Coffee with milk can be difficult to digest and can cause various symptoms such as bloating or nausea.
- Coffee with milk can cause various digestive disorders such as a laxative effect, bloating or nausea.
- To avoid suffering from these harmful effects, you can replace cow’s milk with vegetable milk.
- According to a study, coffee with milk also has a significant anti-inflammatory effect.
In the morning, many people are tempted by a coffee with milk. But this drink, although pleasant to the taste, can cause various digestive symptoms such as bloating, digestive problems or even nausea.
The combination of coffee and milk increases the harmful effects
There are several reasons for these symptoms, but they all come from the combination of coffee and milk, which increases the harmful effects of these two liquids. First of all, if the milk tastes like it sweetens the coffee, the reality is quite different. Adding milk increases the acidity of the coffee, which can cause acid reflux or heartburn.
“The mixture of the two is explosive, because the tannins [une substance contenue dans le café et d’autres boissons] coffee makes casein coagulate [une protéine] milk and makes it very difficult to digestexplains Virginie Fleur, naturopath, to TF1. The tannins and casein in milk will form clots, which causes bloating.“.
As we age, it is also possible that coffee with milk is more difficult to digest. This comes from lactase, an enzyme whose quantity decreases as we age. Its role is to help the small intestine absorb lactose. Thus, the less the body produces, the more difficult it is for us to digest lactose and therefore to digest milk.
Finally, the last consequences of mixing coffee and milk: a greater laxative effect. Intestinal transit is therefore accelerated, which would not naturally be the case.
Coffee: should you opt for plant-based milk?
To avoid these digestive symptoms, you can stop drinking this drink or – a less drastic solution – replace cow’s milk with vegetable milk.Almond or rice milk should be avoided, as they are very sweet and cause blood sugar levels to spike.“, emphasizes Virginie Fleur.
But the latte’s balance sheet is not entirely negative. In fact, according to a study published in the journal Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistrythis drink has a significant anti-inflammatory effect. This is due to the polyphenols present in coffee and the amino acids in milk.
