Should You Drink Coffee on an Empty Stomach? (2024)

FAQs

Should You Drink Coffee on an Empty Stomach? ›

Whether you should drink coffee on an empty stomach depends on whether you suffer from acid reflux, ulcers, GERD, or have a sensitive stomach in general. Even if you don't have these issues, eating a meal before consuming coffee may be the best course of action.

Many people believe drinking coffee on an empty stomach is unhealthy, but for most people, the practice is totally safe, experts said. However, coffee affects everyone differently, and for some people, the beverage can cause acid reflux or stomach pain.

Your body absorbs coffee (and, therefore, caffeine) faster when there's nothing else in your belly. This rapid absorption can intensify caffeine's effects, making you feel anxious, jittery or irritable.

Drinking coffee shortly after waking up is extremely dehydrating because caffeine has a diuretic effect on your body, which means it can draw fluids out. After a night's sleep, you need to rehydrate yourself, so it's better to opt for a glass of water instead of coffee first thing in the morning.

There is no definitive answer to whether coffee should be consumed before or after food. Some people prefer to have coffee before eating in order to help wake them up and stimulate their appetite, while others prefer to have coffee after eating as a way to aid digestion and relax.

So, while it's generally assumed safe to drink coffee and not risk dehydration, that doesn't mean it's safe to completely eliminate water from your daily fluid intake. If you drink only coffee and no water, you could become dehydrated.

Health Benefits of Your Morning Joe

Beyond this jolt of euphoria, studies have shown there are several health benefits that accompany drinking at least one cup a day. Basic nutrients help protect against Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, liver disease and liver cancer, and they also promote heart health.

Anti-Inflammatory Properties: Coffee has been found to positively impact the gut microbiome with its prebiotic properties. Coffee can lower harmful specifics of microbes and feed the good bacteria in your gut ⁷. Source of Dietary Fibre: Dietary fibre can be found in some coffee grounds.

There are two primary bodily responses that can occur if you drink coffee on an empty stomach: digestive upset and a hormonal response. Though coffee affects everyone differently, it can cause issues for our digestive system.

“For most people, moderate coffee consumption can be incorporated into a healthy diet.” Hu said that moderate coffee intake—about 2–5 cups a day—is linked to a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson's disease, and depression.

Why wait 90 minutes to drink coffee? ›

Waiting 90 minutes after waking up allows adenosine levels to rise slightly, making caffeine more effective at blocking receptors and keeping us alert throughout the day. Accordingly, to Huberman, that's the key to its method: you need to let some adenosine fix itself on receptors before you consume coffee.

“That explains why you may peak in the morning and get more tired at night,” she noted. Taking this rhythm into consideration, Lee suggested that the best time to have caffeine would be at least 45 minutes after waking up, when “your cortisol rhythm starts to dip.”

3) Lovneet says that our blood sugar control is impaired if we consume coffee first thing in the morning. 4) Everyone may not have experienced this but there's a possibility that drinking coffee on an empty stomach can give you jitters, shakes, and other withdrawal effects, including mood changes.

Dairy products: Dairy products, such as milk, cream, and cheese, can interfere with the absorption of iron from coffee. Iron rich food you avoid those types of food have rich in iron. Iron-rich foods, such as leafy green vegetables, beans, and lentils, can also interfere with the absorption of iron from coffee.

We don't want either of these things to happen, but dental experts agree that brushing BEFORE you drink coffee is better than after. If you've removed plaque buildup and your teeth are clean before you drink coffee, it's more difficult for stains to adhere to the surface of your teeth.

The answer is not a simple one. While coffee itself doesn't contain gas-causing compounds, it does stimulate the production of stomach acid. This increase in acid production can lead to digestive discomfort, including bloating and gas.

Having coffee on an empty stomach may raise your blood sugar according to a handful of recent studies. The reason: It may lower insulin resistance, which means your cells can't easily take up sugar from the blood. To lessen this effect, try having coffee with your morning meal.

The Acid Problem

When you drink coffee on an empty stomach, especially in the morning, it can lead to higher acidity levels in your stomach. This can cause a variety of digestive issues, including heartburn, indigestion, and irritation of the stomach lining (gastritis).

The action of coffee on stomach acid secretion has raised the issue of a possible increase in dyspepsia (poor digestion, discomfort, nausea, heartburns, eructation, and flatulence), or esophageal burns, gastritis or ulcers, and gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD).