I Didn't Know That - Coffee

How it affects you:  This energy hero can quickly become your GI tract’s worst enemy.  In fact, according to the American Chemical Society, nearly 40 million people in the United States refrain from drinking coffee – or as much coffee as they would like – due to stomach irritation.

Coffee doesn’t just wake up our mind, it also stimulates acid production in the stomach, which can cause inflammation and result in heartburn and GERD.  What’s more, caffeine acts like a diuretic, which can cause dehydration and, ultimately, constipation.

If you’re like me, I don’t want to give up my morning coffee, so what can we do?  This is what I found – limit caffeinated coffee to one cup.  If that isn’t possible, limit to one caffeinated cup every two hours to allow your body time to process the caffeine.  It’s important not to drink coffee on an empty stomach, which can increase indigestion.  It’s recommended that we add something that’s easily digestible, like a banana or bran cereal at breakfast, to reduce the symptoms. 

This answers why my stomach has a bit of irritation in the mornings but can I manage make myself actually eat something before or at least with my morning coffee?  Not sure but I’ll try.