For a lot of people, the best part of getting up is that first mouthful of coffee. But one expert says it may be worth eating something first to avoid upsetting your stomach.
Plenty of coffee drinkers say they end up dashing to the toilet after a brew, particularly those living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). So, could having breakfast beforehand make a difference?
To understand why this happens, it helps to start with what goes on in the stomach after you consume anything other than water. Dietitian Shannon Lavery explains to Taste.com.au that food and drink cause the stomach to expand, which can prompt the release of stomach acid.
The amount produced varies depending on what you’ve consumed. And if you assumed decaf would be gentler, there’s a catch: both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee can still encourage stomach acid production.
“Caffeine can also relax the valve between the oesophagus and stomach, allowing acid to move upwards and potentially trigger reflux symptoms,” Shannon writes for the publication.
That stomach acid isn’t always an issue on its own — the problem is when there’s nothing else in your stomach to dilute or “buffer” it. Lavery notes that without food present, some people may be more likely to feel abdominal discomfort or pain.
Responses vary from person to person. But common reactions like jitters and increased anxiety can feel more intense when coffee is taken before eating, because it can enter the bloodstream more quickly on an empty stomach.
And what about the urgent bathroom trips? According to Shannon, coffee can ‘stimulate contractions in the digestive tract,’ which can be even more noticeable when your stomach is empty.
Even so, she adds that drinking coffee before breakfast isn’t considered dangerous for overall health. There’s no single “right” time to have it — the best approach is whatever your body tolerates most comfortably.
While many rely on coffee for an early lift, others are tempted to have it later in the day — but that can come at a cost when it’s time to sleep.
One doctor has suggested a firm cut-off: 2pm, which is also just ahead of the well-known 3pm energy dip.
During an appearance on ITV’s This Morning, Dr Nighat Arif said: “Adenosine is this hormone we build up throughout the day which actually gets us ready for sleep because we live in a circadian rhythm.
“And so as this adenosine is building up, what caffeine does is so clever, it mimics that same molecule, gets into all those slots like a puzzle and so therefore your brain doesn’t feel that it’s sleepy, anymore.
“Hence why actually having a cut off at 2pm is a good idea.”
Time to put that mug down!