London: Sipping a cup of coffee after a heavy meal can support digestion for some people, but it is not beneficial for everyone, according to Dr. Emily Leeming, a dietitian at King’s College London. While coffee can aid digestion in certain cases, she cautions that it is not always a good idea.
Caffeine stimulates the gut by increasing muscle contractions, which helps move food through the digestive system at a steady and efficient pace before it is excreted. For people with slightly sluggish digestion, this stimulation can be helpful.
However, for others, particularly those with digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), caffeine can have the opposite effect, speeding up gut activity too much and making digestion uncomfortable.
Coffee’s influence goes beyond gut motility alone. Regular coffee consumption has been linked to improved overall gut health. Growing evidence suggests that habitual coffee drinkers tend to have a different gut microbiome, the trillions of microorganisms that support digestion and nutrient absorption, with higher levels of certain microbes associated with better health outcomes.
Coffee for gut health
Coffee is also one of the main dietary sources of polyphenols, a group of antioxidant compounds that beneficial gut microbes feed on, and it contains a small amount of fibre.
When using coffee as a way to support gut health, timing is important, Dr Leeming explains, because gut health is closely connected to the health of the body’s other systems.
Caffeine has a long half-life and, in some people, can remain in the body for up to 12 hours, potentially interfering with sleep. Poor sleep is linked to poorer gut health, and feeling groggy after a bad night’s sleep can also lead to less healthy food choices, which may further harm gut health.
For these reasons, Dr. Leeming recommends drinking caffeinated coffee only before noon and switching to decaffeinated coffee or herbal tea later in the day to reduce potential negative effects on sleep and digestion.
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