Can Coffee Make You Sick? (Tips To Avoid It)

Sean Gregory All About Coffee
4 minute read

Listen to article

Audio generated by DropInBlog's Blog Voice AI™ may have slight pronunciation nuances. Learn more

Can Coffee Make You Sick?

You may have experienced some bad feelings when drinking coffee from time to time. When you consume too much coffee in a short period of time, you could experience shaking, nausea, queasiness, headaches and insomnia in some cases.

Too much caffeine can cause all of the above while the natural acids in coffee can hit your stomach and digestive system. When too much is consumed on an empty stomach or late at night, this can lead to an increase in acid reflux or heartburn.

To enjoy your coffee habit there are some things you need to know in order to drink coffee properly to ensure that you don't have these experiences. Let's take a look at ways to avoid feeling sick from coffee.

Keep Your Body hydrated

Coffee is a natural diuretic and can dehydrate you slightly. A glass of water as soon as you wake up will help you feel more energized and hydrate you before your first cup of strong coffee. To ease any nausea, drink at least as much water as you do coffee.

Stay away from artificial coffee sweeteners

You might want to reconsider the next time you grab that zero-calorie sweetener. Sweeteners with no calories are artificial, which means you could be consuming harmful ingredients. Sweeteners frequently agitate your gut bacteria, leading to potentially nasty problems with your internal systems.

Try drinking your coffee without any fake stuff and observing how it affects your mood. Explore alternatives such as cocoa, cinnamon, or stevia leaf extract if you can't drink it black.

Stay away from artificial coffee creamers

Nondairy, low-fat, and artificial creamers are no better than the artificial sweeteners with which they are paired. Thickeners, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and other artificial and harmful ingredients are common in these creamers. Dipotassium phosphate, for example, a component used to reduce the acidity of coffee, can cause nausea as well as *shiver* diarrhea. Calcium will neutralize the acidity, so maybe try adding some actual milk instead.

If you're feeling particularly daring, try skipping the extra additives entirely! The longer you drink black coffee, the more you'll notice the different flavor notes from the roast that you may have been missing.

Know Your Digestive System

Caffeine's effect on your digestive system differs from person to person. Caffeine and acids are the primary reasons coffee might induce stomach discomfort.

Coffee's different acidity does contribute to the overall flavor of your brew. However, the acidity of coffee, especially when consumed on an empty stomach, can cause nausea. These acids may irritate your stomach lining, resulting in acid reflux, heartburn, and nausea.

If you are sensitive to excessive acidity, choose a dark roast over a light roast. Darker roasts have lower acidity, and the compounds produced during the roasting process may assist to reduce stomach acid.

You can also check out Tyler’s Coffee. Popular for being acid free and easy on sensative stomachs.

Avoid consuming coffee on an empty stomach

Hopefully, you have gathered this from other suggestions above, but consuming on an empty stomach isn't an excellent idea for some people. Be sure that you get some water in and know your digestive tract.

Even if you're in a hurry, replacing breakfast with coffee is never a good idea. While it may appear to be the most obvious way to get your coffee fix, it may actually make you feel worse.

Be sure that you eat something before taking your first sip to avoid not feeling well afterward. The food will help you absorb the coffee and digest the acid and caffeine at a slower rate than if you drank it on an empty stomach.