Put down your cup (Picture: Getty)
Need that first cup of coffee to gear up for the day? Think again.
A gut expert has warned that drinking coffee on an empty stomach can have undesirable impacts on your health.
Olivia Hedlund, the functional nutritional therapist behind Livingwell, said caffeine can cause issues for your gut and hormones.
The US nutritionist explained that coffee is acidic, which on an empty stomach can make your body go into high stress mode.
Before your brew, she suggests eating gelatine gummies, eggs, raw dairy, berries or some stewed fruit including apples, pears or berries.
This all works to reduce the intensity on your stomach.
She said: ‘If you drink coffee first thing on an empty stomach, stop what you’re doing and listen. You are messing with your hormones.
‘Coffee is not only acidic, so it’s hard on our stomach in the morning, but it literally causes our bodies to go into a stress response, to shoot out cortisol, and to put us in kind of a fight or flight state.’
This is what causes jitters and shakes after coffee.
Surprisingly, she said there’s also a link to acne – especially if you have hormone imbalances or gut issues.
‘I used to drink multiple cups of coffee on an empty stomach, feel like I was on top of the world, and then I would have a bunch of hormonal acne and wonder why,’ she said.
‘It’s because your body is stressed out. Have something small before you have a coffee, make it your goal. I promise you will notice a difference.’
People in the comments under the TikTok videos were shocked – but thought there may be some truth they can detect in their own lives.
‘I drink coffee on an empty stomach almost every morning and this explains so much,’ one woman said.
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Need that first cup of coffee to gear up for the day? Think again.
