When coffee enters into our system it causes our stomach wall and intestinal tract to contract. This contraction produces bile from the liver and increases the urge to poop. It is generally said that caffeine causes a consumer to poop within 20 minutes of its consumption. People mostly take coffee to stay active and alert.
The bottled version comes with one thing iced coffee from a Dunkin’ location does not: added sugar, milk, and cream, which translates into a lot more calories and fat than chilled, freshly-brewed coffee, which you have the option of drinking with just a splash of milk and no sugar, or sugar-free sweetener.
However, studies have shown that decaf coffee can also stimulate the urge to poop. This indicates that other compounds or factors are responsible ( 2, 6 ). Summary Coffee is a rich source of caffeine, which can make your colon and intestinal muscles more active.
Not living up to the taste of an in-store iced coffee isn’t the only reason why bottled iced coffee is a Dunkin’ don’t. It’s convenient to have a grab-from-the fridge-and-go Dunkin’ iced coffee waiting for you every morning, but it’s no bargain.
How much caffeine is in a cup of coffee?
A single brewed cup provides approximately 95 mg of caffeine ( 3. Trusted Source. ). While caffeine is a great energy booster, it may also stimulate the urge to poop. Several studies have shown that it can activate contractions in your colon and intestinal muscles ( 4. Trusted Source.
Not only is this caffeine -fueled beverage a great pick- me-up, it’s also loaded with beneficial antioxidants and nutrients ( 1. Trusted Source. ). What’s more, some people find it can jump-start the other end of their body.
Contractions in the colon push contents towards the rectum, which is the final section of your digestive tract. Research has shown that caffeine makes the colon 60% more active than water and 23% more active than decaf coffee ( 6. Trusted Source. ).
Close to 65% of people worldwide cannot digest lactose properly ( 16 ). People who are lactose intolerant experience symptoms such as bloating, stomach cramps or diarrhea soon after consuming dairy. This means lactose can trigger the urge to poop in people with lactose intolerance ( 17. Trusted Source.
Trusted Source. ). Summary Coffee has been shown to raise levels of gastrin and cholecystokinin, two hormones linked to increased colon activity.
Coffee contains a variety of compounds that may stimulate your bowels. These include caffeine, chlorogenic acids and N-alkanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamides. Adding milk or cream may further increase this effect, especially if you’re lactose intolerant. However, it’s unclear which of these has the greatest impact.
That said, it’s still not clear how much of an impact these other factors have on stimulating your colon. More research in this area would help determine their significance. Summary Other compounds in coffee, such as chlorogenic acids and N-alkanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamides, may stimulate bowel activity.
Does coffee make you poop?
Unfortunately, there‘s no solid answer as to why coffee makes you poop —but there are some theories on the coffee-poop connection. “We don’t know the mechanism completely, and there are only a couple of studies that have looked at this, says Kyle Staller, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
First: If you thought your sweet, sweet caffeine factored into your pooping schedule, think again. Dr. Staller points to an old study from 1990 in the journal Gut, that disproved caffeine’s affect on your bowels when it found that both caffeinated and decaf coffee led to the same bathroom sprint.
But there is one you can do: If the whole pooping after coffee thing is truly irking you, you can try to find your limit by scaling back on the coffee until you find an amount that doesn’t make you have to beeline to the bathroom. “It really is individual,” says Dr. Farhadi. Overall, though, Dr. Farhadi recommends looking at your timely coffee …
But there is an upside: If you struggle with constipation, having a coffee habit can actually help. In fact, Dr. Staller even prescribes taking their medication in the morning with their breakfast and coffee. “That’s a trick that we sometimes use,” he says.
Apparently, there’s just something about coffee as a whole that quickly stimulates receptors in your gastrointestinal system that causes your stomach and colon to contract, says Dr. Staller. (I know, it’s not a terribly satisfying answer).
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