Should you be drinking coffee on an empty stomach? Nutritionist thinks not and here's why

Many people brag about how they cannot function in the morning without first drinking a cup of coffee. The caffeine in coffee boosts energy and that’s why you can’t seem to get your engine running without it. However, since it’s the first thing most people do in the morning, they’re likely to be taking in on an empty stomach, a practice that’s been frowned on by a nutritionist.

Not so fast

In a now-viral video on TikTok, nutritional therapist, Olivia Hedlund advises her followers not to drink coffee first thing in the morning as it could potentially put them in a high stress mode. The US-based expert added having just coffee first thing when you wake up could also upset your hormones.

Coffee is not only acidic, so it’s hard on our stomach in the morning, but it literally causes our bodies to go into a stress response, to shoot out cortisol, and to put us in kind of a fight-or-flight state.

The alertness that coffee offers you may also be the reason you feel jittery in the morning. Hedlund explained in the video which has garnered close to 600,000 views since it was posted in September, that jitteriness could be a stress response.

I used to drink multiple cups of coffee on an empty stomach, feel like I was on top of the world, and then I would have a bunch of hormonal acne and wonder why.

What do other experts think?

Coffee often gets a bad rap; some theories suggest that drinking this popular beverage on an empty stomach could increase risk of ulcers and stomach irritations. However, most of those theories have been widely disputed in the scientific and medical communities.

Benjamin Lebwohl, Director of Clinical Research, at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University explained in an article on the Food Network, that apart from the possibility of jitteriness, there are no established downsides to breaking your fast with coffee.

Drinking coffee on an empty stomach can result in more rapid absorption, and thus a greater biological effect of your cup of coffee, such as alertness (which is desirable) and jitteriness (which may not be).

Although some people drink coffee in the morning to facilitate bowel movement, Dr Lebwohl said there was no evidence that an empty stomach has anything to do with that.

Sources used:

New York Post: Drinking coffee on an empty stomach in the morning is bad, says nutritionist

Food Network: Is It OK to Drink Coffee on an Empty Stomach?