Every morning, millions of people around the world wake up and chug a cup of coffee. For decades, we’ve stumbled to the kitchen and poured ourselves a cup of ambition (if it’s good enough for Dolly, etc) – ready to tackle the day head-on. Often, we drink coffee hours before we eat anything, and that might because we’re not hungry, are trying intermittent fasting or simply want a little warm pick-me-up in the early hours.

But according to a number of nutritional therapists, that’s bad for us. They claim that drinking coffee on an empty stomach is putting us at risk of anxiety, heightened stress and hormonal dysfunction. 

As someone who regularly drinks coffee before – or for – breakfast, those warnings seem a little extreme. I don’t feel stressed or anxious in the mornings and if I did, I’d probably look to identify what events might trigger those reactions. It’s a bit much to blame it all on the coffee, right? And what about those who take their coffee with milk and sugar – lining the stomach with carbs and fat? 

So, what’s wrong with drinking coffee before breakfast?

Well, it’s apparently all to do with cortisol. One therapist I follow recently explained that coffee shouldn’t be the first thing you consume in the morning because caffeine spikes cortisol and adrenaline (our stress hormones), meaning that you’re adding stress upon stress, creating a messy hormonal situation. This, she says, can cause a “cascade of hormonal and blood sugar issues”, which can affect both your long and short-term mental health.

Now, we’ve tackled the whole ‘drinking coffee first thing in the morning is bad for you’ myth before. TikTok docs were warning that if you drank coffee too early, you’d be overriding your own body clock’s cortisol production – and that would leave you with poor sleep, energy and mood. But the evidence was lacking, with nutritionists suggesting that everyone’s reactions are different. I even tried to push my coffee back a few hours in an attempt to boost my natural energy and nothing changed.

But what about drinking it on an empty stomach? Well, again, it depends on the individual. Rhiannon Lambert, registered nutritionist and author of The Science Of Nutrition, explains that caffeine is the most commonly used psychoactive substance in the world and although it’s a stimulant it can trigger anxiety, as with everything in nutrition, our bodies and the way we react to foods will vary between individuals.

“What this means is that, for some, drinking coffee on an empty stomach may leave them feeling more anxious than if they drank it after having some breakfast, while others won’t notice the difference.

“Drinking too much coffee [600mg+ a day] may lead to an increase in anxiety and heart palpitations, potentially even exacerbating panic attacks in some cases.” Caffeine can also act as a trigger for other symptoms, so it’s useful to be aware of how much you’re drinking, especially if you know that you’re sensitive to caffeine.  

The science is conflicting

More to the point, Lambert warns that drinking coffee on an empty stomach may increase the risk of acid reflux: caffeine can cause the muscles at the base of your oesophagus and the top of your stomach to relax. That means nothing is protecting the stomach acid from coming back up. Again, it depends on the person.

But what science is there to suggest drinking coffee raw is a bad idea? Lambert cites one study from the University of Bath, which suggests that drinking coffee on an empty stomach, as a way to wake you up after a poor night’s sleep, may lead to increased blood sugar levels after having breakfast and thus to greater energy dips later. “However, much more research is needed to fully understand these effects at a population level,” she admits.

“We also know that the gut and the brain are strongly interlinked, and new research led by Professor Tim Spector suggests that coffee drinkers have an increase in their gut microbiome diversity due to the soluble fibre and prebiotic properties found in coffee, which may in turn help with an improved mood.” 

Alison Clark is a dietitian who specialises in mental health and wellbeing at work. She says that she often sees people who have five or six coffees a day and they “function fine”, while others feel “very anxious and jittery” having drunk far fewer. “It’s very individualistic. You have to work out for yourself what caffeine tolerance you have, but the research does show that you should limit your caffeine intake if you are suffering from anxiety or you are very sensitive to it.”

Clark says that if someone’s experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety, she’ll recommend that they cut down on the amount of coffee they drink or will suggest switching to decaf. But she also admits that the research isn’t clear on the effects of drinking coffee pre- or post-breakfast. “Someone can have an espresso before eating and get the biggest high…. someone else will drink the same and not be affected at all.” 

She also makes the point that different coffees can contain different amounts of caffeine – and that can make a massive difference. A recent report by Which? Magazine found that a cappuccino from Costa contains nearly five times the caffeine (325mg) as a standard coffee at Starbucks (66g). Clearly, having a Costa cappuccino is going to impact you slightly differently than a small Starbucks latte – particularly given that several health organisations recommend we consume 300mg over the course of an entire day, let alone in one serving. 

It follows that if drinking black coffee on an empty stomach might be ‘bad’ for you – as these social media wellness experts claim – then adding some milk (protein and fat) might help to mitigate the dangers. But there’s no evidence to suggest that’s true, says Lambert. “Adding things like milk may help with the palatability and taste; however, there is little to no evidence which suggests that doing this may reduce the effects of caffeine.

“There is, however, some evidence which may suggest that adding milk may reduce the effect of the antioxidants and polyphenols that are present in coffee, which we know are important for the overall healthy functioning of the body.” 

TL;DR if you like drinking coffee the moment you wake up, crack on. If you do feel noticeably more on edge post-Americano, maybe think about going decaf or drinking it a bit later on. But as yet, there’s no evidence to suggest that having a croissant alongside your coffee is going to make much difference. Sorry.

Images: Getty