There are many health benefits to drinking good quality coffee. But drinking it first thing in the morning isn’t the best way to go about it. Instead it is recommended to wait at least one hour and a half after waking up before drinking coffee and for good reasons! Here’s what drinking coffee on an empty stomach will do to you:
1. Low Levels of Serotonin
Very few people know about this but coffee is a strong appetite suppressant. People who drink coffee first thing in the morning sometimes end up skipping breakfast.
Skipping your first meal of the day can take a toll on your body’s ability to make serotonin (a neurotransmitter responsible for making you feel happy and calm). In addition, serotonin is very important for a good night’s sleep. Your body transforms serotonin into melatonin at dusk. And low levels of melatonin usually leads to insomnia problems.
So if you like drinking coffee, make sure to always have it with-or after breakfast!
2. Bad Digestion
Caffeine on an empty stomach disrupts digestion, leading to a bloated feeling and other symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome like pain and irregularity. How?
Caffeine stimulates your adrenal glands, which produce stress hormones called cortisol and adrenalin. These hormones trigger a “fight or flight” response, great when you are being chased by a wild animal, but not necessary when you are sitting at your desk or breakfast table.
When these hormones flood your body, they increase your heart rate and blood pressure, and your liver starts releasing blood sugar to provide energy to muscles so that you can run away. Your digestive system also shuts down to divert energy to where it is needed most.
Healthier Alternatives
It’s important to drink water when you wake up. You can have either lemon water or ACV and honey water to start your day. Both these drink stimulate your digestive system and help flush out toxins.
If you’re the type of person who absolutely needs coffee to start their day, then this trick will prove useful to you.
Doing this will help reduce the harmful effects of drinking coffee on an empty stomach: simply add a little coconut oil or butter in your coffee.