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Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. The way coffee keeps us alert and energetic throughout the day making our lives easier and much more productive is just phenomenal. While most of us are used to having it first thing in the morning, we never consider how this habit might be affecting our body adversely.
Coffee comes with extraordinary benefits. From its potential to reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease and amazing impact on brain power like improving memory and cognitive function to increasing life longevity, coffee seems like a magic potion.
So you don’t need to feel guilty about drinking coffee, but drinking it on an empty stomach can change the whole game!
But then, what is the ideal time to have coffee?
Well, consider having a small snack or better yet, a healthy breakfast during your morning cup. You can even try drinking coffee in the mid-morning or early-afternoon, which means between 10 a.m and noon would be the best.
Below are 5 reasons how coffee can have negative effects on your body when consumed on an empty stomach:
Damages the Stomach lining
Your digestive system can go through some serious damage if you drink coffee first thing in the morning. This is because as soon you consume something, your stomach releases strong acids that are responsible for breaking down food for digestion and if you haven’t had breakfast before getting a cup of coffee, it means all that acid is now going to damage your stomach lining, digestive tract and can eventually lead to stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, and heartburn.
Dehydration
When you wake up in the morning, you’re usually dehydrated after spending the night sleeping and you feel a little lazy and then you decide to grab a cup of coffee assuming this will make you alert and prepare you for the day ahead, but it turns out getting in caffeine before any meal will make you even more dehydrated leaving you feeling more lazy, sluggish and tired.
This is because caffeine is a diuretic, a substance that removes water from your system and flushes it out into the urine.
So it’s ideal to have a big glass of fresh water as soon as you wake up. You’ll feel energized and active instantly.
Anxiety
Caffeine raises cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and, with no food to release serotonin(the happy hormone), you start feeling way weaker than if you had eaten breakfast first.
Drinking coffee on an empty stomach “can give you jitters, shakes, and other withdrawal effects, including mood changes. It can also increase symptoms of anxiety, as well as boost your heart rate, irritability, and inability to focus,” says Dr. Adam Simon, the chief medical officer at PushDoctor.co.uk.
If you are already dealing with anxiety issues, then having a cup of coffee on top of that empty stomach will cause even more anxiety by increasing your body’s cortisol and adrenaline levels. Caffeine acts in your body much like stress as it increases heart rate and blood pressure just the way stress does, making you feel anxious. (See also: Health Hacks: Food For Instant Stress Relief)
Loss of appetite
Coffee decreases your appetite and it is one of the reasons why it helps you lose weight, but skipping breakfast is not going to help you lose weight in any way.
In fact, you might actually end up gaining weight by skipping breakfast as it can lower metabolism and decrease your energy levels, making it more difficult to exercise and obtain the nutrients you need to stay healthy. So make sure you have a healthy breakfast and then enjoy your favorite cup of joe.
Blood sugar
While coffee is remarkably beneficial for people with diabetes type II, in the long run, it does also affect blood sugar levels in an instant. This is because caffeine stimulates the release of adrenaline that in turn causes insulin release, leading to a major drop in your blood sugar levels.
Now imagine drinking coffee first thing in the morning, when your body is already low on blood sugar and craving for a healthy meal. This habit could actually make you feel very weak and exhausted instead of energizing you, as soon as you’re done with your coffee.
About The Author:
Lisa Brown has been helping her readers with successful business and entrepreneurial strategies for the past 3 years. She currently works with Ekuep (http://www.ekuep.com/en/), which is the first online store in the Middle East that caters to the foodservice industry. It sells kitchen equipment, restaurant equipment, and food service equipment that are made by leading brands from all over the world. These machines and tools are trusted by all restaurant and cafe owners from across the world.
