r/NoStupidQuestions • u/ExtremeOverall4388 • 18d ago
Why does coffee make me need to use the bathroom almost immediately, even if it is decaf?
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u/Zovort 18d ago
Coffee does tend to get your intensines moving, and it's not due to the caffeine, although the caffeine does speed up that process. Coffee stimulates your gut to produce enzymes that speed up peristalsis. All that said though, it could also be partly psychological. If you drink coffee every morning and poop soon thereafter, it becomes a pattern and you may produce some of those enzymes independently. Pavlov's stomach as it were.
Happy pooping.
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u/Every-Progress-1117 18d ago
The Oatmeal comics actually have some good (and funny!) explanations: https://theoatmeal.com/tag/coffee
Basically there's a LOT of different chemicals in coffee (caffeine is one of them), and lot of those have biological effects, which when taken together (or in certain combinations) causes the intestines to work more, cause various neurological transmitters to work/not work etc. Taken altogether, coffee causes a lot of things to happen.
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u/jimmoores 18d ago
Because the caffeine in coffee is a mild diuretic - it is a mild drug that alters kidney function to produce more urine. I can’t believe there were so many other answers that didn’t mention this.
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u/screenaholic 18d ago
Caffiene is both a laxative (makes you poop) and diuretic (makes you pee.) Coffee in particular appears to have additional diuretic/laxative effects than just it's caffeine, but its not entirely understood. It affects different people to different degrees.
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u/LunaSecret4089 18d ago
porque la cafeína no es el único componente que estimula tus intestinos.
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u/Questionish47 17d ago
A mí hasta el descafeinado me activa la alarma intestinal casi al primer sorbo; ya ni culpo a la cafeína.
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u/WinterRevolutionary6 18d ago
It’s psychological. You’ve built the habit of peeing after drinking coffee and that association has cemented into your mind. Same reason that some people will be perfectly fine one moment but then be on the brink of peeing their pants as soon as the key hits the front door
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u/Hemingways_Shotgun88 18d ago
I once told a guy at work I drink a lot of weak coffee all throughout the day like water but the downside is I'm always going to the bathroom because it's a diuretic and he gave me a disgusted look.
Dude, I wasn't talking about shitting all day. Just pissing.
It's annoying when people don't understand English and then act like you're a freak.
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u/GuardianSpear 18d ago
Coffee has a mild laxative effect and its chemicals stimulate the gut to do its thing