Does Chamomile Tea Break a Fast? How, and What to Do!


Tea Facts /

When fasting, we all want to be cautious about breaking the fast. So we then set about questioning what we may or may not be able to consume. One of those questions is does chamomile tea break a fast?

In this article, I’ll answer that, and more chamomile fasting-related questions…

Does chamomile tea break a fast? When brewed authentically, Chamomile tea will not break a fast, as it’s a tisane/herbal infusion. It does have calories and carbs but in a negligible amount and will not break a fast. It’s sugar-free but has a natural sweet-mellow flavor. If you add milk, sugar, or sweeteners it can break your fast.

So that’s the short answer, now let’s head into the weeds a little to understand more about how and when chamomile tea breaks a fast.

Chamomile tea will not break your fast

Chamomile tea does contain calories and carbs, but in negligible quantities, which does not go above the 50 calorie thumb rule when taken as a single serving.

On average as long as you stay under 50 calories your body will remain in a fast state. Chamomile tea is under 50 calories and so will not break your fast.

Below are a few main reasons, why chamomile tea will not break your fast …along with reasons why it can help you with your fasting process.

Its true chamomile tea has some traces of calories. So if that’s making you doubtful of having a cup of chamomile tea while fasting, then here’s what you need to know.

chamomile tea
chamomile tea

Calories in chamomile tea are negligible

Chamomile tea has only 2 calories per cup. So even if you have 10 cups of chamomile tea, you will likely still only consume around 20 calories in total during the fasting period, which will not break your fast. Here’s how many cups of tea you should drink per day.

So for calories in chamomile. As a rule of thumb, you will have to be only under 50 calories to remain in a fasting state.

If you’re still in doubt about this, then remember that the amount of calories from a cup of chamomile tea is the same as the number of calories your saliva can have throughout the fasting period or even the entire day (Yes your saliva has calories!).

So it’s clear that the calories in chamomile tea are pretty negligible. Before we move on, you can learn more about what tea contains in my course…

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Chamomile tea is sugar-free but also naturally sweet and earthy

Chamomile tea is sugar-free when authentically brewed. Sugar can play a major role in adding calories to your diet, this is why people who want to lose weight are advised to reduce their sugar intake.

Fortunately, chamomile tea is sugar-free, so you don’t have to worry about any calories that come with sugar.

This also means that you can have any amount of chamomile tea and not worry about whether or not it’ll break your fast.

Although sugar-free, chamomile is not as tasty as you picture other sugar-free drinks. Chamomile tea has a natural sweet-mellow and earthy taste to it. This makes chamomile tea help a long way in satisfying your sweet cravings while fasting, without adding any calories or breaking your fast.

You might also be concerned about whether chamomile contains caffeine. And also you could check if Herbal tea might stain your teeth.

Chamomile tea contains few carbohydrates

Chamomile tea does contain carbs, about 0.5 grams per cup. This is, of course in negligible amounts and will not break your fast.

Apart from this if you take chamomile tea during your “feeding window”, it can be beneficial.

Firstly there’s no real connection between carbs and fasting. Meaning you can take any amount of carbs within the feeding window.

However, experts suggest a low-carb diet during the feeding window can help you get into a “fasted state” more quickly.

This seems to be more beneficial for a diabetic patient who struggles with weight loss – while intermittent fasting.

This means that while chamomile tea won’t break your fast during the fasting window. And – if you have it during the feeding window, it will also potentially help your body to get into a fasting state quicker.

As such chamomile tea is beneficial while fasting and after you start to fast.

chamomile tea

Chamomile aids restful sleep, making fasting more efficient

Chamomile tea is a calming tea that can help you with inducing sleep.

Although you might not know, there’s a connection between your sleeping pattern and increased efficiency in fasting. 

This is because the bulk of your fasted state will be done while sleeping and it’s what helps your body repair itself towards the goal you’re fasting for.

So getting more sleep …and staying asleep, has been shown to help by taking a cup of chamomile tea while fasting, and should help you with more restful and healthier sleep. This is obviously without taking into account other used drugs.

When will chamomile tea break a fast?

While that’s how chamomile tea will not break your fast “when brewed authentically”. 

Moving away from an authentic brew and doing the following will potentially means that chamomile tea will break your fast.

Adding milk to chamomile tea breaks your fast

As is probably obvious to most of us, many milk products contain calories.

So adding milk to your cup of chamomile – if you don’t like its earthy-mellow flavor – could break your fast.

Even if you add low-fat milk, it still may break your fast.

This is because, a half cup of low-fat milk on average will contain 110 calories, which is well above the 50 calorie thumb rule to remain in a fasted state.

If chamomile flavor is not palatable for you, then try adding
a dash of lemon or a couple of mint leaves.

If not, you can always blend chamomile tea with other calorie-free tea varieties.

But Michael …I really must add sugar!

Ok, ok, but here’s what will happen…

Adding sugar or sweeteners to chamomile tea breaks your fast

Even if chamomile tea is naturally sweet, it may be only up to a subtle sweetness.

So, prolific sugar consumers may find this is just not sweet at all and may want to add sugar or any other sweeteners.

Talking about sugar, it obviously has calories that sure enough will go way above the 50 calorie rule and break your fast.

Are sweeteners an option then? …

Sweeteners can be zero calories. But one thing to keep in mind is that the sweetness generated from sweeteners can instigate an insulin response by the pancreas.

What this response does is to prolong your body’s ability to retain fat longer for energy. 

And as you probably know, the main purpose of fasting is to make the body use stored fat for energy, thereby burning the fat in the body.

So apart from sugar, even adding sweeteners to your chamomile tea will likely cause your body to break your fast by way of reaction.

Also find out if herbal tea stains your teeth, or if honey breaks a fast!

To finish up…

So I hope this has provided an in-depth answer to the question does chamomile tea break a fast. Check out my tea-wares, and be sure to check out my other articles, and elevate your tea skills with my Tea connoisseur course available here.