You love your coffee for its smooth taste, heavenly aroma, and ability to pull you out of that sleepy slump, but for some reason, it doesn’t love you.
You're not alone if you suffer stomach upsets or cramping after your morning cup of joe. But what causes this, and why does it only affect some people?
Let’s look in-depth at the main reasons why caffeine can cause stomach irritation, including caffeine sensitivity, the acidity, dehydration, an empty stomach, and additives.
5 Reasons Why Coffee Causes Stomach Pain
Why does coffee make your stomach hurt, and is there anything you can do to prevent it?
Here are five reasons why people experience stomach discomfort after drinking coffee:
1. Caffeine Sensitivity
Coffee might be the perfect way to start your day, but some people have a heightened sensitivity to caffeine. Symptoms can show up as a jittery, fuzzy feeling if you've ingested too much or sleep disruption if you drink caffeinated drinks too late in the day.
Caffeine is a gastrointestinal stimulant, meaning that it could also be responsible for sharp cramps in your stomach. However, everyone experiences these symptoms differently according to weight, genetics, and diet.
Related: Why Doesn't Caffeine Affect Me?
2. Acidity
If you are feeling bloated, belching, or just experiencing general discomfort after your cup of coffee, it could be because you're sensitive to the acids contained in coffee.
Coffee stimulates the production of gastric acid, which could be one of the culprits that cause abdominal pain. This may be more likely to affect you if you are already prone to gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastritis, or acid reflux.
You’re also more likely to experience symptoms if you suffer from IBS because coffee contains compounds that can irritate the stomach lining.
Cut other acidic foods and drinks from your diet for a few days. If your symptoms improve, the acid is likely causing your discomfort.
Some types of coffee are more acidic than others. If you’re looking for something with the lowest acidity possible, try drinking our HaNoi or SaiGon OG blends.
Both are made primarily with Coffea robusta — a variety of coffee known for having the lowest acidity of all.
3. Drinking Coffee on an Empty Stomach
The acids in coffee boost the gut hormone gastrin, which works on the peristalsis and stimulates bowel movements for many people. This is most noticeable first thing in the morning, and you are more likely to experience the need to go to the bathroom or have stomach upsets if you consume coffee on an empty stomach.
If you are fasting or replacing breakfast with coffee, you are more likely to feel the effects of caffeine and acids on your digestive tract, as there is nothing else for your stomach to work on. Without anything substantial in your gut, the acids and molecules in coffee are likely to cause discomfort.
Related: Does Coffee Break a Fast?
4. Diuretics & Constipation
Coffee is a diuretic and can cause people to feel constipated the more often you drink it.
Diuretics cause you to urinate more frequently, which, over time, can cause you to become dehydrated without realizing it. Your gut needs plenty of moisture to keep things moving as it should, so lacking hydration could result in fewer bowel movements and harder stools.
It’s no mystery why constipation can cause your stomach to feel distended, crampy, bloated, and uncomfortable.
If you think this could be causing your stomach pain, try drinking an extra 2 cups of water for every coffee you drink in the morning.
5. Low-Quality Coffee
Low-quality coffee often contains contaminants like mycotoxins and bacteria that can irritate your stomach and lower digestive tract. The same goes for additions like artificial sweeteners, sugar alternatives, and chemical preservatives.
This issue is especially common in instant coffee blends, ready-to-drink canned coffees, and other commercial products.
If you’re a fan of using milk, creamer, sugars, sweeteners, or syrups in your coffee, it’s wise to check if you’re intolerant to any of these ingredients.
All Cafely coffees are made using 100% natural ingredients, are free from chemical sweeteners and preservatives, and are tested for mycotoxins and other contaminants.
Shop Cafely Low-Sugar Instant Coffees.
10 Ways to Manage Stomach Pain Without Ditching Coffee
Now that we know the potential reasons why your morning coffee could be causing you grief let's delve into five tried and tested tips to alleviate the effects without cutting coffee altogether.
1. Switch to Decaf
To many coffee lovers, the word decaf is not in their vocabulary. While the reluctance to move from your HaNoi 100% robusta might fill you with annoyance, switching to specialty-grade decaf coffee could be the answer to your digestive discomfort.
However, this is only beneficial if you’re affected by caffeine sensitivity. If acidity is the issue for you, you should know that decaf coffee tends to contain the same acids as regular coffee and will still increase gastric acid and digestive motility.
2. Reduce Your Coffee Intake By Half
If decaf isn’t an option, why not try to cut your consumption down until you get to an amount you can tolerate? If you’re consistently consuming more than 400 mg of caffeine a day — over the recommended amount — getting below that amount could make all the difference.
If you’re already below that, make sure you aren’t getting caffeine from other foods and drinks.
Reduce your intake down to one cup and see if your stomach hurts. Increase the amount until you feel discomfort. You can also work in reverse, but that means possibly dealing with an upset stomach until you cut back enough.
Related: How Much Caffeine is in Different Kinds of Coffee?
3. Eat a Banana After Drinking Coffee
It might sound bizarre but bananas have powerful stomach-soothing properties. They’re also alkaline rather than acidic and might counter the side effects caused by the acids found in caffeine.
4. Drink Dark-Roasted Coffee
Contrary to popular belief, dark-roasted beans are less acidic than light roasts. They're roasted for a longer time at higher temperatures, which destroys some of the acidic elements in the bean.
5. Drink Cold-Brew Coffee
Cold-brew coffee is much less acidic than traditionally brewed coffee due to its slow brewing process. This means it’s kinder to your stomach, has a sweeter flavor, and is less likely to produce a bitter aftertaste.
Cold brew usually has more caffeine than a regular cup of coffee, however, so if caffeine sensitivity is the issue for you, cold brew coffee could actually end up being worse.
6. Add a Pinch of Baking Soda
Baking soda can help neutralize acid. It might seem odd, but it shouldn’t affect the flavor of your coffee too much and can raise the pH level, causing less irritation to your stomach lining.
7. Drink Coffee With Food
Some people feel the need to start their day with caffeine before their stomach has woken up to the idea of food.
However, this is ill-advised if you struggle with a sensitive stomach. Introducing food at the same time as you enjoy your morning coffee will dilute the coffee’s acidity. You wouldn’t take medication that claims to upset your stomach lining without food, and the same applies to coffee.
You don’t need to eat a lot to negate the effects of acid on your digestion, but it’s a good idea to choose something simple rather than putting more stress on your tummy with fried food.
8. Avoid Dehydration
Our busy lifestyles often cause us to neglect our hydration. If you’re drinking coffee, you may consider your hydration to be adequate, but diuretics cause us to urinate more frequently and lose moisture from our bodies more quickly, eventually causing constipation.
Try to switch some of your daily drinks to plain water, or make an effort to drink more water in between, particularly if you are exercising or the weather is warm.
9. Swap Creamers & Sugars
If it’s not the coffee, maybe it’s what you put in it. Milk and sugar products can cause upset stomachs for many people.
If you struggle to give up cream and sugar, try making homemade coffee creamer. This gives you control over the ingredients — you choose the milk (dairy or non-dairy), sugars (optional), and flavoring, all without preservatives and additives.
Oat milk and almond milk are great alternatives to dairy, which complement the flavor of coffee and help you consume fewer calories than you would if you always drink coffee with cream. You can also try soy milk, but this can create other problems for those with a sensitive stomach.
10. Experiment With Different Sweeteners
Some low-calorie sweeteners can upset the gastrointestinal tract, causing gas and discomfort, particularly if you are prone to food and drink sensitivities. Agave syrup is natural and delicious but experiment with various options until you find something tasty that agrees with you.
Related: Best Sweetened Condensed Milk
FAQs: Coffee & Stomach Discomfort
Still have questions? Check out our FAQ section to find out more.
1. Can caffeine affect cortisol?
Caffeine can temporarily increase the body’s level of cortisol, but if you don’t regularly drink more than the recommended 400 mg a day (roughly equivalent to 4 cups), this should not pose any health issues.
2. Is coffee good for your metabolism?
Caffeine has been shown to improve metabolic rate by increasing the speed at which your body burns fat. This also means you will burn more calories when your body is resting.
3. Does grind size affect acidity?
If you want to try and reduce the acidity of your cup of coffee, opt for a coarser grind size. Fine coffee grounds have a greater surface area, which means more acid can be extracted from your coffee during the brewing stage.
Related: How to Grind Coffee Beans?
4. Does caffeine affect weight?
Caffeine is associated with higher activity levels due to the energy boost it offers. Studies suggest coffee may promote weight management by decreasing overall body fat and enhancing athletic performance, although more research needs to be carried out due to mixed findings.
