Can You Drink Herbal Tea While Fasting? The Perimenopause Edition

For many women navigating the shifts of perimenopause, fasting isn’t just about weight or wellness but mostly about finding control in a body that sometimes feels like it’s rewriting its own rules.

Intermittent fasting, in particular, is a way to gain control, structure, clarity, and a renewed sense of balance for women looking to support their changing metabolism and energy levels. But this  fasting journey often starts with a thousand questions. One of the most common: Can you drink herbal tea while fasting? While the answer is yes, not all herbal teas are created equal, and not all of them will work in your favour. If you choose the right kind of herbal tea, it can enhance the benefits of your fast.

Let’s talk about how Umri, our functional herbal drink, can support your body through fasting and become your fasting buddy and new best friend. Especially if you’re in your perimenopause phase.

What Intermittent Fasting Does to Your Body

Intermittent fasting is a structured eating pattern (not diet) that cycles between periods of eating and fasting. Popular formats include:

• 16:8 – Fasting for 16 hours, eating within an 8-hour window
• 14:10 – A slightly gentler version of the above
• 5:2 – Five days of regular eating, two non-consecutive days of limited calories
• OMAD (One Meal a Day) – A more advanced, condensed approach

By alternating periods of eating and fasting, the body is given time to reset, reduce insulin levels and inflammation, burn fat more efficiently, and regulate internal processes that often become imbalanced during perimenopause. The reduced eating window can naturally lower calorie intake. But more importantly, it trains the body to become “metabolically flexible,” that is, able to  use both glucose and fat as sources of energy.

But there’s a catch. If you’re not nourishing yourself properly during these fasting windows, you could feel drained, foggy, or irritable–or all three. These are signs that your body is asking for clarity and support. And Umri is just the support you need.

So, Can You Drink Herbal Tea While Fasting?

Yes, you can. Herbal teas, when truly herbal and calorie-free, do not spike insulin or interfere with the metabolic benefits of fasting. Meaning they won’t break your fast. They can:

• Curb hunger
• Soothe digestion (crucial during fasting)
• Balance energy (without caffeine crashes)
• Support hydration

The right kind of herbal tea can serve as a bridge between fasting hours, making the experience more sustainable and much more supportive of your body’s needs. However, not all herbal drinks are created equal. Some are loaded with added sugars, artificial flavours, or hidden calories. Others are bland, ineffective, or too weak to offer any actual benefit beyond hydration.

This is where a clean, functional herbal tea like Umri steps in to actively support your body while you fast. Umri is nutrient-rich and crafted specifically with women’s hormonal needs in mind.

Keep reading to find out how Umri can fit into your fasting lifestyle.

Why Umri Works For You During Fasting

Formulated with a unique blend of herbal and nutrient-rich ingredients, Umri is designed to support the body’s key systems, energy, metabolism, and digestion, especially during the fasting window when your body is recalibrating itself.

So, what exactly is inside Umri? 

• Pomegranate juice: High in polyphenols and antioxidants, supporting cellular repair and inflammation reduction.
• Ashwagandha: An adaptogen known for regulating cortisol, supporting adrenal balance, and aiding metabolic stability.
• Baobab: A natural source of vitamin C, prebiotic fibre, and hydration-supporting 
  minerals.
• Black Pepper: A digestive aid that reduces inflammation and eases gut tension.
• Apple cider vinegar (ACV): Known for improving insulin sensitivity, aiding in digestion, and supporting microbial balance in the gut.
• Magnesium: A mineral that aids energy production, nervous system regulation, and smooth muscle relaxation in the gut.
  

These ingredients are not just selected for how they actively improve your fasting experience. By supporting your body, rather than forcing it to push through.

1. Sustained Energy Without Caffeine or Sugar

One of the most common frustrations during a fast is fatigue, especially mid-morning. Without food, many women experience dips in energy that make it harder to focus or function. Usually, the instinct is to reach for caffeine or sugar, but that creates a cycle of spikes and crashes.

Umri takes a more balanced approach.

The inclusion of ashwagandha is a strategic choice. This adaptogen has been shown to reduce levels of cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. When cortisol is chronically elevated, energy becomes harder to regulate. You feel tired, or worse, drained and irritable. By gently lowering cortisol, ashwagandha allows the body to stabilise its natural rhythms. Combined with magnesium, which supports cellular energy production and helps regulate muscle and nerve function, Umri helps you feel more awake without overstimulation.

And because it contains no caffeine, there's no risk of energy spikes followed by the inevitable crash. The result is a more grounded, consistent energy flow that carries you through the fasting period.

2. Supporting Metabolism

Intermittent fasting is often used as a way to reset the body’s metabolic patterns, and for women in perimenopause, this can be especially helpful. As estrogen levels decrease, the body tends to become more insulin resistant, and fat storage increases, particularly around the abdomen.

Fasting helps correct this, but it only works well when the body isn’t in a heightened stress state. 

The Umri effect:

Ashwagandha, again, plays a central role. By reducing cortisol, it removes a major barrier to metabolic function. High cortisol has been linked to both belly fat accumulation and reduced insulin sensitivity. Bringing it down can help re-sensitize cells to insulin and support fat oxidation.

Apple cider vinegar also plays a role. It regulates blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity. Taken during a fast, even in small doses like those present in Umri, it can support better blood sugar control throughout the day and reduce cravings when the eating window begins.

Together, these ingredients form a metabolic support system to help your body burn more cleanly, respond to insulin more efficiently, and stay balanced.

3. Gut Health and Digestion

When you fast, your digestive system slows down. This is intentional—it’s part of the rest-and repair cycle. But for many women, especially those who already experience slower digestion due to hormonal changes, that pause can turn into bloating, cramping, or constipation.

Umri includes ingredients that support digestion without activating digestion, meaning they won’t break your fast, but they will keep your gut functional and comfortable.

Let’s start with apple cider vinegar. ACV helps increase stomach acidity, which supports the breakdown of food and improves the gut’s microbial balance. Even in small amounts, it is known to reduce bloating and support smoother digestion. During fasting, it primes the gut gently, helping prevent discomfort when eating resumes.

Then there’s magnesium, which plays a quiet but crucial role. Magnesium helps relax the 
muscles in the digestive tract, promoting smoother bowel movements and preventing the tightness or sluggishness that can come with longer fasts. Many women are unknowingly deficient in magnesium, especially during perimenopause, which can amplify issues like constipation or cramping.

Lastly, ginger brings its digestive prowess to the formula. It reduces inflammation in the gut lining, helping to keep things moving, even when food intake is on pause.

4. Hydration That Feels Like Nourishment

Staying hydrated is essential during fasting, but plain water can feel monotonous. Many 
flavoured beverages are off-limits because of sweeteners, calories, or artificial additives. Umri was crafted to provide not just hydration, but hydration that is healthy and also tastes good.

Thanks to the high vitamin C and electrolyte content in Baobab, it helps maintain fluid balance. It supports collagen production and keeps skin, joints, and tissues supple and hydrated. Paired with magnesium, which also helps retain hydration on a cellular level, Umri gives your body tools to stay hydrated.

How to Use Umri In Your Fasting Routine

Umri can be used at any point during your fasting window, but here are a few suggestions for timing:

• Start of Fast (evening): Sip Umri to help ease into your fast. The ashwagandha blend can help calm your system before bed and support overnight repair.
• Mid-morning (when hunger peaks): Use Umri to hydrate and curb hunger. Its gentle taste and calming herbs make it easier to extend your fasting hours without irritability.
• Just Before Breaking Fast: Prepare your gut for food with ginger and baobab. This can ease the transition into eating and reduce bloating or discomfort post-meal.

Does Umri Break a Fast?

The idea of drinking herbal tea or any functional beverage during a fast is often met with scepticism. The concern is simple: Will this break my fast? The answer is no. For most 
intermittent fasting protocols, the goal is to avoid anything that interrupts autophagy (your body’s self-cleaning process).

Umri is designed to avoid those triggers:

• It contains no added sugars
• It is low in calories (under 20 kcal per can)
• It contains no proteins or fats that stimulate digestion
• Its ingredients are entirely plant-based and natural

While every individual’s fasting goals differ, Umri is aligned with the most accepted definitions of a clean fast. For those following strict water-only fasting, it may not qualify. But for the vast majority of women practising 14:10 or 16:8 intermittent fasting, Umri offers a valuable middle ground: support without sacrifice.

Final Take: Can You Drink Herbal Tea While Fasting?

Yes. And if that herbal tea happens to be Umri, you’re not just allowed to drink it–you should. Drink herbal tea that actually supports your hormones, energy, digestion, and mood.

Because fasting doesn’t need to be joyless or exhausting. When done thoughtfully, it’s a 
powerful way to help your body rebuild the balance that perimenopause can sometimes disrupt.

Umri is here to lift you, not weigh you down. Try Umri today!