One of life’s greatest pleasures is taking a sip of your favorite coffee and letting the buzz flow through your veins.
Unfortunately, coffee is notorious for giving some people stomach cramps and diarrhea. If you want your coffee experience to not always be followed by bathroom trips, here are some tips you can use.
Why Does Coffee Make You Poop?
The universal experience of sitting on the toilet after a nice drink of coffee makes one thing clear: coffee stimulates bowel movements.
However, the reason the hot drink spurs the digestive system into action is a mystery yet to be solved.
Many doctors and experts have theories as to why coffee makes people poop. Here are a few of these theories:
It’s The Caffeine at Work
Most explanations regarding coffee’s uncanny ability to set the excretory system in motion center on caffeine.
Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee. It also sets the digestive system in action, which may result in pooping.
A study showed that caffeine helped relax the anal sphincter, which keeps the poop in the bowels. This can explain why coffee intake can lead to a trip to the bathroom.
It’s The Creamer That is Responsible
Some experts also point to the presence of creamer in coffee as a reason for the increased urge to poop.
The delicious creamer you add to coffee contains lactose, and a good portion of people, roughly 65%, are lactose intolerant.
Lactose intolerance can lead to stomach cramps and diarrhea. Hence, this can explain why many people feel the urge to poop after drinking coffee.
It’s The Acids in The Coffee
Another popular theory to explain coffee’s ability to send people to the bathroom focuses on the acids found in the drink. Acids in coffee are thought to boost the hormone gastrin found in the body.
Increased levels of gastrin stimulate muscle contractions, which get the bowels moving. This wave-like motion can fast-track the process of a bowel movement.
Thus, coffee can be responsible for making you poop. But, it is important to realize that these are working theories. In fact, there is no definitive answer for why coffee makes people poop.
Some might hold caffeine as the culprit. However, people have also reported going to the bathroom after drinking decaffeinated coffee, which deepens the mystery further.
Is Coffee Harmful to the Digestive System?
The effects of coffee on the digestive system is an area of research that is still evolving. Some studies indicate coffee can help with issues such as constipation.
On the other hand, others see it as responsible for exacerbating issues, such as gastric reflux. This is because it helps release gastric acid.
People with chronic constipation can benefit from coffee’s ability to stimulate bowel movements. However, it is important to know that coffee cannot be used as a treatment for the condition.
Coffee can exacerbate gastric reflux since it increases the amount of acids in the stomach. To avoid this issue, you can opt for a number of low-acid coffees.
This way, you can enjoy your everyday coffee without worrying about gastric issues.
All in all, coffee does have the ability to make you poop. But, its overall effect on the digestive system is far from harmful.
Therefore, if you are wondering whether drinking coffee can have adverse effects on your digestive health, you have nothing to worry about.
Tips to Stop Coffee from Making You Poop
There might be multiple reasons behind coffee’s ability to send you scampering to the bathroom. But, all the explanations seem useless when you battle your coffee addiction from your toilet seat.
Most people want to consume as much coffee as they like without frequenting the bathroom, but is it really possible? Can you enjoy your daily coffee without getting the pressing urge to poop?
Simply put, you cannot necessarily stop coffee from making you poop altogether. But, there are plenty of tips you can try out to reduce the frequency or intensity of your bathroom breaks.
For many people, coffee is the fuel that keeps them going. However, the constant urge to poop gets in the way of their coffee-induced productivity.
Therefore, here are some tips to stop coffee from making you poop:
Skip the Creamer
You might love the sensation of creamy coffee sliding down your throat. However, chances are the milk component in your coffee is making you poop.
The creamer in your coffee, while delicious, contains lactose, which leads to digestive issues.
The creamer, combined with coffee, can increase your risk of diarrhea. Therefore, it is best to switch to black coffee for fewer bathroom breaks.
Plain coffee might be an acquired taste. But, it’s healthier for you as well compared to its creamy counterparts.
Try Decaf Coffee
In some coffee aficionado circles, decaf coffee is considered a cardinal sin. But, it’s really not as bad as it sounds. It provides the rich taste of coffee without the unwanted side effects of caffeine.
Switching to decaf may help you poop less since caffeine is thought to be the culprit in stimulating bowel movements. However, it can still stimulate your bowel movement.
It’s important to remember that decaf does not completely eliminate the chance of pooping. But, it makes it less likely, which is truly all we need.
Switch to a Darker Roast
Many people are caffeine fiends and cannot imagine life without it. They can always switch to a darker roast of coffee to lessen the digestive effects of coffee.
Darker coffee roasts are low in acids that release digestive hormones and lead to bowel movements. Lowering the amount of acids in the stomach will lessen the chances of bowel movements.
Darker roasts of coffee will, therefore, help you spend less time in the bathroom. At the same time, it won’t deprive you of that caffeine buzz you desire.
An additional bonus is that they are also absolutely delicious.
Do Not Drink Coffee on an Empty Stomach
Many people like to have coffee first thing in the morning since it helps them wake up. This is a rookie mistake since coffee triggers the gastrocolic reflex on an empty stomach.
As a result, it sends you running to the bathroom. So, it is best to eat something and then sip your coffee. Chances are that you won’t feel the pressing urge to poop.
This method is not entirely scientific. But many people swear by it, and sometimes you have to learn from the experiences of others.
Drink Less Coffee
While the thought may make some coffee addicts recoil in horror, there is indeed no better way to stop the coffee from making you poop than cutting down on its intake.
If you drink multiple servings of coffee a day, it is only inevitable that you will spend a good portion of your day in the bathroom.
Therefore, the only way to significantly reduce that bathroom time is to reduce your coffee consumption.
Drinking coffee can be a form of escape for some people. But, like anything, its excess is not good, especially for your stomach.
If you drink more than 5 cups, you can scale down to 3 cups. You will see the difference yourself.
Drink Coffee After Your Regular Bathroom Time
Many people go to the bathroom in the morning, and chances are that it has nothing to do with your coffee intake. To test this out, drink coffee after your regular bathroom time.
If you don’t feel the urge to go to the washroom, then you are good to go. Many people confuse their natural excretory process with coffee’s effects, and this is a good way to test it out.
These tips cannot completely remove coffee’s effect on the digestive system. But, they can help those who feel they are pooping way too much due to their coffee intake.
Passing stool is healthy, but doing it too often can have a negative effect on your health. Therefore, it is best to opt for these tips to decrease coffee’s effects on bowel movements.
Final Thoughts
Coffee, to many, is one of the simple pleasures of life that keeps them going. However, this delicious drink can also come with some unwanted side effects, such as pooping too much.
Coffee is known to make people poop, and its effect on the digestive system is due to multiple reasons.
While passing stool is not bad, you don’t want to spend too much time on bathroom breaks after drinking coffee.
To lessen the effects of coffee on bowel movements, you can follow tips, such as switching to decaffeinated or darker roasts and drinking coffee after eating.
Skipping creamer and drinking coffee after going to the bathroom are also useful tips.
Hopefully, these tips can help you poop less after drinking coffee and stop worrying about extended bathroom breaks. Now you can enjoy your cuppa and spend less time pooping than is normal.
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