Why Does Coffee Cause Diarrhea? Black Coffee Promotes Bowel Movement and Intestinal Health

The Surprising Connection Between Coffee and Digestion

In today's world, anyone who can maintain regular bowel movements daily often receives envious glances from others. Speaking of digestion, do you know people who feel the urge to use the restroom after drinking coffee?

When it comes to experiencing diarrhea after coffee consumption, many people might first think of those with lactose intolerance. These individuals are likely to disappear for the rest of the day after consuming milk. However, there are also people who experience similar effects even from black coffee.

An article published on March 25, 2020, on the Pop Science website stated that 30% of people experience gastrointestinal reactions such as diarrhea after consuming coffee. Scientists have confirmed that coffee does indeed have laxative effects on certain "chosen ones," though the specific reasons remain unknown.

Interestingly, as early as 1990, a study was conducted on the effects of coffee on distal colon function. In this study, 29% of participants experienced stimulated intestinal movement after consuming coffee.

This study recruited 99 subjects, of whom 29% reported that coffee triggered their urge to defecate. After testing 14 healthy subjects, it was found that within 4 minutes of consuming regular and decaffeinated coffee, 8 subjects showed increased rectosigmoid motility that lasted for at least 30 minutes. However, this movement did not increase after drinking hot water. This indicates that drinking coffee can stimulate distal colon motility in some healthy individuals.

Traditional belief suggests that caffeine in coffee causes these "chosen ones" to experience the urge to defecate after consumption, but this has been proven false. Both regular coffee and decaffeinated coffee have the same laxative effect.

Jill Deutsch, director of a gastrointestinal disease research program at Yale University, once stated that this should be attributed to coffee as a whole, rather than caffeine alone having a promoting effect on intestinal peristalsis.

Some caffeinated beverages, such as tea, cola, and energy drinks, have no evidence showing they possess the same laxative effects as coffee.

There are two possible explanations. One is that acidic substances in coffee affect the stomach, causing it to secrete gastric acid and increase acid levels. As acidity increases, the stomach accelerates the movement of digested food into the intestines.

Another possibility relates to gastrin. Gastrin, also known as stomach-promoting hormone, is an important gastrointestinal hormone that increases gastrointestinal activity. Both regular coffee and decaffeinated coffee can increase gastrin levels.

At this point, some hardworking individuals might want to leverage this aspect to improve their intestinal health. This is understandable, as more and more people are experiencing the pain of constipation, which affects their mood as well! Only with smooth digestion can one maintain a pleasant mood.

It's worth reminding everyone that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suggests a daily caffeine intake limit of 400 milligrams for healthy adults, though this should be adjusted based on individual health conditions.

I wonder if you, reading this, are one of those enviable "chosen ones"? Imagine waking up in the morning, having a cup of coffee to stimulate bowel movements, and then feeling refreshed all day—just thinking about it sounds wonderful.

Okay, that's enough on this topic. It's time to eat, my friends.

Image source: Sprudge, Internet

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