# Simple Coffee Advice



## Alan77 (Jul 16, 2020)

Hello everyone.

Simple problem for me - I hope theres a simple solution.

I love the taste of coffee, as well as the kick I get off it.

Problem is, my stomach hates it.

Cant go a day without running to the loo quickly after I drink coffee, or having an upset stomach later on in the day.

Can anyone recommend me a type of coffee to avoid this?

I should also point out I have IBS.

The coffee I have drank which causes this problem includes instant coffee, Lattes, and Americanos.

Thanks.


----------



## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

Alan77 said:


> Hello everyone.
> 
> Simple problem for me - I hope theres a simple solution.
> 
> ...


 Tea? 
Im afraid whichever way you twist it there is no way you can have coffee if your symptoms are not tolerable on it. 
If you can find the cause of the IBS and eliminate it then you should be able to have coffee again.

Coffee increases gut motility. So often worsens or brings on IBS symptoms. It's never the 'cause' of IBS, so if you can find the root cause you can fix it.

I was taught in medicine that IBS was unknown cause and therefore not treatable. That is untrue. Many many people who have IBS actually have a disordered microbiome, mostly from eating a crappy diet (junk and processed food with minimal veg) THEN they get symptoms when they eat certain veg (FODMAPS) because their microbiome goes haywire.

Eliminate coffee for 1 month

Reduce FODMAPS

Remove sugar and white carbs from the diet. Reduce sat fat and increase Olive oil

Fast for 16 hours each 24, eating only for 8 hours (this allows the gut lining to fully repair)

Then after a month slowly re-introduce FODMAPS, starting with things like avocados. 
Then try some coffee.


----------



## BlackCatCoffee (Apr 11, 2017)

I believe coffee stimulates some part of your nervous system and it is not that uncommon to have this response. As I understand it is a lot worse for the people that suffer with it if they consume coffee on an empty stomach so first thing would be to drink your coffee with or directly after a meal. Second suggestion is to try a decaf coffee, I believe a great deal of the effect comes from caffeine.

If neither of those things help perhaps try tea!?


----------



## higbert (Jun 10, 2020)

Alan77 said:


> The coffee I have drank which causes this problem includes instant coffee, Lattes, and Americanos.


 If you get it primarily with milk-based drinks, have you thought about changing (or eliminating) milk? Try and switch to espressos / long blacks for a few days and see if that makes a difference. Try skimmed milk (or fat milk if you've been using skimmed). Try soya or almond milk. It may be the milk rather than the coffee.


----------



## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

@Alan77 - Have you tried decaf beans, as caffeine is the main culprit but there are a lot of other compounds in coffee?

Stopping eating red meat/poultry, cutting out whole milk and no longer working in a microbiology lab helped me a lot, also trying to manage stress better.

Personally I try to not have lots of coffee after meals as I find that causes more issues. For some reason instant really doesn't agree with me, I can have lots more of the fancy fresh stuff with no ill effects. Avoid anything with Robusta in it as the caffeine is very high in comparison to Arabica.

Maybe watch your other triggers and try out home ground decaf in a V60/cafetière as a low cost way to dip your toe in the water?


----------



## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

I was kind of in the same boat.

My solution was to drink more coffee. That's my solution to most problems. But in this case I found it increased my tolerance. Adapt or die.

Or switch to tea.


----------



## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

higbert said:


> If you get it primarily with milk-based drinks, have you thought about changing (or eliminating) milk? Try and switch to espressos / long blacks for a few days and see if that makes a difference. Try skimmed milk (or fat milk if you've been using skimmed). Try soya or almond milk. It may be the milk rather than the coffee.


 Good advice. As lactose is one of the most potent FODMAPS it's often the one removal that brings most symptom relief. It's also one of the hardest to avoid for some people.

Bear in mind you can still have some milk, but a bit dose of 100-200ml e.g flat white is going to cause problems.



Rob1 said:


> I was kind of in the same boat.
> 
> My solution was to drink more coffee. That's my solution to most problems. But in this case I found it increased my tolerance. Adapt or die.
> 
> Or switch to tea.


 There is some logic here!

An old Mexican remedy for a bean intolerance is to eat more beans!!!


----------



## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

My problem wasn't lactose, it was whey. Whey powder is used in a lot of stuff, mainly seasonings and as a dairy substitute. I think it's used as a flavour carrier in place of flavoured salt and to increase viscosity or add mouth feel. A lot of crisp flavourings have it in their ingredients even when you wouldn't expect any dairy flavour e.g. Walker's Sweet Chilli sensations, or in instant noodle flavour sachets.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Alan77 said:


> Hello everyone.
> 
> Simple problem for me - I hope theres a simple solution.
> 
> ...


 Do you still get issues with coffee flavoured products? Just wondering whether chicory based substitute like Camp/Prewetts/Whole Earth (never tried myself, so not a recommendation), or cake flavouring might be an option?

I can't imagine tea being an option if you want the flavour of coffee, I just can't drink white, oolong, green, or black tea...tastes like poison to me (though I do enjoy some fruit/floral infusions like hibiscus tea, We Are Tea & Pukka fruit teas).


----------

