Drink Chicory with your coffee - so easy to add it whilst making up regular coffee in a filter or by adding a spoonful of powdered chicory after instant coffee is made, or you can buy it ready mixed 60/40 coffee/chicory (make as instant coffee).

Chicory neutralizes the effects coffee/caffeine have on the stomach, the liver and spleen.....

Amazon link for coffee/chicory here and link for pure ground chicory (for filters) here.

p.s. Chicory is high in magnesium......

Can I ask what's the big deal about having coffee in your stomach in terms of pH when your stomach produces hydrochloric acid that is so strong you have to rinse your mouth out after vomiting for fear the stomach acid will eat the enamel on your teeth?

I'm betting it's the tannins that irritate the stomach, not the acid.

You could neutralise the acid by taking a magnesium supplement, but I suspect that it might well be the tannins that are aggravating the stomach rather than the slight increase in stomach acid. This is why milk is so effective at making coffee/tea/cocoa palatable- because of binding with the tannins. If I take a pro-plus (caffeine pill, no tannins) or an energy drink, then I might (though rarely) experience a slight increase in appetite from increase stomach acid, but typically nothing; whereas strong tea or coffee is obviously somewhat astringent.

I assume you're IF-ing for metabolic rather than dogmatic reasons. I follow the same protocol 5 days a week and drink coffee every morning. I sometimes drop a dollop of concentrated coconut cream or oil in my espresso. My feeling is that, sure, technically it's not a "fast", but the insulin response to the coconut would be small and short-lived. Calorically, I don't care, and it's not protein, so the benefits of autophagy might still apply.

At the end of the day (actually...the beginning), I've consumed close to nothing for 16 - 18 hours, am leaning out, feel great, and enjoy a cup or two of amazing coffee.

I'll save the technicalities of fasting for Ramadan (which I've followed more than once, I should add).

We also have a daily morning Nespresso (love the machine/pods). Are you drinking lungo coffees, and which varieties are you trying? We typically have a double-espresso, and have found two things.

1) Since using cinnamon as the only sweetener, the coffee is much less upsetting to our stomach. Milk/cream has much the same effect as a stronger sweetener.

2) The less intense Nespresso varieties are easier on our stomach (i.e. using a Cosi rather than a Ristretto). We prefer the flavor of the latter, though.

A friend of mine has terrible difficulty drinking coffee at ANY time during the day, it just tears her stomach up. Here's what she does: "I use a PH increaser... its sodium chlorite.. there are different brands with different strengths- what I use is NaCIO2- 5% I use about 4-6 drops in my coffee. works like a charm..there are alot of "do it and do not do it" type of literature out there. but it works for me, and my skin is better!" Hope this helps! She also frequents this site so perhaps she'll chime in with some more info.

It is in my personal experience that eating a small piece of VERY dark chocolate gets rid of any burn. I was fighting similar issues, but I attributed it to the quality of coffee. You may try switching to a lighter roast, or change the extraction method. Espresso is harder on your stomach than, say, a french press or pour-over method due to the variances temperature and grind size has on the final product. Standard drip being the second harshest only to percolating.

Edit:: Cold Pressed coffee is very mellow. It's how the better iced coffee drinks are made. The inventor of the method was looking for a low acid coffee because regular coffee made him uncomfortable. [link text]toddycafe.com1

meanwhile: if you ALWAYS fast 16-18 hours per day, why do you call it "intermittent*"? or did you mean that WHEN you fast on a certain day, you fast 16-18 hours. The whole idea of intermittent fasting is - in my opinion - to mimic the intermittent occurrence of finding no food by the cave man. *(occurring occasionally or at regular or irregular intervals)

I'm sorry, but I just feel like if you're "fasting", are "quasi-fasting", then drink water -- not coffee (although the chicory comment is sound). Coffee's Ph is just so harsh on the adrenal system when it goes unbuffered, all you're doing is forcing your body to pump adrenaline, how is that a "rest" for your organs, body, bloodstream?

I, like you, fast around the same period most days skipping breakfast. I also enjoy black coffee throughout most days. I find coffee has a slight laxative effect when I drink it on an "empty" stomach in the morning, I am sure to be visited by the toilet fairy shortly after. I actually like this, it's like it cleans me out. Wow, the sounds graphic. Anyway - I don't see any issue with it, although I note it's affects me much more on an empty stomach and I end up feeling like I'm on amphetamines. Still, it's harmless fun and if you're IFing to lose fat, I'd say coffee-a-go-go, just probably drop the cream until after breakfast.

Coffee is also great before a workout, seems to lower your perception of effort.