Has it ever occurred to you that your favorite caffeine beverage needs to be a bit healthier, or more precisely, more gut-friendly. If you’re a joe lover, you may or may not agree. However, coffee needs to be made a bit safer, no matter how beneficial they are to health.
If you’ve lately had any issues with your coffee taste or post-coffee effects, read our article to learn eight practical ways to make your coffee more gut-friendly.
1. Cold Brewing
You may prevent your coffee digestion problem by drinking cold brewed coffee. If your coffee is cold-brewed, you get nearly seventy percent less acidic coffee to start your day off. It’s even good for you at night if you sometimes want to get rid of dizziness. When cold-brewing, you’re extracting the coffee beans’ less acidic and bitter essence, making them less irritating to the guts.
Although known as cold-brewed, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re always supposed to drink it cold. You can heat it up in the microwave to get a hot or warm taste.
2. Less to Zero Sugar
Whether it’s sugar or artificial sweetener, it will compromise the health benefits of your coffee habits. Artificial sweetener consists of elements that are hard to absorb in the guts, like xylitol, mannitol, erythritol, etc. Some elements in coffee also alter the pH balance in the intestines. This may lead to the overgrowth of yeast in the intestine.
So, the best policy to take your coffee is to make it with less or zero sugar. One teaspoon of sugar is enough for you if you drink just one cuppa of coffee daily. However, for multiple cups, you better stick to the zero-sugar level.
3. Try Decaf Coffee
Decaf coffee is actually decaffeinated coffee which only contains about 2-3% of caffeine. This makes it less irritable to the guts. You may try out some decaf coffee if you’re getting bad coffee vibes lately. However, even though decaf, it still consists of some sort of caffeine.
So, if you feel like you’re being deprived of the desired wake-up call, you may mix it with some dark roasted coffee beans.
Have you tried the decaf blended with regular, light-roasted, or dark-roasted coffee beans? Is it still giving you acidic reactions like heartburn or anxiety? If it is, you better limit or stop drinking decaf coffee.
4. Go for Low Acid Caffeine
You can go for low-acid options if your main problem with your coffee is acidic reactions. Some coffee brands sell coffee packs labeled with ‘low acid’ notes. Usually, the coffees that are extensively roasted contain less acidic reactions. Hence, many may opt for dark roasted coffee since they’re known to be the most roasted ones.
Nonetheless, many coffee lovers also complain about sour stomach after having dark roasted coffee several times a day. You may look out for Italian or French roast beans that promise to provide less acidic reactions to the guts. So, eventually, it’s your choice after trying out from among these choices.
5. Try Absorbent: Eggshell
Eggshell contains calcium carbonate, which can absorb any acidic elements. Hence, mixing a proper amount of eggshell with ground coffee can neutralize any sharp components in the coffee.
As a rule of thumb, you can use one clean eggshell for four cups of ground coffee. Pour this mix into a coffee maker to get your gut-friendly coffee.
6. Coffee Alternative: Chicory
Sometimes, you may feel like not having coffee anymore, so you may try out other plants like chicory. Chicory belongs to the same dandelion family. Its root is harvested and processed into ground form.
The ground substance is usable as beverages like tea or coffee. The fiber content in chicory is healthful for your guts, but overconsumption may worsen your gut’s health if you’re constantly experiencing gas, bloating, or burping problems.
7. Have Dairy-Free Creamer and Milk
There’s no rule to have your coffee with creamer and milk. Those with bloating and digestion problems should take this very seriously, and they should keep these ingredients away from their coffee.
Experts say that having dairy-free creamer and milk should be a wise way to eliminate such side effects. You can add taste to your coffee by adding various flavored creamers like almonds, oats, barley, etc. Besides, you can mix strawberry, dark chocolate, etc., to make your dairy-free creamer and coffee experience delicious.
8. Hydrolyzed Collagen
You can have hydrolyzed collagen in your coffee as it promotes better digestion, improved immunity, and detoxification. Hydrolyzed collagen or collagen peptide powder can dissolve into liquids, whether it’s hot or cold.
Hence, you can have it with your coffee in proper measurement. Usually, it’s recommended to have a tablespoon of powdered collagen peptide with eight ounces of coffee. But make sure you’re not lately suffering from any digestive problems. If yes, collagen may not help in alleviating the condition in any way.
Can Drinking Coffee Trigger Digestive Problems?
No matter how healthy they are to a great extent, coffee can have gastrointestinal issues if taken too bitterly or more frequently in a day.
You may face problems by drinking too much coffee: irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut, heartburn, etc.
Research says coffee drinkers experience more IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) than that of the non-drinkers of caffeine. Furthermore, caffeine from any sources should be avoided during going through the IBS symptoms.
Apart from IBS, you may suffer from Leaky Guts problem in which toxin gets into the bloodstream, leading to systemic inflammation. Excessive or regular consumption of caffeine can trigger Leaky Gut condition. You may suffer from stomach ache or diarrhea.
Besides, heartburn, reflux, etc., can also be some of the digestive problems you may encounter while having too much coffee.
Another issue many may encounter while drinking coffee regularly is drinking less water. But if you know how to drink more water along with your daily diet and lifestyle, it wouldn’t create many issues with your body’s hydration.
5 Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee without Sugar
A little amount of sugar, milk, or creamer can be taken with coffee in moderation on a daily basis without any ill effects on health. But those who love black coffee, completely without milk or sugar may enjoy a few health benefits in their lives.
Let’s find out some of those health benefits without sugar or milk:
- Prevention of Parkinson’s Disease: Black coffee lovers may be lucky enough to get rid of Parkinson’s disease to an extent. However, People with Parkinson’s disease already may have better control over their movements of limbs than those who don’t have black coffee.
- Reduced Risk of Liver Cirrhosis: Black coffee may reduce the risk of late-stage liver cirrhosis in many people. If you’ve been consuming alcohol over the years, you may develop liver cirrhosis. However, it’s good news that regular intake of black coffee may wane the risk of cirrhosis in them.
- Control Diabetes: Since artificial sugar or sweetener can be risky for those with type 2 diabetes, having black coffee may reduce the risk to an extent. Amazingly enough, regular intake or avoidance of coffee may fluctuate the risk rate of diabetes in people. Drinking it regularly will decrease the diabetes risk, while not drinking or drinking less will increase it significantly.
- Weight Control: Coffee without sugar may control your weight, but you must maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle. However, sugar-less coffee may regulate your diet by eating less but feeling full. Moreover, if you’re a regular black coffee drinker, you may notice slowing down in your weight gain due to a controlled appetite.
- Lower Risk of Cancer: Many studies have shown that you might be safe from various cancer risks, including colorectal, breast, liver, etc. Since coffee contains antioxidants, it can fight your body’s free radicals and harmful molecules.
Final Words
Gut-friendly coffee drinking should be a concern to those who’re suffering from various problems in their digestive tracts. Gas, bloating, burping, heartburn, etc., are a few symptoms of excessive or unhealthy caffeine intake. You must learn how to make your coffee better and healthier.
You can try out certain coffee recipes and alternatives shared in this article. Besides, limit your caffeine intake daily or try sugarless coffee to maintain an appropriate weight, sugar level, and a healthy system overall.
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