Does Vitamin C Break a Fast?

Most of the time, vitamin C will not break a fast. However, certain brands will. Here’s what you need to know.

With cold and flu season officially here, you might be upping your daily vitamin C intake to help boost your immune system. But when’s the best time to take vitamin C while Intermittent Fasting and will it break a fast? Let’s dive into it.

Does Vitamin C Break a Fast?

Whether or not something breaks a fast depends on your goal with Intermittent Fasting. If you’re looking for the gut health perks of Intermittent Fasting, then anything other than water and electrolytes will likely break a fast. However, if you’re looking to achieve a weight loss goal, then anything that causes insulin (the storing hormone) to spike will break a fast.

Assuming that we’re talking about pure vitamin C (meaning, not in gummy or sugary powder form), then this won’t break a fast. Because vitamin C doesn’t contain any protein or carbs that could spike insulin, the body stays in a fat burning state during the fast. However, if you take vitamin C in a gummy form or if your supplement contains any sugar or protein (always check the label!), then this will break a fast.

BUT – just because vitamin C won’t break a fast doesn’t mean you should take it during the fast.

Related: Does Fish Oil Break a Fast?

Vitamin C has been known to cause some GI distress and feelings of nausea when taken on an empty stomach. This isn’t necessarily the case for every person, but it’s common enough that it should be considered. So when looking to take vitamin C with Intermittent Fasting, you might want to consider saving it for your eating window to help prevent uncomfortable nausea or GI distress.