Despite the drink’s popularity, there hasn’t been much research into why coffee sends many people to the bathroom within minutes of drinking it.
“In some cases, as with coffee and bowel movements, serious investigations are unlikely to warrant medical attention,” Kyle Staller, director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, said via email.
“It may also be a matter of clarity, which means that many studies are not needed to know whether coffee causes bowel movements when it is part of many people’s daily lives.”
There may be something special about coffee, and the research that exists proves that “patients are right,” said Staller, also an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. A few small studies have shown that drinking coffee was more effective than hot water at getting a bowel movement – this is saying something because “water is an integral part of normal digestion, large amounts of it go into your digestion every day.” ” released and reabsorbed by the system,” he said. ,
This does not mean that adequate water intake is not necessary for your overall health. “About 60% of your body is made up of water,” Jerlyn Jones, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said via email.
And whether the coffee was caffeinated or decaffeinated didn’t seem to make a difference in all studies, according to other research—suggesting that, in some cases, coffee compounds other than caffeine may be responsible for sudden bowel movements.
The identity of these compounds and how they might interact with the digestive system is still largely unknown, but here’s what researchers discovered so far.
Coffee can cause stomach contractions
Those results likely mean that the coffee isn’t directly contacting the lining of the colon, but instead affecting it through the “gastrocolic mechanism,” Staller said—meaning that coffee is “stomach or stomach lining.” Contacting. So triggers a nervous system or hormonal response that causes the colon to start contracting,” he said. “Colon contractions move stool into the colon toward the rectum and voila — you have the urge to have a bowel movement.”
Melanoidin — a compound formed when coffee is roasted — contains dietary fiber, which helps with digestion and prevents constipation, Jones said.
It can affect hormones and stomach acid.
“Some compounds in coffee may also interact with opioid receptors in the GI tract,” which affect bowel function, Staller said.
Dairy and Digestive Health
If you’re lactose intolerant, yet enjoy dairy creamer with coffee, creamer could be the culprit for any sudden poop.
“One way to find out what you’re doing is in the bathroom, drinking coffee without dairy creamer or milk, and tracking your symptoms for a few days,” Jones said.
While research suggests some digestive benefits of drinking coffee, should your regular morning coffee be the same one you use to stay regular? If you have constipation, it’s not unreasonable to drink coffee to help move things along, Staller said.
“But don’t count on him to move your bowels,” Jones said. “If you’re having trouble going to the bathroom regularly, talk to your doctor.”
Jones recommends gradually increasing your dietary fiber intake “with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds.” “The average American adult consumes only 12 to 14 grams of fiber a day and the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day for adults.”
“People prone to loose or urgent bowel movements,” Staller said, “would like to consider that coffee may be a trigger for those unpleasant events as well.”