Coffee
I'm asked often, Do you drink Coffee? With looks of anticipated dissatisfaction. After the first month of the elimination diet, I began adding tea, and ultimately coffee back to my diet. My experience has been that coffee increases my gut motility (digestion) and it makes me feel good.
I read a study (cite) that reported drinking black tea was good for diarrhea, while it made me happy, there was no change in my stools after a few weeks. So, I upgraded to coffee, and had no increased symptoms. What do a few studies about coffee, pro and con say?
sets tone:
Despite in vitro, in vivo, and epidemiological studies having shown that coffee may exert multiple effects on the digestive tract, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative effects on the mucosa, and pro-motility effects on the external muscle layers, much is still surprisingly unknown.
However, in high contrast with what is known for other body systems and functions (i.e., cardiovascular system, CNS), the knowledge accumulated thus far regarding the effects of coffee and specific coffee-derived compounds on the gastrointestinal tract as a whole or on their different organs, as well as the specific mechanisms of action exerted on the different cell types present in the gut wall along the whole system, is strikingly scarce, despite the fact that the gastrointestinal tract is the first body system that comes in contact with ingested coffee.
"Effects of Coffee and Its Components on the Gastrointestinal Tract and the Brain–Gut Axis". Www.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov, 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7824117/. Accessed 31 Aug 2022.
Con:
In conclusion, coffee and caffeine consumption was associated with increased odds of IBS in the whole study population. The association between caffeine and odds of IBS was also significantly positive among women and overweight or obese subjects (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2). In addition, we found a significant relationship between caffeine intake and severity of IBS symptoms among overweight or obese subjects (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2).
Reasoning:
Several mechanisms may explain the significant positive association between coffee and caffeine intake and odds of IBS. Impaired gastrointestinal neural control due to dysregulations in hypothalamic-anterior pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA) and increased secretion of stress hormones has been implicated in the pathophysiology of IBS (24). Some studies have suggested that coffee may activate the HPA axis and elevate the stress hormones including cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine .
…such that caffeine intake was linked to a greater chance of IBS in women, but not in men. The slower metabolism of caffeine among women than that in men might be a possible explanation for this gender discrepancy
"Association of Coffee and Caffeine Intake With Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adults". Www.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov, 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8241212/. Accessed 31 Aug 2022.
Con:
Coffee, sugars, and chronic diarrhea. Why a dietary history is important
…correlation may be found between gastrointestinal symptoms and the ingestion of coffee, milk, or sugars such as sorbitol and fructose. If the offending agent can be identified and withdrawn from the diet, the diarrhea will stop and further evaluation can be avoided
"R R Babb. Coffee, sugars, and chronic diarrhea. Why a dietary history is important - PubMed". Pubmed.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov, 2022, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6728746/. Accessed 31 Aug 2022.
I had taken all 3 of those out of my diet. When the diarrhea didn't quit, I added coffee but left dairy and most sugars out.
Finding:
Results revealed an increase in motility index within four minutes after ingestion of both regular and decaffeinated coffee
"Effect of coffee on distal colon function.". Www.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov, 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1378422/. Accessed 31 Aug 2022.
Pro:
whereas coffee intake was associated with a decreased risk of abdominal pain (p for trend = .002) and bloating
"Magnus Moding 1, Bodil Ohlsson 1. The role of fermentable carbohydrates and beverages in the symptomatology of functional gastrointestinal disease - PubMed". Pubmed.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov, 2022, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28826271/. Accessed 31 Aug 2022.
the evidence generally supports that consumption of up to 400 mg caffeine/day in healthy adults is generally not associated with adverse cardiovascular effects, behavioral effects, reproductive effects, acute effects, or bone status.
"DanieleWikoffa. Systematic review of the potential adverse effects of caffeine consumption in healthy adults, pregnant women, adolescents, and children". Www.Sciencedirect.Com, 2022, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691517301709. Accessed 31 Aug 2022.
My conclusion:
based on my removing foods and coffee from my diet and reintroducing them, coffee has not increased any negative symptoms, but has made me feel good and helped me to poop on demand.
Apparently, that coffee I was drinking is stale or even rancid, and maybe I was just overlooking an obvious fact, that k cups are trash, and they make even more trash.
I didn't want to drink trash pod brewed coffee anymore. I have had an aeropress and a French press in the past, but it's not the brewer, it's the beans. I was buying coffee from starbucks or costco and storing the coffee in the freezer. What I'm learning now is that industrially roasted and ground coffee is perishable and may have perished before ever reaching me.
So once you roast the beans they have a shelf life, and if they are green their shelf life is much longer. In an effort to reduce my intake of nasty foods by way of industrial processes, I've chosen to make my life a little more complicated by roasting my own beans.
My first attempt produced 50g of roasted beans, that had been roasted past the first crack and were dark brown, but not ebony. I did this in a freakin air fryer. I was nervous about it, and I stuck the beans in the air fryer, took notes, made like 8 batches (50 grams at a time)
Now I run the airfryer at 400F for 18 minutes. It's a really cheap airfryer, so I don't believe it is truly hitting 400 but I tried it at 350 360 380, and those temps would not roast the beans very well.
Then put it in a colander with a macgyvered inline fan and ducting to let it cool over 1-2 minutes to room temp and knock off more chaff.
Let it degas overnight, and grind them the next day in my cheap spice grinder.
Next I use a French press, this is my first method I will use for brewing