Coffee is no doubt a popular beverage for its taste and the beneficial health it can bring such as boosting energy levels, managing weight, enhancing mental health, etc.
Unfortunately, if someone drinks coffee on a daily basis, they may sometimes experience some discomfort in their stomach. In this article, we will write down some of the factors affecting your stomach while you drink your beloved coffee!
Acidity
Acidity is one of the main causes of a stomach ache after consuming coffee. The acidity normally is measured by the pH scale, which indicates how basic or acidic a water-based solution is. The scale has an o to 14 range. Any solution that registers between 0 and 7 on the scale is regarded as acidic, whereas those that score between 7 and 14 are regarded as basic. Coffee’s pH, which indicates how much acid is present in coffee, is often around 5.
The concentration of acids like chlorogenic acid, quintic acid, and citric acid in a cup of coffee varies depending on how the coffee beans are roasted and how it is brewed.
Coffee causes the stomach to increase its production of stomach acid and secrete more gastric acid once it reaches the stomach. Heartburn, indigestion, acid reflux, and general stomach discomfort might result from this.
Coffee’s acidity can also damage the digestive system’s protective mucosal barrier, which can aggravate ulcers and lead to other issues in the digestive tract. When you consume coffee on an empty stomach, these negative effects especially happen.
Certain coffee chemicals may interact with your digestive system directly if you consume them without eating. The effects of the irritants on your stomach are amplified when you simply drink coffee because they are also present in higher concentrations.
Many people who engage in intermittent fasting will consume coffee first thing in the morning. They require their morning coffee, and since black coffee only contains a few calories per cup, it doesn’t lead them to break their fast. On the other hand, consuming subpar coffee on an empty stomach can cause stomach problems.
In addition to making you feel like you need to urinate, coffee itself also stimulates stomach motility, which is why some individuals believe it causes them to have diarrhea. For those who already suffer these effects, consuming coffee on an empty stomach can exacerbate them.
Caffeine
Caffeine in coffee is another factor that causes stomach distress. If drinking decaf coffee doesn’t give you an upset stomach, caffeine is likely to blame for your digestive problems.
Stomach irritability and digestive distress are two of caffeine’s main impacts on the digestive tract. In certain people, it promotes digestive tract movement. In addition to having a laxative effect, too much caffeine can make your lower digestive system uncomfortable.
Since caffeine primarily affects the neurological system, consuming too much of it might leave you feeling jittery. The average individual has roughly half of the caffeine from their coffee lingering in their bloodstream after 5 or 6 hours. Caffeine from a single cup of coffee can stay in your system for hours.
Some people experience that jittery, overstimulated feeling as an upset or painful stomach, which intensifies the digestive effects of coffee.
You can feel nauseous if you’re reducing how much coffee or caffeine you drink since you’re experiencing caffeine withdrawal. To prevent these side effects, gradually wean yourself off of coffee.
Bad bean & Ingredients
Your coffee’s quality will also affect if it makes your stomach feel queasy. Cheap coffee may contain impurities like fungi that might harm your health and irritate your stomach. You could become ill if some toxins from the fungi survive roasting.
The acidity of the coffee is also influenced by the size of the coffee grinds you use. Less acidic coffee is typically produced with coarser grounds than finer grounds. You might have unintentionally harmed your stomach if you were using finely ground coffee beans.
Some inexpensive coffee isn’t always ground to the same size. Coffee grounds of various sizes are blended together. The resulting cup of coffee can taste fairly strange and be more acidic than you might anticipate.
It’s possible that the milk in a latte, rather than the coffee itself, is to blame for lactose intolerance among coffee users. Even little amounts of milk can result in bloating, stomach distress, and other digestive severe issues if you have lactose intolerance.
If you want to find out if you have lactose intolerance, try maintaining a food journal and noting the things you eat before experiencing stomach discomfort. In order to test if switching to a non-dairy “milk” or creamer helps settle your stomach, consider doing so as well.
How to prevent your stomach from being uncomfortable?
You don’t have to completely give up coffee if it upsets your stomach! You may do a lot of things to make a cup of coffee that is good for your stomach. You are welcome to enjoy your coffee while you drink it.
People who are tempted to stop drinking coffee frequently forget that the beverage is actually quite healthy. Coffee offers a ton of health advantages, including the ability to lower cancer risk due to its high antioxidant content. Your growth won’t be hampered by it either.
If you want to find out if you have digestive problems, try maintaining a food journal and noting the things you eat before experiencing stomach discomfort.
Here are some other strategies for reducing coffee’s acidity:
- Pick a roast that is darker Darker roasts often have less acidity than lighter roasts due to a research, it is mentioned that coffee beans that were roasted for longer periods of time and at greater temperatures were less acidic.
- Consider cold brew or decaf According to research, cold-brewed coffee has a lower acidity than hot coffee.
- Select bigger coffee grounds Smaller coffee grinds may enable for more acid to be extracted during brewing, according to one research. This suggests that coffee brewed with more substantial grounds could be less acidic.
- A plant-based milk substitute Use plant-based such as soy or almond milk instead if you prefer your coffee with milk but are lactose intolerant or believe that milk affects your stomach
As coffee brings you good energy and a lot of other benefits, it can sometimes upset your stomach. To better understand why, find out the factors that make these discomforts and try replacing them with the ingredients in coffee that are best for your stomach.
