Why does coffee make you have to poop? - Earth.com

Why does coffee make you have to poop?

04-01-2017

Today’s Video of the Day comes from the American Chemical Society’s Reactions series and answers the question we’ve all been wondering: why does coffee make you have to poop?

Many people mistakenly think that caffeine is the root cause of coffee’s laxative effect. But that doesn’t explain why decaf causes the same problem, while energy drinks and sodas do not.

The real reason is that coffee causes the stomach to produce a higher-than-usual amount of gastric acid, and also contains a compound called chlorogenic acid. The heightened levels of acidity cause the stomach to more quickly dump its contents into the intestines.

By Rory Arnold, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: American Chemical Society

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