How To Stop Coffee From Making You Poop (6 Digestion Tips) (2024)

Why Can Coffee Make You Go To The Bathroom More Often?

The first thing you need to know is that this situation isn’t unique to you, and a lot of people are experiencing the laxative effect from coffee, especially after your morning cup of coffee.

There's a few reasons why this happens:

Caffeine Content

Caffeine, which is commonly found in coffee, is a laxative.

While it it's a more mild laxative compared to over-the-counter medication, your morning coffee can make you poop, and sometimes, almost immediately after consuming caffeinated coffee.

Stimulates Your Digestive System Moving

Coffee stimulates peristalsis in some individuals.

Peristalsis is the process of muscle contraction in the gut, which encourages the movement of food in the intestines and can lead to bowel movements.

So, your digestive tract determines the effect of coffee on your body. Some people will experience the laxative effect and have coffee poops, while some do not.

Coffee Acids

Coffee also contains chlorogenic acidsapart from caffeine. These acids promote the production of stomach acid and can speed up digestion.

This can be good to avoid a bloating stomach, but too much of it can cause irritable bowel syndrome.

Dairy, Sugar, And Extras

Lastly, coffee isn’t the only culprit when it comes to your frequent trips to the bathroom.

Those creamy, sweet delicious additions you use in your morning cup of coffee can also cause the problem.

For example, dairy products, creamers, and sweeteners in coffee makes you want to poop sometimes.

• Learn More - Can You Make Coffee Less Acidic?

The most obvious answer is to lessen your coffee intake. After all, coffee makes you want to go to the bathroom more frequently.

By limiting your caffeine consumption, you will experience fewer laxative effects. You can drink tea in the morning instead since it has lower caffeine levels.

However, if you can't give coffee up, you can try the following fixes.

Caffeine is one of the reasons why you have the urge to poop right after coffee, and it's why some energy drinks also act as a laxative!

Bydrinking decaf coffee, you will have less caffeine while still enjoying a cup of joe in the morning.

However, while decaffeinated coffee still has some caffeine, decaf coffee will not give you the laxative effect as a regular coffee.

• Learn More - Why Is Decaf Coffee Less Acidic?

Do you know that75% of the world’s populationis lactose intolerant? People with this kind of disorder experience digestive problems, such as diarrhea, when they consume dairy products.[1]

However, many people are not aware that they have it because of the minimal symptom. If you are one of them, it might be the reason why you are experiencing laxative effects after coffee.

Try removing milk or creamer for a week and see if it has any effect on your digestive system.

If it lessens your urge to go to the bathroom frequently, then you should try to stop adding them to your coffee. If not, there are other foxes you can try.

It is a common fact that people tend to go to the bathroom in the morning.

If your routine includes visiting the bathroom in the morning, you might just be going with your body clock, and coffee isn’t the culprit.

Try skipping coffee in the morning and see if you still feel the coffee make you poop. If yes, then coffee has nothing to do with your bowel movement routine.

Coffee and an empty stomach are a deadly combination. If you drink coffee without any food, the drink triggers a gastrocolic reflex intensely.

This impacts your stomach acid and forces bowel movements, which urges you to go to the bathroom right away.

Try having coffee after having something slightly heavy and stable, such as bread, fruits, water, and others., you will less likely experience the laxative effect.

As mentioned, the acids found in coffee makes you want to poop. So one way to stop this drink from making you poop is to alter the type of coffee you consume.

If you have been drinking highly acidic coffees, you should start switching to a low acid variety.

• Learn More - Expresso Vs Coffee: Which Is Less Acidic?

For example, Countries like Mexico and Brazil produce low-altitude coffees, which have less acidic content than those coming from areas like Indonesia.

While they may have a different taste than acidic ones, they should stop you from going to the bathroom frequently.

Coffee can facilitate regular bowel movement, and many people drink it every morning for this reason.

While having coffee in moderation isn’t going to hurt you, relying on it to poop regularly can harm your gut.

If you are constipated, don’t self-medicate. It would be best to let your doctor know of your situation than to drink heaps of coffee in the morning.

Many people experience constipation because of dehydration. Coffee acts as a diuretic, and drinking a lot can dehydrate you.

If you are constipated, your doctor might recommend you drink less caffeine and more water to keep your gut healthy.

• Learn More - Is Decaf Coffee An Advised Diuretic?

If you rely on a lot of coffee to poop, keep an eye out for any side effects that may indicate your consumption is too high for your tolerance.

For example, if you experience recurring stomach problems, feel shaky, and have trouble sleeping at night, it might be best to lessen your intake.

Lastly, everyone metabolizes caffeine differently.

Fast metabolizers can quickly clear caffeine from their system, while slow metabolizers retain it for longer, putting them at a higher risk forheart attackandhigh blood pressure.[2]

• Arabica Ground
  Arabica blends are a darker roast and much more flavorful and tastier than their Robusta counterparts.
  
  Apart from that, it has a low acid content, which can help deal with your frequent bathroom visits. So, try to use Arabica ground instead of Robusta and see if it stops making you poop as much.
• Darker Roasts
  Darker roastsmay not have low acid content, but they have slightly less caffeine than other beans.
  
  Since caffeine is one of the reasons why you frequently poop when drinking coffee, it is better to switch to this type of roast to address the gut issue.
• Any Coffee Coming From Brazil, Nicaragua, And Sumatra
  Where the coffee is grown affects its acidity level.
  
  For example, coffees grown at low altitudes tend to develop fewer acids during their growth, which makes them the least acidic coffees.
  
  Try getting coffee grounds that are grown in the countries mentioned above to lessen your urge to poop.

It depends on your digestive tract.

For example, while drinking coffee on an empty stomach can trigger a gastrocolic reflex and induce diarrhea in some people, others just don’t seem to have this reaction.

Other factors apart from drinking coffee can also cause diarrhea, such as the dairy component you add to your drink.

If you have narrowed down the cause of your diarrhea and it points to coffee, try the solution mentioned above. If nothing works, it’s time for you to quit it.

It is completely understandable if you still love coffee, even if it makes you go to the bathroom too often.

But you don't have to suffer constantly; you can try the tips mentioned above and see if any of them fixes the problem.

However, if it doesn't disrupt your daily life, your coffee drink might just be giving your digestive system a little push.

References:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3140651/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19451835/