Does Kombucha Break a Fast?

Yes, kombucha will always break a fast. Here’s the best time to drink kombucha while Intermittent Fasting.

Does Kombucha Break a Fast?

Kombucha is a fermented tea product. In order to ferment tea, adding sugar into the mix is essential. This provides fuel for bacteria to kickstart the fermentation process. For this reason, 16 oz. of kombucha contains around 12 grams of sugar. This sugar can come from a variety of sources, but some common ingredients include fruit juices (such as kiwi juice) or cane sugar.

While Intermittent Fasting, anything that causes the storing hormone insulin to be secreted by the body will break a fast. Sugar is the biggest driver of the release of insulin. Because kombucha inherently contains sugar for the fermentation process, it will break a fast. Not to mention, kombucha will also have varying levels of alcohol (again, from the fermentation process). Some kombucha comes in a “hard” option, where the alcohol content hovers around 3%. Most kombucha will have very low alcohol levels, but alcohol will also break a fast, making kombucha not a great option during the fasted state.

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When Should You Drink Kombucha With Intermittent Fasting?

If you love kombucha and the probiotic perks it offers, you’ll want to stick with kombucha during the eating window so that it won’t break your fast. Ideally, it’s important to first break a fast with a protein, fat and fiber rich meal (like THIS free recipe) to help ease the transition from a fasted to a fed state. Then have the kombucha.

Particularly if weight loss is your goal with Intermittent Fasting, it’s crucial to not greatly spike the storing hormone insulin. Insulin shuts off the fat burning process in the body called lipolysis. The greater the spike in insulin, the great the effect it will have on shutting off the fat burning process. Starting off the eating window with a protein, fat and fiber rich meal vs. breaking a fast with kombucha (which lacks all three), will help to slow the release of the sugars from the kombucha into the body, so as not to greatly spike the storing hormone insulin.