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Coffee is a surefire way to get moving in the morning.

And by that, I don’t just mean the getting-out-of-bed, opening-the-curtains kind of moving.

I am referring to bowel movements, too.

Similar to how caffeine jumpstarts many of our days, so too, does it rev up our gastrointestinal tract.

A lot of us know the feeling as our morning cuppa drains from the level of “shhh” to “okay, now you may speak”, to “wait, never mind, I have to go to poop”.

That’s a popular mug being sold all over the internet, so I assume we’re on the same page.

Anyway, as prolific as this phenomenon might be, scientists still don’t know everything there is to know about how coffee and a person’s toilet routine work, reports The Irish Times.

Since coffee contains more than 1 000 chemical compounds, many of which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it is difficult to determine what exactly causes such effects on our bowels.

Some studies suggest that it may not be caffeine that triggers the urge to go, but they are mostly small, old, and limited in their research.

Additionally, drinking coffee affects people differently, potentially between genders, too:

In one study published in 1990 in the journal Gut, 92 young adults filled out a questionnaire about how coffee affected their bowel habits; just 29 per cent of the respondents said it “induced a desire to defecate”, and most of them – 63 per cent – were female.

Dr Robert Martindale, a professor of surgery and medical director for hospital nutrition services at Oregon Health and Science University, said that the percentage of people who get the urge to go after drinking coffee is likely much higher in the general population.

Martindale also refers to something called the “gut-brain axis” to explain more, in reference to how quickly coffee can affect some drinkers (with intestinal muscle contractions happening in as few as four seconds for certain people):

…the arrival of coffee in the stomach sends a message to the brain, which then “stimulates the colon to say, ‘Well, we’d better empty out, because things are coming downstream,’” he explains.

The coffee itself would move through the intestines much more slowly, probably taking at least an hour to traverse the long path from the stomach through the small intestine and to the colon.

Ultimately, coffee has a disproportionate effect on one’s bowels compared to the normal response in the stomach, brain, and bowels when something else has been consumed:

A study published in 1998 found that 235ml of coffee stimulated colonic contractions similar to those induced by a 1 000-calorie meal.

Coffee’s gut-brain communication might have something to do with one or many of its chemicals, as well as the hormones that play a role in digestion.

At the end of the day, even though the exact mechanics remains murky, coffee helps people go.

A special mention goes out to those who have undergone colorectal or gynaecological surgery, as well as those suffering from chronic constipation.

Now that we have established just how much coffee can be a comforting part of our morning routines, it seems a good time to remind you all of the awesome competition to win enough coffee for a year:

Terbodore Coffee Roasters and Le Creuset have teamed up for this epic WIN Coffee for a Year competition.

The main prize comes with three jive-worthy goodies:

• A beautiful fig colour Le Creuset Coffee Press
• 1 x Le Creuset Botanique Box Set of 4 Cappuccino mugs
• A year’s supply of Terbodore Coffee: 4 x 250g Terbodore coffee packs of your choice per calendar month

Have a peek at Terbodore’s online shop to see the various coffee pack option available, including Salted Caramel and the traditional Great Dane packs.

The second and third prizes aren’t too shabby, either.

The competition ends on Monday, January 10, 2022, with the winners being drawn on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.

I’ll definitely say ‘yes, please’ to a year of staying regular in absolute style.

[source:irishtimes]