Chamomile tea has been noted to have a variety of studied benefits ranging from improved sleep quality to better blood sugar control (1,2). Because it naturally doesn’t contain caffeine, it’s also a great tea to be sipping on at any time of the day. But what about during your Intermittent Fast? Does chamomile tea break a fast?
Let’s dive into it.
Does Chamomile Tea Break a Fast?
Whether or not something breaks a fast depends on your goal with Intermittent Fasting. The two main goals with Intermittent Fasting can be boiled down to gut health or weight loss (or both).
From a gut health perspective, chamomile tea doesn’t contain enough nutrients to block the gut healing process of Intermittent Fasting, called the Migrating Motor Complex (MMC). And because chamomile tea doesn’t have any caffeine, you can feel free to sip on this at any time of day during your fasting period while still working toward a gut health goal.
From a fat burning/weight loss perspective, chamomile tea does not contain enough protein or carbohydrates that will spike the storing hormone insulin. This means that by drinking chamomile tea during your Intermittent Fast, you will not turn off fat burning and therefore still reap the benefits of fat burning during the fast. However, it’s important to note that this assumes you’re having only pure chamomile tea without anything added to it. So if you’re looking to maximize for both gut health and weight loss, it’s important to stick to just chamomile tea without any additives, like honey or sugar.
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The 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program
The 21 Day Intermittent Fasting Program provides step-by-step strategies to help you use Intermittent Fasting with delicious, protein-packed meals to support fat loss, reduce hunger, and boost gut health.
