What in coffee makes you poop?

What in coffee makes you poop? – is the topic sound unpleasant to you? Well, like this or not, feeling an urge to poop after drinking coffee is not an uncommon fact. Many people out there need to visit the toilet after having their regular coffee cup.

Coffee is a great beverage that has won the hearts of many. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed all over the world on a daily basis. Did you ever ask, what ingredients of your coffee cause an urge to visit the toilet? How does the total process work? What’s this all about? Let’s find out.

A Brief Study on – What in Coffee Makes You Poop?

It is a common belief to many coffee drinkers (or even non-drinkers) that coffee makes them poop. Sometimes, the doctors advise people with particular intestinal conditions to stay away from coffee.

Fact is, does coffee make you poop – is still a theory that is yet to be confirmed. Although some people may urge to go to the toilet after drinking coffee, others do not feel the same.

Coffee Stimulates the Colonic Activity

Coffee is a big source of caffeine, which is a natural stimulant that makes you stay awake, alerted, and focused. A cup of brewed coffee accommodates about 95mg of caffeine.

Although we know caffeine as an energy booster it stimulates colonic activity and makes an urge to poop. Researchers found that coffee consumption may switch on intestinal and colonic contractions. As a result, the contents are forced towards the rectum – the endmost part of our digestive tract.

Studies also found that caffeine stimulates the colon 60% more than water and 23% more than decaffeinated coffee. However, decaf also contributes to generating the urge to poop. And from this piece of information, it is understandable that other contents of coffee can also be responsible for taking you to the toilet!

Added Milk or Cream Can Stimulate Bowel Movement

Although freshly brewed coffee doesn’t contain any natural additive, many people like to add milk and other dairy products like cream in their coffee.

However, did you know that about 65% of people on the planet are not used to digest lactose completely after childhood?

Lactose is basically a sugar found in milk and other dairy goods. For some people, lactose intolerance can even lead to diarrhea. If milk or cream is added to the coffee, the lactose-intolerant people may feel an increase in their gut activity and eventually the urge to poop.

Coffee Has the Capability to Arouse Hormones

It has been found that coffee triggers those hormones which are responsible for driving food through the gut. It may enhance the gastrin level, which also stimulates the colon like caffeine. Coffee may develop a gastrin level 2.3 times more than water if consumed regularly. In addition to that, coffee can increase CCK level (cholecystokinin), which is a digestive hormone.

This increase in hormones causes the food to move fast through the colon. In addition to that, they are also related to gastrocolic reflex, which is responsible for the colonic activity.

Does Everybody Have to Visit the Toilet After Drinking Coffee?

Research done on this topic revealed that after 20 minutes of drinking coffee 29% of the participants felt the urge to poop, and the urge afflicted 53% of the women in the research. It seems that women are more vulnerable to this symptom than men because women are more prone to digestive issues like IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) than men.

However, not everyone has to visit the toilet after drinking coffee. Besides, does the issue fades away from the regular drinkers? – We don’t know yet. On average, we can say that people who are lactose intolerant, those who have IBS, or older adults (as their bowels are more sensitive) could be more prone to post-coffee toilet urgency.

Even Decaf May Cause You an Urge to Poop

It was a primary belief that the caffeine in the coffee is mainly responsible for making you poop. However, even the decaffeinated coffee or the decaf can cause an urgency to poop. Then what are these other culprits?

Chlorogenic acids and N-alkanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamides –are two more suspicious elements. Stomach acid assists in churning the food and passing through the gut fast. These two elements can trigger the production of stomach acid.

Besides, other elements in coffee cause an urge to poop. One such thing is common – when you drink, your colon gets more active, right? This phenomenon is known as the gastrocolic reflex, the same one that turns on the colon after taking a meal. Although coffee is not considered as a meal, it may lead to the same effect on the bowel.

After waking up in the morning, if the bowels are ready to go, they usually function 2 times more than the sleeping periods. So, if you drink coffee after waking up and feel an urge to poop, then it can simply be a coincidence.

Apart from that, the body’s internal clock also helps control a lot of processes, and yeah, bowel movement is one of them.

However, all of these things are not solid. More research is required in this field to come to a satisfactory conclusion.

On a Positive Note

pooping regularly and timely is a good thing. If you are struggling with pooping, try a cup of coffee to sort it out. On the other hand, if you are facing a post-coffee toilet issue and it is really irking you, try reducing your coffee intake and see if that solves your problem.

To Pack Up

What in coffee makes you poop or whether it makes you poop or not, we can’t give a definite answer to this for sure. More research in this field is needed to come to a satisfactory conclusion.

However, Coffee has some ingredients that can make a good percentage of people visit the toilet after drinking. Adding further milk or dairy products to the coffee may cause lactose intolerant people the urge to poop. Besides, people with IBS, women, or older adults may be prone to this symptom.