For a lot of people, their morning routine is incomplete without a cup of coffee. It can be a great way to wake you up and set you up for a great day ahead. However, some people experience some side effects that leave them feeling worse.
In particular, it’s common for people to feel nauseous after drinking their cup of coffee in the morning. So, can coffee make you sick? There are a ton of fantastic benefits that you can experience when drinking coffee, but there are also some downsides that you should be aware of.
Consuming 5 or more cups of coffee daily is sure to produce side effects for many. Although, feeling sick after the regular 1-2 cups is usually due to more specific reasons that you may not know about.
Below, you can learn more information about how coffee can make you sick and some of the best ways that you can avoid it.
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Digestive System & Caffeine
Caffeine and acids are two of the main elements in coffee that can cause your digestive system to become more sensitive. It’s common for people to experience nausea and heartburn, as well as acid reflux when drinking coffee.
These side effects are a result of the acids in coffee not mixing well inside your stomach. In addition to this, coffee causes the stomach to produce increased amounts of acid which means that your digestive system is having to put in more work.
Not to mention, studies have shown that coffee has potent laxative properties which lead to your digestive system working a lot faster than usual. Therefore, feeling sick after drinking coffee shouldn’t be such a surprise as it can cause your digestive system to be putting in overtime.
Drinking Coffee On An Empty Stomach
Another one of the main reasons why people feel sick after drinking coffee is because they’ve done so on an empty stomach. In fact, many coffee lovers feel worse after drinking their first cup of coffee in the morning on an empty stomach compared to when they woke up feeling groggy.
Skipping breakfast and going straight for the coffee may seem like a good idea when you’re in a rush and in need of a caffeine fix, but it can end up being a bad way to begin your day.
Eating food before enjoying your morning cup of coffee is an easy and effective way to prevent any feeling of sickness. This is because the food you’ve eaten can soak up the coffee to prevent you from being hit with so much caffeine and acid in one go.
Instead, you’re able to give the coffee more time to work at a slower pace so that your digestive system can process everything easier so that you can avoid feeling sick. Furthermore, there’s less overall acid from the coffee so that you can also avoid acid reflux and heartburn after drinking coffee.
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Cortisol Levels & Caffeine
Did you know that drinking coffee first thing in the morning can actually cause you to feel more tired?
Upon waking up in the morning, the cortisol levels in your body spike which is what helps to wake you up. However, drinking coffee as soon as you wake up can cause the cortisol levels to drop and you can end up feeling lethargic.
Therefore, it’s recommended that you drink coffee partway through the morning or in the afternoon to experience the energy-boosting benefits and avoid feeling more tired. Once you get partway through the morning and into the afternoon, your cortisol levels have been allowed to naturally decline which is where drinking coffee can be a fantastic pick-me-up.
It may be a good idea to reach for a cup of tea as a substitute for coffee if you really need to have a warm drink when waking up in the morning.
Artificial Sweeteners & Creamers
If you add artificial sweeteners and creamers to your coffee, you could be increasing your chances of feeling sick. Sweeteners with zero calories are artificial and they can cause the bacteria in your gut to become irritated which leads to you feeling sick and associating the feeling with drinking coffee.
Furthermore, adding artificial creamers to your cups of coffee means that you’re consuming potentially harmful ingredients like thickeners and high fructose corn syrup.
Therefore, it could be a good idea for you to try drinking your coffee without artificial sweeteners or creamers to see if you notice a difference in how you feel. For some, removing these ingredients from their coffee is enough to alleviate the feelings of sickness.
If you do want to add something to your coffee, be sure that it’s completely natural so that it can mix with the coffee in your stomach and not cause any issues.
Keeping Hydrated When Drinking Coffee
If you usually drink your coffee without consuming plenty of water alongside it, you’re cutting yourself short of the energy-boosting benefits that coffee can provide you with.
Drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up can help you to feel more energized compared to grabbing a cup of coffee. Making sure that you’re hydrated before drinking your coffee can also help to alleviate any feelings of sickness that you may have been feeling before.
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Conclusion
That wraps up our post on the biggest reasons as to why you may have been feeling sick after drinking coffee. You can take the points mentioned above to enjoy drinking your coffee without having to deal with feelings of nausea. Why not buy a good coffee machine under $1000 to start.
Once you’ve mastered how to drink your coffee without feeling sick, you can begin to find better ways of enhancing your morning coffee routine more healthily.
