supplements, that contain essential amino aids and electrolytes are perhaps the best supplement you can take in a fasted state. 

Electrolytes can help with intra workout hydration, especially in the morning when you body is depleted of essential minerals like potassium, calcium, chloride, and magnesium. These positively charged ions, help regulate fluid balance, and can improve energy and performance. 

RELATED ARTICLE What Are Essential Amino Acids

Working out in the fasted state, can be catabolic, especially when enduring long physical demands. Essential amino acids known as the building blocks of protein, help facilitate the muscle building process, muscle protein synthesis. Essential amino acids are crucial to build lean muscle mass, and for optimal recovery. 

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT INTRA Advanced EAA + Electrolytes

7. Thermogenics (Fat Burners)

Studies have shown that fat burners are most effective in a fasted-state. 

Fat burners typically through two distinct mechanisms. One, by increasing your internal core temperature and increasing the calorie burning process. And two through fat oxidation, utilizing body fat for energy.

Fat burners have many different mechanisms of action, or ways that they work physiologically in the body. Most clinically proven fat burning ingredients such as green tea, forskolin, and garcinia cambogia, help boost your metabolism, or the energy your body naturally burns at rest. This is also known as increasing your body’s thermal temperature, which is shown to boost the calorie-burning process. This is where the term, “thermogenic” is derived from.

Put simply, calories are just units of energy and your body’s ability to burn calories is known as your basal metabolic rate. By boosting your body’s metabolism, you’re increasing your internal temperature, (also known as the thermal effect). This thermal effect, burns more units of energy (calories), thus resulting in lipolysis or the breakdown of fat cells.

RELATED ARTICLE What Is Thermogensis

Fat burners won’t burn body fat on their own. Fat oxidation is the process by which the body breaks down fats (triglycerides) into smaller molecules, such as free fatty acids and glycerol, which can then be used as a source of energy. This process is an important part of the body's energy and fat metabolism.

Exercise intensity and duration are important determinants of fat oxidation.

Fat burners are beneficial for those that are trying to lose that last 1-2lbs of body fat, that just can’t seem to budge. They are made for those who eat a consistent clean diet, train regularly, and who want to get that last bit of definition or leaner physique, by burning an extra 30-50 calories during their workout.

Fat oxidation is most effective during times of fasting. Therefore, taking a fat burner, and working out in a fasted state is going to give you the best results, when it comes to supplementing a fat burner. 

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT Therm (90 Tablets)

What Supplements To Avoid While Intermittent Fasting

Now that you know what supplements you should take during your intermittent fast to improve performance, what about the supplements you shouldn’t take that can break your fast?

Avoid Supplements With Proprietary Blends

Most pre-workout supplements will contain what’s called a proprietary blend. Proprietary blends let supplement brands list their ingredients, without being required to list the amounts of each ingredient. Therefore, your supplement could, in fact, have very little of the actually proven ingredients you need to fuel your athletic performance, and include ingredients that have no clinical benefit. 

RELATED What Is A Proprietary Blend? 5 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Them At All Costs

Here’s a quick list below of supplements you shouldn’t take during your fast so you can remain in a fasted state.

• Supplements With Proprietary Blends

• Carbohydrate Supplements

• Protein Supplements

• Pre-Workout Supplements

Many of these supplements contain ingredients that have a caloric or nutritional value recognized in the body that stimulates the metabolism and digestion process. This is exactly what you want to avoid during your intermittent fast. 

What Are The Best Supplements For Intermittent Fasting: Takeaway

Can you take supplements during intermittent fasting? Yes! Proper supplementation while in the fasted-state is paramount to obtaining the desired results you want and meeting your athletic aspirations. Keep in mind, however, that in order to derive the benefits of intermittent fasting, you must remain in the fasted state during your workout. Supplement with products that are unflavored, proprietary blend free, and that use clinically dosed and proven ingredients. If you're looking to gain a competitive edge, clock faster times, row harder, sprint faster, lift heavier, and hammer more reps, then optimizing your nutrition is key, especially during your fast, to crush your goals. 

Looking for the best supplements to take during your intermittent fast?

The VELOCITY Stack is the perfect combination to fuel every aspect of your training. Your goal is to perform better, which means recover faster, optimize times, and generate more endurance. VELOCITY takes your training to new heights. Made with clinically dosed and proven ingredients to power performance, your competitive edge just got a little bit bigger. Mix these unflavored products before your training with your favorite flavor to fuel your body and your fitness.  With 100 servings (3-month supply) of each clinically dosed and proven ingredient, you can power your performance and optimize your results. 

SWOLVERINE is an endurance athlete and active lifestyle brand. Made for the elite athlete, and the strong-willed our products were designed to fuel your athletic performance. We perform when you perform. 

We believe that everyone can optimize not only their athletic performance but their human potential. The way we believe we can optimize performance is through transparency, clinically effective doses, and clinically proven ingredients with evidence-based outcomes. We provide the nutrients you need to power your active lifestyle.