When you first start your Intermittent Fasting journey, it can be understandably confusing. Can you drink water? What about coffee? Does artificial sweetener count?? But as you dive further into the Complete Intermittent Fasting Bundle protocols, you start creating your lifestyle and schedule that incorporates Intermittent Fasting and the foods that promote your goals easily.
That is until one day you're brushing your teeth and you suddenly think... what about TOOTHPASTE?! Does TOOTHPASTE break your fast?😱😱😱
Today, I'm diving into the details of whether or not toothpaste breaks your fast!
What's In Toothpaste?
Depending on the brand, this answer can vary widely. Standard brands of toothpaste will have various fillers, chemicals and sometimes sugar alcohols while more natural mom-and-pop brands will use ingredients such as coconut oil as the base. Generally speaking, it would work against the goals of preventing cavities by adding sugar to toothpaste - so it is unlikely that any toothpaste brand contains sugar. (a mini win!)
Does Toothpaste Break Your Fast?
In other words - can you brush your teeth during Intermittent Fasting? It depends on your goals with Intermittent Fasting. If it is for religious purposes, then it is possible that toothpaste would be considered a break in the fast. Any food, drink and sometimes even water will do that. However, if your goal with Intermittent Fasting is to stabilize blood glucose levels and reducing the insulin (fat storing hormone) response in order to tap into fat burning mechanisms, then toothpaste will likely not break your fast. Even if you did swallow a very small amount of toothpaste, the effect on insulin and blood glucose levels is not even measurable. This means that toothpaste will likely not cause an insulin response that will break your fast and cause your body to shift out of fat burning mode.
Next time you brush your teeth, you can breath a little easier knowing toothpaste won't break your fast. Just make sure you don't eat a tube of toothpaste 😉
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Your Nutritionist,
Autumn
Autumn Elle Nutrition
I am intermittent fasting for over 6 months now and have found that toothpaste does break my fast and mess with my glucose levels. I had to try many different brands to finally find one that was clean from any added sugars or things of a like nature. I know it will not be the same for everyone, but it was for me and I have seen a huge change since changing to a clean toothpaste.