Yes, oat milk will most definitely break your fast. But there are other options you can have instead. Here’s what you need to know.
Does Oat Milk Break a Fast?
Whether you’re plant-based or just don’t really like the taste of regular dairy milk, there are a variety of reasons why you might choose a plant-based milk option such as oat milk.
Whatever your reason might be, will your daily dose of oat milk break your Intermittent Fast?
When determining whether or not something will break a fast, you want to hone in on the net grams carbs and protein numbers.
Both protein and carbs can spike the storing hormone insulin. When insulin gets spiked, this throws the body out of the state of fat burning and will break a fast.
Taking a look at one of the more common oat milk brands, one cup contains:
- 5 grams of fat
- 16 grams of carbohydrates
- 2 grams of fiber
- 3 grams of protein
So how much protein/carbs should you be sticking to during the fast?
There’s not a specific number of grams that will apply to every single person. However, as a good rule of thumb I recommend the “one gram rule” in the Complete Intermittent Fasting Bundle. This means having no more than a combined one gram of protein and/or carbs.
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Assuming you’re using one cup of oat milk for a latte during your fast, you’re coming well over that 1 gram rule. Even if you just stick to 1 oz. of oat milk to splash in your morning cup of coffee, you’re still totaling at about 2 grams of carbs and protein combined.
This means that unless you’re using the tiniest splash of oat milk in your coffee (around a few teaspoons), then it will break the one gram rule and therefore break a fast.
However, there are better dairy-free milk options that you can use during your fast and have a bit more flexibility with the amount you can add in: unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened coconut milk and even Nutpods are all much better choices to use in your coffee while Intermittent Fasting. However, the amount still matter, so you can checkout my articles on almond milk and coconut milk for further details.
