Does green tea break a fast?
No. Plain green tea is essentially calorie-free and does not break a fast. Adding milk, sugar or honey does.
Brewed tea leaves give you water, caffeine and polyphenols, and almost nothing your body has to process as fuel. That leaves a fasted state intact.
Milk is where this goes wrong for most people. Even a splash carries lactose and protein, and that is enough to count. If you take tea with milk, treat it as inside your eating window rather than during your fast.
A practical note that has nothing to do with fasting: brew green tea below boiling, around 80°C, and steep two to three minutes. Boiling water and long steeps make it bitter, which is why people give up on it.
Green Tea with Lemon
Ingredients
- Green tea — 1 tsp leaves or 1 bag
- Water — 250 ml
- Lemon — a squeeze (optional)
- Fresh ginger — a slice (optional)
Method
- Heat water to just below boiling (around 80°C) — boiling water makes green tea bitter.
- Steep 2–3 minutes only, then remove the leaves.
- Finish with lemon or a slice of ginger. A well-studied source of polyphenols.
General information, not medical advice. Intermittent fasting is not right for everyone. Talk to a clinician before starting if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have or have had an eating disorder, have diabetes, or take prescription medication.