Here's a fun fact: Scientists still aren't sure why coffee makes you need to use the BATHROOM. The two leading theories are it causes contractions in your colon, or it makes us produce more stomach acid, which helps with digestion.
It's a well-known fact that drinking coffee can make you need to go NUMBER TWO. But would you believe scientists still don't know WHY?
Someone talked to a few experts about it, including a doctor at Harvard. And it's true. We still don't know exactly what causes that reaction.
They don't think it's just the caffeine, because decaf can do it too. So it might have something to do with other compounds in coffee.
Here are the two leading theories on why coffee can make you rush to the bathroom . . .
1. It might cause contractions in your colon. A study in 1998 found coffee might stimulate "colonic motor activity" within minutes of drinking it.
People volunteered to have a sensor INSERTED into their colon to monitor contractions. Coffee was 60% more effective at making them happen than when they just drank water. And a separate study found it takes as little as four minutes.
2. It might make us produce more stomach acid. A study in 1986 found it could be true, and a small study in 2009 seemed to back that up. Stomach acid helps us digest food, and they think that having more of it might make your colon more active.
(CNN)