Whether or not you can eat during an MRI depends on the area of the MRI, for example, if you are having an MRI of the liver, you cannot eat. The same applies to MRI of the pancreas, which requires the patient to fast and not eat. For a mediastinal MRI, the patient may eat. Head MRI is also allowed to eat, and spine MRI is allowed to eat and does not require fasting. For an enhanced MRI, a four-hour fast is usually required. In larger hospitals, when a patient makes an appointment for an MRI, the MRI nurse will tell the patient if it is okay to eat.