There are many ways to use garlic. Most people are familiar with adding garlic into meals and recipes, however it can also be taken as a supplement for immune health. If you're following Intermittent Fasting, you likely already know that eating a meal containing garlic will break your fast (not because of the garlic itself, but because you're eating). But what about taking garlic on it's own? Will garlic break a fast?
Does Garlic Break a Fast?
Have you ever taken raw garlic on an empty stomach? I have and it was not an experience I would like to repeat. Putting whether or not garlic breaks a fast to the side, taking raw garlic on an empty stomach can cause significant GI distress and queasiness. So if you're planning on taking raw garlic to help recover from a cold, you might want to wait until you've had a little something to eat.
But assuming you have taken raw garlic on an empty stomach in the past and you still want to do it in the future... will it break your Intermittent Fast?
If you're following a "true fast" then anything other than water, electrolytes, black coffee and unsweetened tea will break a fast. However, if you're following a fasting mimicking approach (something I often recommend in the Complete Intermittent Fasting Bundle), then you have a bit more flexibility with what you can have during the fast.
With the fasting mimicking approach, I like to stick to the "One Gram Rule". This means only consuming food/drink that contains less than one total gram of carbohydrates or protein combined. Because both protein and carbohydrates have the potential to raise the storing hormone insulin (and therefore break a fast), these need to be limited during the fasting state.
So if something contains .7 grams carbs and .9 grams protein, then this adds up to 1.6 grams of carbs and protein combined and therefore would break a fast. However, if something contains .1 gram carbs and .1 gram protein, then you're looking at a total of .2 grams carbs and protein combined and therefore would not break a fast. This isn't a hard and set rule, as some people will be able to have slightly more than one gram of protein/carbs without breaking a fast. However, I prefer to err on the side of safety and stick to one total gram.
One clove of garlic has around .9 gram carbs and .2 grams protein. This means it totals at just about 1.1 grams of protein and carbs combined. So if we're sticking to the One Gram Rule, then one clove of garlic will break a fast.
But it's honestly for the better. Trust me, you don't want to take garlic on an empty stomach.🤢
Psssst... curious how long YOUR Intermittent Fast should be? Take my FREE Intermittent Fasting Schedule Quiz by clicking the button below!
Unlock the Intermittent Fasting tips, meal plans and recipes that have helped thousands of men and women around the world with the Complete Intermittent Fasting Bundle!
100+ recipes, 8 weeks of meal planning, science-backed Intermittent Fasting tips and so much more!
Head over HERE to get started!
❤️ Autumn
Autumn Elle Nutrition
Comments