6 reasons drinking coffee on an empty stomach is harmful
A nutritionist on why having coffee first thing in the morning is not advisable and also reveals the best time to enjoy your favourite beverage.
A cup of coffee has its own set of benefits and there are several studies that vouch for the positive effects of coffee on health from longevity, prevention of heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and even cancer. However, drinking coffee first thing in the morning could do more harm than good and lead to digestive issues, blood sugar imbalance, spike in stress levels among other things. Also early morning is probably the worst time to have coffee as our cortisol levels are already high at the time and drinking coffee could further increase the level of the stress hormone which may lead to mood swings and increase in anxiety. (Also read: Is your coffee giving you cancer? Here's what a cancer surgeon has to say)
So what is the best time to have coffee? What happens when we drink coffee immediately after waking up and that too on an empty stomach. Nutritionist Lovneet Batra in her recent Instagram post answers these questions.
"For many people, coffee is an essential part of their morning routine, much before anything else, but do you know about the possible side effects that come from drinking coffee on an empty stomach," writes Batra listing reasons why coffee isn’t great first thing in the morning.
IT COULD CAUSE BLOATING, NAUSEA, INDIGESTION
- Coffee may stimulate the production of stomach acid. This increase in the production of harmful stomach acid severely disrupts the digestive system of the body, causing issues like indigestion, bloating, nausea, etc.
INCREASES STRESS HORMONES
- First, it increases cortisol, which can negatively impact ovulation, weight and hormonal balance.” The so-called stress hormone—which, among other things, helps regulate energy and makes you feel alert naturally peaks around the time you wake up and interestingly, coffee stimulates cortisol production.
IMPACTS BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL
- Our blood sugar control is impaired when the first thing our bodies come into contact with is coffee
MOOD CHANGES
- Drinking coffee on an empty stomach can give you jitters, shakes, and other withdrawal effects, including mood changes.
HORMONAL TROUBLE
- Impacts the absorption of levothyroxine (the synthetic thyroid hormone), thereby impacting the conversion of T4 to T3 hormones.
CAUSES INFLAMMATION
Is a significant contributor to oxidative stress and inflammation in the body. Fatigue, skin problems, diabetes, and autoimmune conditions are just some of the conditions related to inflammation.
In case you are wondering what's the best time to have coffee, Batra says one can have it in the late morning shortly after breakfast.