Why Does Coffee Make Me Poop – All You Need to Know

Lots of people all over the world just cannot imagine their life without having a cup of their morning coffee. However, about 30% of those people (specifically, 50% of women) have issued their coffee drinking habits. The point is that they face a question of why their coffee makes them poop. If you have such a problem and don’t know why and how to fix it, then this article is for you.

We researched the issue and provided you with the information you need to know about it. In this article, you will find why coffee makes you poop, what the reasons are and how you can deal with the problem.

Is Coffee a Laxative

As we have mentioned earlier, about 30-40% of coffee lovers suffer because their daily cup of coffee makes them visit the toilet more often than they want. Most people believe that the main reason is caffeine, as it can stimulate your bowel, making it more active. However, some people state that they have a problem mostly when they drink decaf coffee, so we can guess that there may be another reason. Let’s try to find out what is the actual reason why coffee makes you poop.

There are no scientific proofs that coffee makes you poop; however, there are people that claim that it is for sure coffee that makes them poop. Some people use it as a way to regulate their bowel movements. Some people even believe that coffee enema helps you eliminate toxins due to its impact on the bowel.

However, when it comes to people who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), they believe that coffee makes their condition even worse.

To say the truth, numerous researchers studied the impact of coffee and caffeine on our bowel and its activity. Nevertheless, all the results are rather conflicting and sometimes even confusing. The point is that some studies prove the fact that coffee makes you poop while others completely deny it.

Reasons Why Coffee Makes You Poop

According to some studies, coffee is great at activating certain parts of our gastrointestinal tract. It especially applies to our stomach, bowel, and gallbladder. At the same time, some studies show that coffee has no impact on our bowl and cannot make you poop.

If you are one of those, who believe that coffee can make you visit the toilet more than you want, below there is a list of reasons why it may happen.

Acidity

Usually, the most popular culprit when it comes to causing bowel movements is coffee acidity. However, there is no 100% proof that coffee acidity makes people poop. It may even have an opposite effect on some people. If you want to understand whether the acidity is a real culprit, you may check how other products with high acidity affect you.

Caffeine

According to the studies that were held in 1998, both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee cause more bowel contractions than regular water.

Also, according to those researches, caffeinated coffee stimulates 60% more of bowel movements than regular water. At the same time, decaffeinated coffee cause 23% more of bowel contractions than water.

Later, the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology held another research that provided quite a similar result. However, there were only 12 participants that took part in this research.

One other modest research with only six participants proved that drinking coffee after having a meal may help empty your stomach easier and quicker. The faster your stomach becomes empty, the easier the food moves to the rectum, where it stimulates bowel movements.

Also, there is research held by the World Journal of Gastroenterology according to which caffeinated coffee stimulates extensive production of acid in the stomach that results in bowel movements.

Another research was quite small, with only 10 participants. According to this research, caffeine may lead to stronger bowel and rectum contractions than other beverages.

Milk or Cream You Put in the Coffee

According to the research, about 65% of all people aren’t able to digest lactose properly after infancy. In simple terms, lactose is a sugar that contains various dairy products such as milk. People who suffer from lactose intolerance may have diarrhea often.

If you have lactose intolerance and like adding milk or cream to your coffee, you may poop more often than you used to.

Hormones

People who drink coffee have a higher amount of hormone that is known as cholecystokinin. According to different researches, it is the hormone that stimulates bowel movements.

However, researchers still cannot find the component of coffee that causes the increased release of this hormone.

IBS Symptom

Lots of people who suffer from IBS symptoms claim that certain products can make them poop more than usual. Some of them have diarrhea after drinking coffee.

According to the researches held in 2016, drinking coffee may lead to exacerbation of this state and worsen the symptoms.

However, the researchers could not find what components of coffee may cause this effect.

Also, a group of researchers held a study in 2015 and examined people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The results show that more than 70% of participants used to drink coffee daily that might cause their condition.

62% of participants who do not drink coffee were sure that coffee worsened their condition.

Nevertheless, even some of those participants who believed that coffee had impacted on their stomach continued drinking coffee daily.

How Does Coffee Make You Poop

Even though there may be different reasons why coffee makes you poop, we still can decide on the idea of why it happens. According to the studies, coffee can cause movements in the distal colon. It is a part of the human digestive system that is responsible for pushing wastes quicker from our bodies.

In turn, it leads to the movement of peristalsis, which is a series of contractions and relaxations of intestinal muscles. As a result, it leads to bowel movements and makes you poop more frequently.

It can be one of numerous substances and chemicals that can be found in coffee that causes bowel movements. The point is that there is no certain answer to the question. However, the main point is that it is one of those components that stimulate the muscles of your digestive system and makes you poop.

How to Brew Coffee to Reduce Acidity

As we have said before, acidity is considered one of the main reasons why coffee makes you poop. If you can reduce the acidity of your coffee, you may reduce the impact it has on your stomach. To do it, you may follow several simple steps.

Step 1 – Give preference to cold brew

The best way to reduce the acidity of your coffee is to give preference to cold-brew coffee. Opting for slow-steeped cold brew, you will get a cup of coffee that contains 70% less acid than your regular drink.

Step 2 – Use a coarse grind

In case you aren’t into the cold brew and prefer having your coffee hot, there are other helpful tips for you. For example, you can use a coarser grind when brewing coffee. In such a situation, a French press is a perfect brewing method for you. The reason is that it can be used for both cold and hot brew and requires a coarse grind. If your coffee grinder does not have such settings, you can grind coffee with a knife. 

Step 3 – Use dairy products

It is a perfect option for people who are not sensitive to dairy products. The reason is that it contains calcium that is a great acid neutralizer. If you are sensitive to dairy products, you can choose the best vegan coffee creamer that contains calcium or buy flavorless calcium powder.

Step 4 – Add eggshell to your coffee

One other great tip is to add some eggshell to your coffee. Due to its alkaline nature, it can easily neutralize coffee acidity. There is even a special recipe that is known as Swedish egg coffee.

 

How to Prevent Coffee from Making You Poop

There are several great tips you can use to reduce coffee’s effect on your body that makes you poop.

Step 1 – Buy a low acid coffee

First of all, you need to give preference to coffee with lower acid content. There are special techniques that are used for roasting such coffee that helps to reduce the acidity.

There are also inadvertent coffees that naturally have lower acid content. This type of coffee grows at low altitudes and has darker roasts. Also, coffee with lower acid content is grown in such countries as Sumatra, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, and Mexico.

You can also try vegan versions of all coffee types as organic coffee has vitamins and minerals beneficial for your health and maybe less acid.

Finally, it is a well-known fact that Arabica coffee beans have lower acid content than other sorts of coffee.

Step 2 – Use beans with lower caffeine content

Lots of people who believe that caffeinated coffee stimulates bowel movements to prefer using decaffeinated coffee. For example, Death Wish coffee is extremely strong, so it is not an option. However, the truth is that it has almost the same effect. Of course, it is lighter, but still, it is there. Decaffeinated coffee still contains about 7 mg of caffeine per cup, which is about 3% of the whole amount. You may look for the world’s best Amazon coffee with low caffeine content. You can even try fresh brewed instant coffee.

So, as you can see, there is no way to avoid caffeine completely, but still, you can reduce its consumption significantly. Firstly, it is better to choose darker roasts as while being denser, they contain less caffeine. Also, half-caff coffee can be perfect for those who do not feel like drinking decaffeinated coffee.

Moreover, it is a good idea to eat some good meals together with your morning cup of coffee so you can diminish the impact of caffeine.

Finally, you can try drinking coffee daily to build some sort of resistance to caffeine so one bulletproof coffee a day is ideal. It is a great reason to buy your coffee maker. Barisieur coffee brewer and alarm clock can help you brew your coffee and a mug warmer will keep your coffee at a set temperature. 

Step 3 – Don’t add milk

This step is the easiest one. You just need to stop adding milk or any other dairy products to your daily cup of coffee. If you want to make it lighter and creamier, you may choose some vegan alternatives such as coconut or almond milk. You can easily buy at your local grocery store or get a cup of vegan coffee in a nearby coffee shop.

You may also add some syrup instead of creamer to make the flavor of your coffee softer and sweeter.

 

Do’s and Don’ts When Drinking Coffee

If your coffee makes you poop and you want to reduce the effect, there are several simple rules you need to keep in mind. 

Do’s

• Use coffee with lower caffeine content.
• Give preference to coffee with lower acidity.
• Use the cold-brew method to make your coffee.
• Use a French press to brew your coffee.
• Use vegan creamers.
• Choose coarse coffee grounds.

Don’ts

• Do not use coffee with high caffeine content.
• Do not add dairy products to your coffee.
• Do not drink too much coffee.

FAQ About Coffee and Pooping

If you still have any questions about why coffee makes you poop and how it works or impact your body, there are answers for some of the most frequently asked questions about the issue.

Is It normal to poop after drinking coffee?

The answer is yes. It usually happens because of caffeine as it stimulates bowel movements and makes you poop. According to the studies, it increases the activity of your colon and intestinal muscles.

Why does coffee and a cigarette make you poop?

Both these things are known as stimulant laxatives as they increase the activity of your digestive system that makes you poop more frequently. Nicotine is similar to caffeine, so having both coffee and cigarettes can have an even stronger effect on your bowel.

Can decaf coffee make you poop?

According to different studies, even decaffeinated coffee may still have a laxative effect on our digestive system. It means that even drinking decaf coffee, you will still suffer from the issue.

Does coffee make everybody poop?

Scientists claim that about 30-40% of people who drink coffee poop more frequently than usual. If you are one of those lucky people, you need to learn how to deal with the issue.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is no 100% proof that coffee can make you poop. It may impact some people while others feel no effect.

Of course, even more, studies should be held to understand the problem better. However, there are plenty of ways to deal with the problem or at least reduce the effect. You just need to find your best solution and it doesn’t mean you need to stop drinking coffee. Just keep in mind that preserving your coffee’s freshness is very important.

Photos from: AndreyPopov / depositphotos.com and duha127 / depositphotos.com.