Morning Cup Of Joe? Best Not On An Empty Stomach

Coffee is America's "get up and go" fuel. Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day making the United States the leading consumer of coffee in the world.

Do drink that much coffee we've got to get an early start - but not too early.

Several of our great advertisers sell coffee and we often give coffee away on the Morning News, but maybe we should be including a disclaimer about when to drink that first cup.

Yahoo News reports that consumers, especially women, really shouldn’t be drinking it on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning. Registered Dietitian Carlyn Rosenblum says drinking coffee increases the stress hormone cortisol, which can negatively impact ovulation, weight, and hormone balance.

Cortisol helps regulate energy and makes you feel alert which is why we drink it. On the other hand, getting too much of it in the morning ruins the hormone’s production and “shifts the timing of the cortisol cycle” throughout the rest of the day which means you could end up feeling very wrung out in the late evening.

Dietitians also say that drinking coffee first thing in the morning can also negatively affect the gut microbiome as it stimulates acid production in the stomach.

So when should you drink it? Experts advise pouring yourself a cup after breakfast, between 9:30 a.m. and noon, when cortisol levels are typically low. Cheers!

Categories: Consumer Awareness, Food, Health and Fitness, Medical