Anyone suffering from gastrointestinal disorders should consider eliminating coffee and any caffeine from their diet. In the case of ulcerative colitis, the lower GI tract is already irritated and hypersensitive. Dietary changes that include weaning off of coffee and all other sources of caffeine can help relieve symptoms of these disorders.
Side effects of coffee and caffeine in your intestines:
Coffee is highly acidic and it can stimulate the hypersecretion of gastric acids, irritating your whole intestinal track. Caffeine also tends to speed up the process of gastric emptying, which may result in highly acidic stomach contents passing from the stomach into the small intestine too early, which may also lead to injury of the intestinal tissue.
Coffee decreases magnesium absorption
Magnesium is one of the most plentiful minerals in the body and plays an essential role in more than 300 cellular reactions. Adequate magnesium is important for maintaining bowel regularity. It is also a crucial mineral for the biochemical process involved in wound healing, making it vital to healing the irritated lining of the colon in ulcerative colitis.
Coffee elevates stress hormones
Caffeine in coffee elevates the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine. These hormones are responsible for decreased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and a sense of “emergency alert”. Blood is diverted from the digestive system which can cause indigestion. The circulation to the brain and extremitites is decerased and the immune system is suppressed. With today’s sedentary lifestyle, the continual state of increased stress resulting from caffeine consumption can affect health especially in those types of disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis that are sensitive to stress, particularly because neural control of the gastrointestinal tract is affected by stress and emotions.
Sorry coffee lovers.
Adding a natural remedy such as AloeElite to your ulcerative colitis treatment, can also be of great aid to shorten and reduce severity of flare ups and give you more remission time. AloeElite is a super purified, potent and highly concentrated form of Aloe that can act as an anti-inflammatory to help reduce the swelling and irritation of your intestines, and help your body to heal your whole digestive track from the inside out.
