Login-Logout

Some of our kind readers have questioned the wisdom of including coffee in our article entitled Constipation - Twelve Tips on How to Avoid It and One Reason Why You Should.

After all, coffee is a diuretic (increases desire to urinate) and dehydration is a major cause of constipation.

We would like to take this opportunity to share the reasons for our initial recommendation and why we ultimately removed coffee from our list…

When we first started collecting tips on avoiding constipation, many contributors mentioned that coffee worked for them.

One of our founding members lives in Manitoba, Canada. She was kind enough to send us a document entitled Reducing Constipation (published by Manitoba Health - a government agency) which states:

Having a… cup of coffee with a meal may help stimulate your bowels.

A contributor in the United States sent us an article entitled Women and Coffee by Dr. Judith Reichman. It mentioned the following in a list of good things about coffee:

We also know that caffeine… acts as a laxative — good for those with constipation.

During our research, we learned that coffee stimulates peristalsis (wavelike contractions that move food through the digestive tract) which helps prevent constipation.

We were aware that coffee was a diuretic when we first included it in our list. According to the National Institute of Health’s guide on Constipation:

People who have problems with constipation should try to drink liquids every day. However, liquids that contain caffeine, such as coffee and cola drinks will worsen one’s symptoms by causing dehydration… It is important to drink fluids that hydrate the body, especially when consuming caffeine containing drinks or alcoholic beverages.

That is why our list recommended drinking plenty of water and not drinking too much coffee.

Many of our readers reported that coffee helped with constipation. Unfortunately, we received one report today that coffee made things worse. We decided to re-examine the the effects of coffee on constipation and made two new discoveries.

First, in a study entitled Demographic and Dietary Determinants of Constipation in the US Population, Dr. R S Sandler et alumni found:

Constipated subjects reported… higher consumption of coffee or tea.

Second, according to an article entitled Constipation by Dr. Marc D Basson sent to us by a kind reader in Australia (Thank you, Peter!):

In some patient populations, most consumed fluids consist of coffee, tea, and alcohol. Patients should understand that this practice is counterproductive because of the diuretic effects of these products. The author usually recommends that patients decrease consumption of coffee, tea, and alcohol as much as possible, and they should consume an extra glass of water for every drink of coffee, tea, or alcohol.

Although many readers provided anecdotal evidence of coffee’s benefits, in light of today’s e-mail and new information, we decided it would be safer to strike coffee from our list until more clinical evidence becomes available.

We will continue to drink coffee for the taste and aroma benefits but no longer recommend it for its laxative effects.

To everyone who took precious time out of their busy lives to help us refine our list: thank you!

Your contributions are valuable and very much appreciated.

We would like to take this opportunity to apologize if our initial recommendation caused any of our readers discomfort.

Your continued input and support is greatly appreciated.

Of course, you should never go to an online source for medical advice. If you have specific questions regarding coffee and your particular situation, please talk to your doctor.