Have you ever found yourself sitting in the middle of an early morning meeting, sipping coffee when suddenly, the urge to poop strikes? While many attribute it to caffeine in their beverage, other factors could also play a part.

Coffee has been shown to stimulate the colon, prompting an urge to defecate. “Caffeine increases muscular contractions in your digestive tract – particularly your colon,” according to Shilpa Mehra Dang, MD of Medical Offices of Manhattan. She notes that stimulation typically happens about four minutes after taking in coffee and lasts up to 15 minutes until its maximum concentration has worn off in your system.

Peristalsis muscle contractions help move stool through the intestines and out of your body. Peristalsis are activated by stomach stretching when eating or drinking, known as the gastrocolic reflex; an automatic response that encourages your colon to increase motility to push out food waste. Although exactly how coffee stimulates bowel movements is still unclear, various factors could contribute to its stimulation such as caffeine potentially increasing levels of gastrin in your gut – an essential element in activating the gastrocolic reflex reflex. According to Bupa Medical Advisor Dr Chelsie McMullin there may be multiple factors triggering these muscle contractions to move stool through its route and out from within its walls and out again!

But other factors should also be taken into account, including what kind of coffee you drink and whether or not you add milk or creamer. Registered dietitian Danielle Kelvas advises limiting added ingredients such as creamer; she suggests drinking black or minimally added coffee such as almond milk if lactose intolerant; this will prevent frequent urges to defecate after consumption of caffeine.

An alternative approach would be to switch to organic coffee that does not contain added sugars or flavors that could potentially cause unwanted side effects. Such options still offer much-needed energy boost, without additional ingredients that might cause adverse reactions.

Sex and any underlying health conditions may also play an integral part in how your body reacts to coffee, such as males pooping more frequently after drinking it than women do, and having IBS could mean caffeine doesn’t triggered its natural reactions as often.

Are coffee poos healthy? Absolutely, although other factors could alter your reaction. If you experience any unusual symptoms when drinking this beverage, it may be worth consulting a physician in order to get to the bottom of it quickly and accurately.

If you need assistance selecting the appropriate type of coffee for yourself, this list of non-dairy coffee brands may provide some guidance in finding what might best fit.

Sameer Islam, MD of Texas-based gastroenterology practice holds weekly segments such as “Poop Tip Thursday” and “Let’s Discuss Poop” on his YouTube channel to provide advice for digestion issues. In this column from him comes “Ask the Poop Doctor”.