Why You Might Want to Stop Drinking Coffee…
...If you have gut issues.
If you're dealing with bloating, memory issues, brain fog, irregular trips to the bathroom (meaning constipation, diarrhea, urgency, inconsistent color/size/texture day to day, etc), then you need to think about gut health. We're going to talk about why coffee may be your gut's mortal enemy.
Here are just a few reasons why:
Coffee stimulates the colon so you have to poop! Why’s that not ideal? Your body can then become dependent on coffee as a trigger to eliminate, instead of relying on its own natural triggers!
It causes your stomach to release more than normal stomach acid, which affects how we digest food.
Not as many people drink it black, so it then becomes a vehicle for inflammatories like milk, processed milk alternatives, chemical creamers, and sugar.
People tend to drink it and then skip breakfast, but since your stomach is releasing stomach acid, there’s no food to digest, so you’re digesting acid on top of an already acidic drink, thus creating an imbalance in gut bacteria and thinning of the lining of the intestines (which can cause bloating/gas, indigestion, heartburn, autoimmune issues, leaky gut, or food sensitivities).
Coffee can make people jittery and anxious, which to put it simply, releases chemicals in your body that can affect how your gut acts.
So why do people drink this stuff?
For some it's the ritual of waking up and making a warm cup of coffee - we start conditioning ourselves to be productive and start the day upon smelling that earthy, sweet aroma of roasted beans. It gives us permission to slowly take a moment for ourselves before we begin the day.
For some, it's a matter of finding a source of energy in the morning (or afternoon) because it's a struggle without it.
And for others, it's the taste. The luxurious, nutty, creamy cup of caramel-ly goodness.
And sometimes it's all three!
No matter the reason, coffee (especially if you've been drinking it for years) may be keeping you from actually functioning the way your body should be functioning. In other words, it's a band-aid you have to reapply each day in order to operate, and can affect the gut negatively in so many ways - like digestion, elimination (poop!), immune system (which we talked about being directly linked to the gut, here) and brain function.
Chances are you may feel like you need coffee because, well, life can be stressful and exhausting. Maybe you have kids who have you running around or waking you up at night. Maybe you're overworking yourself. Maybe life's thrown a lot your way. In any of those cases, exhaustion and the need for supplementary energy is your body's way of saying "Help! We can't function like we're supposed to!" and coffee is the temporary fix that's likely disguising or causing other issues in your body.
Let's talk about getting back in the driver's seat with regards to your gut health.
If it's the ritual aspect:
You're in luck, this is actually the easiest one to fix. There are alternatives that actually benefit your body. You'll still have the ritual, can hold that warm cup, and sip while you plan your day.
A few of my favorite coffee alternatives are:
Green tea (antioxidant goodness), go for high quality stuff, not the tea remnants can be used for bagged tea boxes.
Dandelion tea - Sounds weird to drink a weed you used to pull while sitting in the park as kid, right? But what if I told you dandelion greens are an incredible source of Vitamin c (immune benefits, and encourages new cell growth aka anti-aging benefits), Potassium (hydration electrolyte for energy and reduces stress on the liver), lowers blood sugar, promotes probiotic growth in the gut, it's an anti-inflammatory, and this study even says it fights off melanoma cells! Basically, it's liquid gold.
MudWtr - It's made with adaptogens to give you focus and energy (not an ad, I just love their chai flavor and it still has a tiny bit of caffeine. Click the link for $10 off). It does this by concentrating several amazing adaptogenic mushroom powders and spices to rev up your engines and help with immune regulation, brain function, focus, etc.
My suggestion would be to take 5 minutes while you're drinking your morning cup to set goals for the day and point out one thing you're grateful for. These simple suggestions have been shown to have a huge affect on mental health and productivity.
If it's the energy boost:
This is another simple fix - get your gut right so you're digesting food properly and getting nutrients that fuel your body (let's talk!), move your body more, drink more water (!!), and switch to a source of energy that doesn't affect your nervous system and therefore disrupt digestion.
Another thing you can do is retrain your body not to rely on supplementary energy. I wrote about MudWtr before, but want to mention it again here because it does have a little caffeine from cacao (1/7th the amount that coffee has) so it can help transition from coffee a bit easier.
If it's the taste:
MOVE TO DECAF!
Do it. It tastes the same. Just do it.
It's the first step to kicking this acidic morning beverage in favor of healing your gut. The best kind of decaf is made using the Swiss Water Process because it doesn’t use chemicals in order to decaffeinate the beans.
Here are some Swiss Water Decaf coffee options straight from the source.
And here’s one I read about recently as being really tasty, organinc, fair trade, and environmentally friendly.
If it's all three or you’ve already tried kicking coffee but it didn’t work -
Here's my unofficial prescription: Let's chat gut health, emotional exhaustion, anxiety/stress, and diet to make sure you're doing what your body needs you to be doing!
Click here and schedule a free consultation about health, nutrition, and wellness coaching with yours truly
Be well,
Mia
*Disclaimer*
If you have zero gut health issues, your immune system is good, and you're digesting just fine (meaning you have energy, your bathroom habits are normal, and you have no food intolerances), by all means, enjoy a cup of BLACK coffee (no cream, processed alternative milks or sugar, people!). Coffee has amazing antioxidant properties. and is shown in Blue Zones studies to increase longevity in cultures with the highest per capita centenarians!