Sharp pain when drinking Coffee?

Abdominal pain after drinking coffee?

• I rarely drink coffee, probably 4 cups a year if that. I'm just after leaving my friends house where she offered me coffee because she doesn't drink tea and I was like oh no I'm ok and she said oh come on one cup..so I was like errr ok then. She made the strongest coffee I have ever tasted. I drank it anyway yuck. Now I have really bad abdominal pain...lower left side. Why did that happen?

• Answer:

  Coffee is actually quite harsh on the digestive tract. This is partly due to its acidity (it is much more acidic than tea), but it may have other causes too, such as the high caffeine content, or perhaps the chemical byproducts of the dark roasting of darker coffees. It is actually quite normal for people to have cramps or upset stomachs after drinking coffee that is very strong. Usually, sharp pains in the abdomen are a sign of some sort of gastrointestinal upset. These pains can feel relatively severe even if they are not caused by anything serious. You'll probably find that it passes, but you may want to pay attention to how you feel after drinking coffee. I wrote a page comparing coffee to tea: http://ratetea.com/topic/switching-from-coffee-to-tea/34/ Admittedly, I'm biased, as I run that website, which is about tea, so I have an interest in promoting tea. But I have heard from a lot of people that coffee is harsher on the system, and I personally find that I do not feel well after drinking coffee that is too strong. I hope this answers your question.