Coffee – Upset Stomach Remedy
Caffeine stimulates our central nervous system decreasing fatigue by encountering chemicals causing sleepiness. As one of the most widely consumed stimulant present in coffee, tea, chocolate and energy drinks is seen to have cause digestive or stomach problems. These digestive problems can be triggered by a lot of factors and you may be aware of the foods that may trigger these discomforts. When caffeine consumed in moderation, it is safe, but when of too much it leads to anxiousness and irritability.
Coffee is one of the beverages that contains caffeine. Maybe you are addicted to drinking coffee and for sure there’s a lot of caffeine on your body. When this happens your body needs to recover. It’s really hard to know what exactly to put in your body when dealing with stomach issues. There are many reasons causing an upset stomach, it may be due to stomach lining and intestines inflammation caused by virus that needs medical care.
But how coffee caused an upset stomach?
There are some coffee drinkers who are sensitive to caffeine or oils in the coffee. Little did we know that caffeine can boost our stomach to produce more acid than it normally produced? And through this process, coffee’s natural oil interacts with the stomach causing imbalance resulting to headache, heartburn or even stomach inflammation.
How coffee upsets stomach and what is the remedy?
Caffeine in the coffee could upset your stomach. But don’t worry as there are remedies on how to make your stomach feel better again.
- Water. While coffee dehydrates you, drinking water keeps you stay hydrated. Water can flush out anything in your system causing irritation or discomforts. If you’re a heavy coffee drinker make sure as well that you’re a heavy water drinker. Drinking four to six glasses a day is a good habit.
- Herbal Tea. Though tea is not a caffeine-free beverage but still it can help your stomach after acids from caffeine caused irritation. You may try lemon ginger to reduce inflammation and heartburn, chamomile tea for some soothing effects but not with peppermint or spearmint as it can worsen stomach acid.
- Aloe Vera Juice. Aloe Vera has an inflammatory properties as well vitamins and minerals. Its juice can detoxify making your stomach feel better.
- Healthy Snacks. It is also recommended to eat healthy snacks that counteract the irritation caused by caffeine.
- Neutralize Stomach Acids. Seek for a doctor’s advice. Due to stomach acids you can experience heartburn from caffeine coffee consumption.
- Massage. Since not all stomach issues involved from the inside so you may consider massage as one the most effective remedies as direct external action. You can massage your stomach in a clockwise manner with a drop of chamomile essential oil. It eases sudden and sharp pains in your stomach. You can also use hot bottled water that helps increase blood flow on the surface of the skin easing the pain inside your stomach and relaxing your tense muscles.
However, if you still want to enjoy your coffee without compromising your stomach, you must limit your caffeine intake. With this, you can limit your caffeine to 200-300mg a day. An average cup of coffee contains 120-200mg of caffeine depending on the size and roast. But if you’re a sensitive drinker, when you consume more than 500mg of caffeine may feel stomach discomfort.
Here are some tips on how to limit and keep caffeine from stomach problems.
- Decaf coffee. By drinking decaf coffee you can reduce your caffeine intake. It tastes the same as caffeinated coffee but it helps prevent stomach issues.
- Dark Roast. It has the least amount of caffeine and acidity, thus, it won’t upset your stomach.
- Eating something. It is suggested to eat something before drinking your cup of coffee. It helps break down the oils in the coffee than an empty stomach.
- Cold Brew. Some prefers drinking cold brew as it has a low acidity because of its unique brewing process. It has lower number of oils that helps stomach problems. But keep in mind as well that cold brew has more concentrated caffeine.
Medically, there are some cases that caffeine intake causes gastritis, ulcers and other stomach problems. Symptoms of drinking too much caffeine include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Since caffeine is also present on energy drinks, expert advised to read its labels to help you save form pain and issues.
Drinking antacids is not an effective remedy for stomachaches instead it can increase acids in your stomach. If symptoms persist, you should call your doctor especially if you are already vomiting blood, losing weight and no appetite. If you feel stomach discomfort from drinking coffee, you can also try eating banana or drinking chai tea. Now, that you have ideas how coffee upset your stomach, you can apply those remedies suggested above.
Remember that a moderate caffeine consumption is about 250 milligrams a day but too much or more than 1000 milligrams may trigger health problems. It may cause you heartburn, change in bowel movement, fertility in women, anxiety, headaches and heart problems. Stay healthy, coffee lover.