Although it might come with little discomfort, fast is highly beneficial to the body. Fast if done appropriately can reduce your weight, and eliminate the risk of some metabolic diseases such as cardiac arrest and type 2 diabetes.
Not all fast requires total abstinence from food. Some fast permits you to drink or eat provided that you didn’t exceed specific calories.
Therefore, you must beware of the types of drink or food during this period to avoid going off the grid.
However, is drinking green tea appropriate while fasting? Worry no more, you will get to discover whether it can break your fast or not in a jiffy. Just read on!
Type of Fasting
There are different types of fasting. But the most common one is intermittent fasting. During intermittent fasting, you choose when to eat and when to fast.
Moreover, there are different ways to do this type of fast. But the most common ones are:
Alternate day fasting – This involves an alternation between the period of fast and non-fast. It can be done in two ways.
- The first is called complete alternate day fasting. During this period of fasting, you go without eating or drinking anything, be it low or high calories.
- The second type is called moderate alternate day fasting. And during this period of fasting, you can eat or drink but you can consume more than 25% calories.
A whole day fasting – This is when you fast on a particular weekday. For instance, you can fast on Monday and decide not to on Tuesday. Fortunately, during the fasting day, you can take food or drink with calories not greater than 700.
Time-restricted fasting is when you choose to eat for some hours and fast for some hours in a day.
Can You Drink Green Tea While Fasting?
The question of whether green tea can break a fast or not depends on the type of fast you are fasting.
If you are engaging in the type of fasting that completely banishes the intake of drink regardless of the calorie, of course, there is nothing more to say than YES.
But if you are on the type of fast like a whole day fasting or moderate alternate day fasting that permit you to take a certain amount of calorie, then the answer is NO! Why?
To break a fast, you must have consumed greater than 50 calories. And one 8oz cup of green tea contains just 2 calories. Therefore, taking a cup or two is not enough to break your fast.
Meanwhile, there are many ways by which you can increase the number of calories in your green tea. This can be achieved by adding substances like sugar, milk, honey, etc.
For instance, green tea with milk and sugar will give you up to 70 calories in an 8 oz cup. This of course goes beyond the rule and will automatically break your intermittent fast. Besides…
What variety of green tea is safe during fasting?
Although the amount of calories in green tea varies from type to type, and brand to brand, there is no variety of such that contain more than 5 calories per cup.
So, starting from matcha, hojicha, gyokuro to sencha, no variety of green tea can break your fast if you don’t add any high-calorie substances to it. You may also want to ask…
How can I drink green tea while fasting?
Well, there is no way you drink it that is not good. Brew it as usual and sip your heart out. You should just remember that it is the fasting period, and you have little or nothing in your stomach.
So, beware of how much you drink to prevent its side effect.
Health Benefits of Drinking Green Tea During Fast
You may be thinking that the only benefit green tea can offer you during fasting is weight reduction. Unfortunately, you are wrong! Green tea can:
1. Suppress hunger and appetite
Weird, isn’t it? That’s what you get when you drink green tea while fasting. Green tea when consumed triggers the release of a hormone called, CCK which suppresses appetite.
Besides, the presence of L-theanine in green tea makes it very easy to increase the production of dopamine in the body, thereby reducing your craving for food.
Green tea also contains caffeine though in mild quantity. This provides the energy needed during your intermittent fasting.
2. Calm the body
I understand how the body feels during fasting. That weird stress feeling! Of course, you are not alone. But a cup of green tea will help calm your body, thanks again to the L-theanine in it.
3. Prevent bad breath
Since its fasting period, you have to abstain from your usual eating habit, which can trigger bad breath. However, a consistent intake of green tea will keep your mouth busy, hence preventing bad breath.
Besides, the polyphenols in green tea help retard bacteria growth, causing bad breath in the mouth.
4. Improve cognitive performance
No matter how little it may be, without a doubt, fasting can make one look dull and haggard. So, during this period, you need something that will make your brain function properly so you will be active and stay alert.
This is what you get when you drink green tea because it contains caffeine which helps to stimulate the body.
5. Detoxify the body
Research has revealed that green tea is a diuretic. And a diuretic is known for detoxifying the body through the expulsion of urine. Not only that but the catechins in green tea also make it a great detoxifier.
Other benefits include; regulation of blood sugar level, prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and a lot more.
The Side Effects
Green tea comes with its side effects. But these side effects are not common if you don’t drink tea excessively. When you drink it excessively, you may suffer from diarrhea, constipation, chest burn, dizziness, headache, low iron absorption, and lots more.
To prevent this occurrence, ensure you limit your intake to two to three cups per day (these cannot break your fast).
Final Thoughts
Green tea alone cannot break your fast. Green tea can only break your fast if you add honey, milk, or sugar to it.
That said if you must drink green tea while fasting, ensure you exercise precautions to prevent its side effects. So from henceforth, nothing should stop you from sipping your green tea while fasting.
