Coffee contains many bioactive compounds that influence metabolism directly, causing your colon to contract and promoting bowel movements, as well as indirectly, via neurohumoral responses.
Story at-a-glance
- There’s an, often unspoken, effect of coffee drinking that many would consider a benefit — it makes you poop
- Colon activity increases quickly after a cup of coffee — within four minutes — and the effect persists for at least 30 minutes
- In terms of acting as a colonic stimulant, drinking caffeinated coffee has effects similar to that of eating a meal, and leads to activity that is 60% stronger than drinking water and 23% stronger than drinking decaffeinated coffee
- Molecules including exorphins, which are opioid-like compounds in coffee, motilin or the hormone gastrin may be involved in coffee’s metabolic effects, possibly due to neurohumoral responses, meaning they involve both neural and hormonal mechanisms
- By potentially increasing metabolic rate and enhancing the function of brown fat, it’s possible that coffee could also contribute to weight loss
Coffee is enjoyed by 7 in 10 Americans each week, while 62% enjoy coffee daily.[1] On the record, the most common reasons why people drink coffee are for the taste and the caffeine boost it provides — to increase energy and “wake me up.”[2],[3] But there’s another, often unspoken, effect of coffee drinking that many would consider a benefit — it makes you poop.
Joseph Mercola
Author
Dr. Joseph Mercola is the founder of Mercola.com. An osteopathic physician, best-selling author, and recipient of multiple awards in the field of natural health, his primary vision is to change the modern health paradigm by providing people with a valuable resource to help them take control of their health.
