Among the most consumed beverages worldwide, coffee is one of them. In addition to making you more alert, it may have a number of other good effects on your health, such as lowering your risk of heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease and improving your mood, mental clarity, and ability to exercise.
Life is full of difficult decisions. Think about the decision that many of us make first thing in the morning: a cup of steaming coffee or avoiding a painful, cramped stomach. We’ll all have to make a lot of tougher choices in life, but coffee should be among the simpler ones, right?
So why, for some of us, does it feel like a toxic wasteland in our stomachs every morning? What’s more, how can we continue to consume coffee without feeling bloated and uncomfortable? Why can’t we have just this one thing?
But worry not, there are many solutions out there to have you enjoy your morning coffee without having to suffer the consequences. Probably not entirely, but at least to an extent where you can still live your life with your morning coffee.
One solution is Tums in your morning coffee. Why Tums? How can it be your problem solver?
What Is Tums Antacid? And What Are Tum’s Ingredients?
TUMS is an antacid used to treat the symptoms of heartburn, sour stomach, acid indigestion, and upset stomach. Calcium carbonate is TUMS’ main active component. On contact, TUMS begins to neutralize the acid that is causing the heartburn in your oesophagus and stomach, giving you a quick relief.
Calcium carbonate is TUMS’ main active component. Given that it is a calcium source derived by mining, it might be a suitable alternative for those who cannot utilize calcium from shellfish.
Why Neutralize Our Coffee?
Many of us wait till we’ve gotten our morning boost before we can start our days. Our noses become aroused sooner than our taste buds while coffee is brewing. As part of your morning ritual, you may have one or more cups until, oh no, stomach problems begin. What is going on?
Is your favorite cup of coffee betraying you? Unfortunately, it very well could be. But don’t worry; you might not need to give up your daily cup of coffee just yet.
According to Andrea Dunn, registered dietitian, the acid or fat content in coffee could cause gastrointestinal difficulties like acid reflux, heartburn, and bloating.”
Caffeinated coffee consumption raises the level of stomach acid, which facilitates acid reflux and heartburn symptoms, according to Dunn. Coffee has advantages and disadvantages. But you can try a lot of low-acid solutions to reduce your symptoms, she adds.
Why Does Coffee Make My Stomach Feel Bad?
The major factors why coffee may be making your stomach feel uneasy are caffeine and coffee acids. How?
Dunn explains that although caffeine is a natural stimulant, it also increases stomach acid production and intestinal muscle contractions.
Coffee may also include a lot of acids, which might hasten food digestion and make you need the restroom more frequently, depending on the sort of coffee you’re drinking. The coffees that have a high acid content are coffee-made arabica beans and light-roasted coffee. Anyway, there are many more reasons why your coffee hurts your stomach.
Acidity
Acidity is one leading cause of stomach aches after consuming coffee. Coffee’s pH, which indicates the amount of acid present, is often around 5. Something that is more acidic has a lower pH value. In comparison, water has a pH of 7, while lemon has around a pH of 2.5.
The concentration of acids like citric acid, quintic acid, and chlorogenic acid in a cup of coffee varies depending on how the coffee beans are roasted and how it is brewed.
Coffee leads the stomach to increase its production of stomach acid as well as generate more gastric acid once it enters the stomach. Heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion, and general gastrointestinal pain might result from this.
The digestive system’s protective mucosal barrier can be damaged by coffee’s acidity, which can aggravate ulcers and lead to other issues. Coffee’s adverse effects are especially potent when digested on an empty stomach.
Can drinking coffee lead to stomach ulcers? No, coffee does not directly cause stomach ulcers. However, if you already have ulcers and drink too much coffee, your symptoms may get worse.
Empty Stomach
Constipation and stomach discomfort can also result from consuming coffee on an empty stomach. When you drink coffee alone, there is nothing in your stomach to buffer the acidity of the beverage, which might irritate the intestinal tract and stomach lining. Certain coffee chemicals may interact with your digestive system directly if you consume them without eating them. When you drink coffee, the irritants have a bigger effect on your stomach because there are more of them and they are in higher concentrations.
Many people who engage in intermittent fasting will consume coffee first thing in the morning. They require their morning coffee, and since black coffee only contains a few calories per cup, it doesn’t cause them to break their fast. On the other hand, consuming subpar coffee on an empty stomach can cause stomach problems.
In addition to making you feel like you need to urinate, coffee itself also stimulates stomach motility, which is why some individuals believe it causes them to have diarrhea. For those who already suffer from these effects, consuming coffee on an empty stomach can exacerbate them.
Caffeine
Caffeine in coffee is another reason that generates stomach distress. If drinking decaf coffee doesn’t give you an upset stomach, caffeine is likely to blame for your gastrointestinal issues.
Stomach irritability and digestive distress are two of caffeine’s main impacts on the digestive system. In some people, it promotes digestive tract movement. In addition to making you go to the bathroom more often, too much caffeine can hurt your lower digestive system.
The neurological system is the primary target of caffeine’s effects, and far too much of it could leave you feeling uneasy. One cup of coffee’s worth of caffeine can linger in your body for hours; after five to six hours, a moderate individual still contains roughly half of the caffeine in their bloodstream.
Caffeine’s digestive effects are amplified by the jittery, overstimulated sensation that some people experience, which can make them feel like their tummy is upset or hurting.
You can feel nauseous if you’re reducing how much caffeine you drink since you’re experiencing caffeine withdrawal. To prevent these side effects, gradually wean yourself off of coffee.
Bad Ingredients and Beans
Whether or not your coffee affects your stomach also depends on the quality of the coffee. Cheap coffee may include impurities like fungi that can irritate the stomach and lead to other health problems. You could get sick if some of the fungi’s poisons survive roasting.
Your coffee’s acidity will also depend on the size of the coffee grounds you use. Compared to coffee made from finer grounds, coffee manufactured from coarser grounds often has lower acidity. It’s possible that you accidentally harmed your tummy if you were using finely ground beans.
Some inexpensive coffee isn’t always ground to the same size. Coffee grounds of various sizes are blended. The resulting cup of coffee can taste fairly strange, with greater acidity than you might anticipate.
It’s possible that milk in a latte, rather than the coffee itself, is to blame for lactose intolerance among coffee users. If you have lactose intolerance, even a small amount of milk can make your stomach hurt, make you bloated, and cause other serious digestion problems.
If you want to find out if you have lactose intolerance, try maintaining a food journal and noting the things you eat before experiencing stomach discomfort. To test if switching to a non-dairy “milk” or creamer helps settle your stomach, consider doing so as well.
Why does drinking coffee make me feel ill? You feel sick after having coffee because a component of the beverage upsets your stomach. These typically consist of strong caffeine, acids, or an addition to your coffee.
Why Putting Tums In Your Coffee Could Be A Solution?
You can link stomach symptoms to cramps from PMS or rotten food. You should also include your morning cup of coffee in that list. According to WebMD, European researchers discovered that specific coffee chemicals encourage your stomach cells to secrete more acid.
If you suspect that coffee is causing your stomach pain, consider modifying your coffee consumption habits to feel your best. Taking an over-the-counter medicine like Tums can temporarily neutralize the acid.
So, Would Putting Tums In Your Coffee Make It Neutral?
Yes, adding Tums to your coffee will neutralize it.
I want to discuss a few points in the query details. At pH 5, coffee is already comparatively neutral. Gatorade and most fruit juices and drinks, on the other hand, have a pH of about 3.
Acidic drinks don’t make you get heartburn. When the muscles separating your esophagus from your stomach are weakened, stomach acid can run back up into your esophagus, causing heartburn. For this reason, lying down or bending over frequently makes heartburn feel worse.
Tums work by temporarily neutralizing gastric acid. Not because you have neutralized the coffee, but rather because the coffee + Tums cocktail will neutralize your stomach acid. If you add Tums to your relatively non-acidic coffee, you will probably still relieve your heartburn if you drink it.