Absolutely not. Coffee has no benefit to digestion.
- Coffee increases the acidity in your digestive system due to the oils, acids and compounds it contains, such as caffeine. Over time this will weaken the linings of your system and make you vulnerable to problems such as ulcers.
- Caffeine has a relaxant effect on the esophageal sphincter muscle. This muscle stops acid escaping your stomach. When it is relaxed, hot, stinging acid will leak from your stomach causing acid reflux and heartburn.
- The acidic effect in coffee provides the perfect breeding grounds for Helicobacter Pylori bacteria. This bacteria causes irritable bowel syndrome, gastritis, Crohn's disease, colitis and ulcers.
- Coffee stimulates the gastric emptying of your stomach before food has had a chance to properly digest. Much like a laxative. Meaning your body doesn't get all the nutrients and essentials from the food you digested with the coffee.
- Caffeine in coffee is a strong diuretic. This means that it causes large amounts of fluids to be flushed through the kidneys, leading to frequent urination which can cause loss of minerals, loss of nutrients and dehydration. In fact, doctors recommend that patients who had a kidney removed should avoid coffee as much as possible.
- Coffee is known to restrict the absorption of magnesium, calcium and zinc into your body, which are crucial minerals. Coffee also heavily impairs iron absorption in the stomach. Many nutritionists ban their clients from drinking coffee.
- Coffee stimulates the brain to release cortisol, norepinephrine and epinephrine. These are hormones that cause depression and anxiety.
- The caffeine increases the heart rate and blood pressure, making the drinker more prone to stress. Those with an excessive coffee addiction may suffer heart complications.
- Coffee beans are known to interfere with gamma-aminobutyric acid in the body. This acid is important for regulating metabolism, stress management, mood management and anger management. Many counsellors ban clients from drinking coffee.
Tea is the opposite of coffee. Tea has many benefits to the body. Depending on the type of tea, it can also aid digestion. Tea is recommended by nutritionists while they are critical towards coffee.
