Why Does Coffee Screw Up My Bowel Function?

[member 2106]

This is something I cannot figure out.

When I stop drinking coffee, within a few days my bowel movements dramatically improve. When I'm drinking coffee - which when I do is normally only 1 cup per day - I suffer borderline constipation and have incomplete evacuation. The coffee stimulates peristalsis very quickly but to little avail.

This is very frustrating because I love coffee.

Does anyone have any advice? I make sure to drink coffee with food and always put sugar in it. It's definitely not too strong. Is this problem indicative of impaired bowel function that might be helped by avoiding coffee for a while? Or am I simply allergic? I have had much in the way of intestinal irritation for as long as I can remember, so perhaps I need to sort that out before I'm able to tolerate coffee. Does anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[Aspekt]

Constipation often results from gut irritation, and coffee can be quite a strong irritant if you're already inflamed. You could try cold brewing coffee, which makes it less acidic. Eggshell calcium, biotin, taurine, cascara, carrot salad, salt, and bunch of things can help get things moving without worsening inflammation. My gut feels better avoiding all starch but coffee still irritates so i'm avoiding it for now. Cascara is probably the most potent at getting peristalsis up, I use the stuff from health natura on occasion.

 

[DrJ]

Consume a very high calcium-to-phosphate ratio because it will protect your intestines. Add gelatin and/or glycine to help heal the lining of your intestine.

 

[DaveFoster]

I think that's just an effect of lowering bowel inflammation without sufficiently stimulating peristalsis. A laxative like cascara (or more coffee, as in decaff) should keep things going.

 

[member 2106]

Constipation often results from gut irritation, and coffee can be quite a strong irritant if you're already inflamed. You could try cold brewing coffee, which makes it less acidic. Eggshell calcium, biotin, taurine, cascara, carrot salad, salt, and bunch of things can help get things moving without worsening inflammation. My gut feels better avoiding all starch but coffee still irritates so i'm avoiding it for now. Cascara is probably the most potent at getting peristalsis up, I use the stuff from health natura on occasion.

I do think that if I could just stick to easily digested foods for a while, it would probably heal the obvious inflammation. Every time I try to reduce or eliminate starch, though, I fail miserably. I get really hungry and can't sleep properly until I've stuffed some starch in there. Do you have any tips on this? I think I'll have to do what you're doing and give up coffee for a while, painful as that is, because it's clearly irritating me. At least I can have a cup of tea with no obvious upset.

 

[EIRE24]

I do think that if I could just stick to easily digested foods for a while, it would probably heal the obvious inflammation. Every time I try to reduce or eliminate starch, though, I fail miserably. I get really hungry and can't sleep properly until I've stuffed some starch in there. Do you have any tips on this? I think I'll have to do what you're doing and give up coffee for a while, painful as that is, because it's clearly irritating me. At least I can have a cup of tea with no obvious upset.

Why are you eliminating starch? Well cooked white rice or mashed potatoes are a great carb source. I feel miserable when I don't eat starch too.

 

[member 2106]

Why are you eliminating starch? Well cooked white rice or mashed potatoes are a great carb source. I feel miserable when I don't eat starch too.

If I've ever tried to eliminate starch, it's only because I've suspected that it might be contributing to my intestinal inflammation. My thinking was that a bit of time without starch, as Ray Peat has suggested, might allow my gut to heal. But it's probable that I'm just not getting the right kind of starch - quite a lot of bread - and am not cooking my rice or potatoes for long enough.

 

[member 2106]

Consume a very high calcium-to-phosphate ratio because it will protect your intestines. Add gelatin and/or glycine to help heal the lining of your intestine.

I think my calcium intake is pretty high, because I drink a lot of milk and eat Häagen Dazs quite regularly. As for gelatin, again, I try to add ready-made stock to lots of my meals and quite often, but possibly not enough, eat broths.

 

[member 2106]

I think that's just an effect of lowering bowel inflammation without sufficiently stimulating peristalsis. A laxative like cascara (or more coffee, as in decaff) should keep things going.

I don't know, man, it seems to increase inflammation, because when I stop drinking it the inflammation goes down and my movements normalise. It stimulates peristalsis but I think it's probably doing it inappropriately, or messing with my rhythms.

 

[DaveFoster]

I don't know, man, it seems to increase inflammation, because when I stop drinking it the inflammation goes down and my movements normalise. It stimulates peristalsis but I think it's probably doing it inappropriately, or messing with my rhythms.

Have you measured TSH? What coffee do you drink?

 

[member 2106]

Have you measured TSH? What coffee do you drink?

I have not.

And I've drunk various types of coffee with the same issues. Different roasts and espresso machine, filter, cafetiere etc.

 

[DaveFoster]

@waldenpond Try cold brew.

What time do you drink coffee? With breakfast? And have you measured your temps or pulse?

 

[member 2106]

@waldenpond Try cold brew.

What time do you drink coffee? With breakfast? And have you measured your temps or pulse?

I usually drink coffee around lunchtime, with food. Rarely in the morning and never in the evening.

My resting pulse is usually between 60-70. I have problems with body temperature, which I know can be symptomatic of poor thyroid function. Because of my recent history with panic attacks I often have cold feet, buy when I'm not feeling anxious I'm generally okay. Haven't actually measured temps though.

 

[DaveFoster]

I usually drink coffee around lunchtime, with food. Rarely in the morning and never in the evening.

My resting pulse is usually between 60-70. I have problems with body temperature, which I know can be symptomatic of poor thyroid function. Because of my recent history with panic attacks I often have cold feet, buy when I'm not feeling anxious I'm generally okay. Haven't actually measured temps though.

You should really measure temps.

 

[dbh25]

This is something I cannot figure out.

When I stop drinking coffee, within a few days my bowel movements dramatically improve. When I'm drinking coffee - which when I do is normally only 1 cup per day - I suffer borderline constipation and have incomplete evacuation. The coffee stimulates peristalsis very quickly but to little avail.

This is very frustrating because I love coffee.

Does anyone have any advice? I make sure to drink coffee with food and always put sugar in it. It's definitely not too strong. Is this problem indicative of impaired bowel function that might be helped by avoiding coffee for a while? Or am I simply allergic? I have had much in the way of intestinal irritation for as long as I can remember, so perhaps I need to sort that out before I'm able to tolerate coffee. Does anyone else have a similar experience?

I have the same problem you described- I usually have 1-2 cups of coffee/day with lunch. Tea does not have this effect- I don't think it's caffeine, it's specific to coffee. (even decaf) There have been shorter periods when I avoided coffee, but I end up drinking it again. I am also curious what suggestions people have on this.

 

[Jliz169]

Funny, in my case unless I have a bit of coffee in the morning I get constipated and not to mention I will have slight migraine through the day.

I've proved this to be 100% accurate in my case, countless occasions I either forgot to drink my morning coffee or I was out and didn't have the time to buy one at the coffee house and confirmed that regardless of eating plenty of sugar or not - migraine started around 10 or 11 am, accompanied by lethargic feeling and lack of normal bowel movement that would not go away UNTIL I DRANK SOME COFFE.... Amazing...

 

[oldfriend]

Funny, in my case unless I have a bit of coffee in the morning I get constipated and not to mention I will have slight migraine through the day.

I've proved this to be 100% accurate in my case, countless occasions I either forgot to drink my morning coffee or I was out and didn't have the time to buy one at the coffee house and confirmed that regardless of eating plenty of sugar or not - migraine started around 10 or 11 am, accompanied by lethargic feeling and lack of normal bowel movement that would not go away UNTIL I DRANK SOME COFFE.... Amazing...

It's well known that caffeine is an addictive substance, and there's no reason to expect that stopping won't come bundled with withdrawal symptoms. I used to be barista, and I can tell you with certainty that your headache is caused by caffeine withdrawal.
Just like the OP I can't tolerate coffee well anymore. Things like Theanine and Cypro help with the stress response, but after a few days of regular coffee consumption my digestion is just f***ed. I even tried Tyler's acid free coffee with no luck. Is the irritation caused by the caffeine itself, or some other factor? Does anyone know if chocolate has the same effect?

 

[member 2106]

Does anyone know if chocolate has the same effect?

It doesn't for me, although I only take it in moderate amounts. Still get problems with coffee, but I think the coffee is unmasking a some problem in my digestion, and if I can sort that out, I hope to be able to tolerate it better.