Why do you feel the urge to poop after your morning coffee? Can drinking it really help with constipation?

It hasn’t been 30 minutes since you’ve drained your first cup of coffee. But right on schedule, there’s that all-too-familiar urge to do the Number 2. For many coffee drinkers, the morning cuppa almost always requires a quick deposit in the toilet before you can step out of the house with ease of mind. So why is this happening to you? Why does it only happen in the morning? And can you use coffee to help with constipation?

Most people know that coffee contains caffeine, which is a diuretic that increases your body’s production of urine. But what many don’t know is that caffeine also has some effects on gut motility, said Dr Sulaiman Bin Yusof, a senior consultant general and colorectal surgeon from Colorectal Clinic Associates (a subsidiary of Foundation Healthcare Holdings).

“Like all things in life, it’s never due to one thing,” he said, adding that there are other substances in coffee that can move things along in your colon. These include chlorogenic acids, citric acid, acetic acid, flavonoids and tannins, among other compounds. “There have been research papers stating that even the bitter taste of coffee itself has a role in stimulating the stomach,” said Dr Sulaiman.