Various lifestyle and dietary factors can worsen the swollen veins in the lower part of your anal area known as hemorrhoids or piles. One of these factors is the caffeine present in the most popular beverage, coffee that has been a staple of the American diet for decades.
How does Caffeine Impact Hemorrhoids?
While caffeine helps you jumpstart your day, it may affect your bowel movements in a negative way. The relationship of caffeine with bowel movements becomes more important in the setting of hemorrhoids because this brew tends to soak up water from your food waste that causes dehydration and hardens your stools. Caffeine can thus lead to constipation, especially when slurped in high amounts.
Having constipation has ripple effects during a hemorrhoid flare-up since it will not only irritate and aggravate the pain of hemorrhoids due to prolonged sitting and/or straining but the constant pain and discomfort will further worsen constipation, triggering a vicious cycle.
Coffee is not the only food that contains caffeine. This ingredient hides in so many foods than you can imagine — teas, sodas, chocolates, energy drinks to name a few. So be sure to watch out what you're feeding your tummy if you want your hemorrhoids to heal faster.
In addition to constipation, older scientific experts did find some link between coffee consumption and diarrhea due to the belief that coffee stimulates bowel movements and leads to diarrhea. However, more recent studies have failed to reveal such a correlation. Although there's no sufficient evidence, many people still report diarrhea after brewing coffee in high quantities.. If you're one of them, you need to limit your caffeine intake since diarrhea will also exacerbate your hemorrhoids.
Moreover, while caffeine would not cause a hemorrhoid flare-up in everyone, I generally advise my patients to avoid or limit foods and medications (like over-the-counter cough and cold medicines) that contain this ingredient during a hemorrhoid flare-up.
Cut down your Caffeine Habit
Here are a handful of tips to help you kick your caffeine habit and speed up a pain-free recovery from hemorrhoid flare-up:
Switch to decaffeinated coffee and other alternatives. Cutting down on caffeine can be challenging for some people who consume it regularly. They just can’t start their day without a hot caffeine rush early in the morning. Though an 8-ounce cup of decaf coffee still contains about 2-to-15 mg of caffeine, this ingredient is present in a much less quantity as compared to a cup of regular coffee (which has between 95 and 200 mg). Additionally, green tea is a much healthier alternative to coffee as it carries only 25 to 50 mg per cup.
Get rid of it gradually. For regular caffeine drinkers, going cold turkey can trigger symptoms of caffeine withdrawal, including but not limited to irritability, headaches, and trouble concentrating. To prevent such niggling symptoms, try to cut back your caffeine intake at a slow but steady pace while introducing coffee alternatives at the same time. This will allow your body to get used to the change.
Drink lots of water. Never underestimate the power of water! Water satisfies your need for drinking a liquid while also stimulates bowel movements and makes you poop. Regular and easy bowel movements without any straining will help your hemorrhoids heal faster. Start substituting your favorite pick-me-up beverages with water.
Exercise. Caffeine drinkers need the endorphin rush, which is what keeps them more alert and focused. By exercising, you’ll not only stimulate your brain cells to release feel-good chemicals like endorphins but also help speed up your digestion and bowel movements, all in all keeping a hemorrhoid flare-up at bay. The idea is to simply trick your brain into thinking that it’s getting the caffeine rush without even consuming any caffeine.
If you’re experiencing a hemorrhoid flare-up and need more tips or treatment, get one-on-one consultation by clicking the button below and booking an appointment today.