Comments on: "Coffee makes you GO!" Why, and what to do?

Question: "Coffee makes you GO!" Why, and what to do?

rwhe — Sat, 21 May 2005 16:00:12 -0800

My brother-in-law used to run a coffee shop. He sold mugs with the slogan, "Coffee makes you GO!", alluding of course to that common side effect of coffee, diarrhea. My question is: 1. Why does coffee cause diarrhea? 2. What can be done about it, apart from (a) giving up coffee, or (b) taking a daily dose of Imodium / Loperamide? Coffee is like physics: we love it, and yet we hate it. Please help me hate it less. Bottoms up!

By: bonheur

bonheur — Sat, 21 May 2005 16:02:39 -0800

Coffee makes you poop. I think it's the stimulant effects of the caffeine. I think that one's body adjusts to coffee over time, so if the effect is problematic for you, drink less and slowly increase your intake. Or drink decaf.

By: cmonkey

cmonkey — Sat, 21 May 2005 16:17:07 -0800

Caffeine is a diuretic that also stimulates your digestive system.

By: abbyladybug

abbyladybug — Sat, 21 May 2005 16:25:35 -0800

And since it's a diuretic, it also makes you go #1!

By: gramcracker

gramcracker — Sat, 21 May 2005 16:37:04 -0800

1) Caffeine inhibits an enzyme that is thought to regulate mucosal secretions in your small intestine. Secretions go up, so fluid in your bowel goes up, and if the amount of fluid in your colon is greater than the amount of fluid you can reabsorb, splat, you get diarrhea, or at least looser stools.

2) I'm with bonheur. Drink it slower, dilute it, or try tea.

By: hortense

hortense — Sat, 21 May 2005 17:21:37 -0800

Try yerba matte instead, much smoother buzz with the added
bonus: 30%rda of calcium. It however, does make you go, as well.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Sat, 21 May 2005 17:28:38 -0800

Or go completely over to the darkside, like me, to the point where you cannot poop at all without it, but poop glorious poops with clock-like precision when you do get it.

By: rwhe

rwhe — Sat, 21 May 2005 17:37:00 -0800

gramcracker: So if diarrhea occurs because your colon can't absorb all the fluid available, would drinking less fluid and staying less hydrated stem the diarrhea? I drink several Nalgene bottles of water a day, as it happens.

By: nanojath

nanojath — Sat, 21 May 2005 17:37:44 -0800

too much information, scarabic

By: dash_slot-

dash_slot- — Sat, 21 May 2005 17:41:00 -0800

This caffeine addict hasn't had diarhhea in years. I certainly didn't think it was common knowledge that coffee makes you poo, or poo in liquid form. Maybe the coffee's different in america...

By: gramcracker

gramcracker — Sat, 21 May 2005 17:50:01 -0800

I don't know the effects of caffeine on the gut when you're dehydrated, but I don't think that's a good idea; dehydration can lead to much more significant problems. And part of the reason you're probably drinking so much water is because you're peeing and pooping out so much fluid already.

Your body will do whatever necessary to maintain your homeostatic blood volume and electrolyte concentrations; if you try to just drink less water, it's just going to just make you thirstier and retain more water; you'll still have plenty to be secreted into your gut.

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Sat, 21 May 2005 18:13:00 -0800

be careful switching to yerba matte. first time i drank it, from a gourd half full of leaves, without pouring off a few fills, i was quite ill. it's powerful stuff.

By: kindall

kindall — Sat, 21 May 2005 18:26:27 -0800

I'd never heard that coffee gives your diarrhea. It doesn't seem to do that to me. Of course, it doesn't seem to wake me up, either.

By: 445supermag

445supermag — Sat, 21 May 2005 18:44:51 -0800

Scarabic, what's amazing is that once you're properly trained, you can force yourself to go 3-5 hours early. I learned this as a graduate student in Montana. I would go out elk hunting in the fall, this consisted of trudging up and down hills and mountains in knee deep snow from before sun rise till after sun down.
Below zero temps and a brisk wind made it uncomfortable to go in the woods. However, 2 cups at 4:30 am had an almost instantaneous effect, just like it normally did at 8:30 am on a non-hunting day.

By: scarabic

scarabic — Sat, 21 May 2005 18:46:50 -0800

too much information, scarabic

You've got no business clicking on a thread about diarrhea and then busting out this attitude.

By: ambrosia

ambrosia — Sat, 21 May 2005 19:21:59 -0800

At our house, we call it "coffee colon." I don't think that there's anything to do for it, other than, uh, being prepared.

Oh, and dehydrating yourself is never a good idea. Unless you like the idea of your blood pressure dropping to the point where you pass out.

By: sluggo

sluggo — Sat, 21 May 2005 19:27:40 -0800

It keeps me regular, but never gives me diarrhea.

By: i_am_joe's_spleen

i_am_joe's_spleen — Sat, 21 May 2005 20:04:34 -0800

Yeah, can we please distinguish diarrhoea from "strong impulse to shit?" Diarrhoea is thin watery stool. Never had that from coffee. Stimulation to poo? Why yes, especially from the fiendish strong French press coffee I make at work.

Not quite as stimulating as the first cigarette of the day, though.

By: wsg

wsg — Sat, 21 May 2005 20:47:47 -0800

This is a shitty thread.

By: gaspode

gaspode — Sat, 21 May 2005 21:28:48 -0800

yeah, I always go to starbucks when I feel a bit constipated. But diahorrhea? Never.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Sat, 21 May 2005 22:14:30 -0800

(The diahorrhor... The diahorrhor...)

By: knave

knave — Sat, 21 May 2005 23:17:20 -0800

I would do some google searches, but from what I've read in various studies:

Caffeine is a diuretic, but it does not cause dehydration (the body retains some of the fluid you drink from coffee, so there is a small net gain of fluid)
Caffeine improves endurance and performance in many aerobic athletic activities
When used before exercise, the diuretic side-effects seem to go away, so it is overall a pretty good thing
Caffeine increases blood pressure, so if you have high BP don't go taking caffeine before exerting a lot of energy and then blame me when you die

By: rabble

rabble — Sun, 22 May 2005 01:17:41 -0800

I can definetly second the coffee = diarrhea phenom - I've noticed it's easily avoided as long as I don't drink coffee on an empty stomach, so always make sure to get breakfast in before your coffee rounds and you should be fine.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sun, 22 May 2005 07:06:59 -0800

What scarabic and sluggo said.