Is it harmful to drink coffee on an empty stomach?

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Caffeine suppresses appetite, so some people think that by drinking coffee on an empty stomach, they kill two birds with one stone: they save the time needed for a full breakfast and create a false sense of satiety, thanks to which it is possible to deceive the body and reduce the number of calories. At first glance, everything is logical: after drinking coffee “on the go”, we not only get a boost of vitality, but also can, without feeling discomfort, do without high-calorie products for several hours.

This effect is well known to manufacturers, who popularize the green coffee diet. However, we should not forget that the human body is not a battery, it does not care from which source it is “charged”, and for trying to deceive nature, we often have to pay the price with bad health and diseases.

Coffee and the digestive system

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Coffee contains several organic acids, including malic, oxalic, citric, tartaric, caffeic, and chlorogenic. If there is already some food in the stomach, all these substances will only improve digestion. But they can irritate the mucous membrane of an empty stomach. Of course, there are too few acids in one cup of coffee to harm the internal organs of a healthy person at once. But water sharpens a stone, and if you regularly drink coffee on an empty stomach, then over time, unpleasant sensations, stomach pain, heartburn will appear, and then gastritis will sneak up imperceptibly.

Caffeine, getting into the stomach, provokes the production of gastric juice, which contains hydrochloric acid. It is necessary for digestion of food. However, if there is no food in the stomach, then hydrochloric acid only increases the irritating effect of organic acids contained in coffee. The more caffeine in a drink, the more intensively gastric juice is produced. Accordingly, it is most harmful to drink robusta coffee on an empty stomach.

In the morning, it is better to brew Arabica, not mixtures with robusta

It is quite dangerous to follow the advice of some pseudo-nutritionists to replace breakfast with green coffee. In terms of composition, raw grains differ from roasted ones only in the increased concentration of chlorogenic acid. It is an antioxidant and promotes the breakdown of fat cells. But before entering the blood, it enters the stomach, where, like other acids, it irritates the mucous membrane.

Therefore, you must eat 20-30 minutes after drinking green coffee. So that the effect of chlorogenic acid on the mucous membrane of the stomach does not turn out to be destructive, it is not recommended to drink green coffee for weight loss for more than 3-4 weeks in a row.

There are a lot of organic acids in decaffeinated coffee, so it should not be drunk on an empty stomach either. stomach. There are no organic acids in instant coffee. But in addition to caffeine, which provokes the production of hydrochloric acid, it contains chemicals that have a negative effect on the mucous membrane of the stomach.

Coffee and the hormonal background

Coffee promotes the production of two hormones: cortisol and serotonin. Cortisol is a stress hormone: it promotes awakening, causes a feeling of cheerfulness. But in large quantities, cortisol literally excites the nervous system, provokes anxiety.

Serotonin is the hormone of joy and satisfaction. Under its influence, mental abilities are enhanced.

Scientists who studied the effect of coffee on the hormonal background of a person established a pattern:

• drinking coffee brewed from beans with a low caffeine content (Arabica) produces more serotonin than cortisol;
• drinking a drink brewed from coffee with a high caffeine content (robusta blends) produces more cortisol than serotonin.

Usually, the daily peak of cortisol synthesis in the body is between 6 and 9 in the morning. If during this period you drink coffee on an empty stomach, without snacking on foods that contribute to the production of serotonin, the level of cortisol in the blood will increase to such an extent that the blood pressure will rise, a feeling of anxiety and trembling in the hands will appear.

Nature provided a defense mechanism against the “cortisol attack”. In people who constantly drink coffee in the morning on an empty stomach, morning cortisol production gradually stops. Caffeine is the only way to perk up after sleep.

If a person cannot wake up well without a cup of coffee, it means that the hormonal balance in the body is disturbed. To restore it, you will have to completely give up your favorite drink for a while and torture yourself by fighting morning sleepiness.

“Serotonin” coffee (100% Arabica) with low caffeine content acts more gently, does not cause such a violent reaction of the body, but it cannot be drunk on an empty stomach due to the high content of organic acids.

Safe rules for drinking coffee

Doctors recommend drinking coffee after breakfast, ideally after an hour/one and a half hours. It is better to drink “serotonin” coffee from 100% Arabica in the morning. If you still had to drink coffee on an empty stomach, in order to bring the body out of a state of stress, you need to eat a full breakfast, according to the norms of the BJU.

The best time for coffee is from 9.30 to 10.00 and from 14.00 to 15.00. In the morning, after 9 o'clock, the level of cortisol decreases little by little, and coffee (preferably cappuccino) gives vigor. In the afternoon, between 14:00 and 15:00, the cortisol level is at a minimum, so a cup of coffee will be very appropriate and will help maintain performance until the end of the working day.

Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is harmful even to healthy people, and in some diseases it can provoke an exacerbation .

It is strictly forbidden to consume coffee on an empty stomach in case of:

• indigestion, gastrointestinal disease;
• gallstones diseases and a remote gallbladder;
• diabetes and other diseases of the endocrine system;
• kidney diseases.