You are what you eat and no matter how clichéd it may sound, it is true. Some foods are laxatives which means they make you poop after you consume them.
You must have experienced this with certain foods such as legumes, watermelon, leafy greens, apples, berries, pumpkin, broccoli, and cauliflower. The list does not end here.
However, not everyone responds the same way to such foods. It is definitely not a one-size-fits-all thing. Now, does green have a laxative effect?
The answer to that is some people feel that green tea makes the digestive system get rid of the waste faster. But as already mentioned, not everyone will feel so.
Some even think that drinking the tea doesn’t make a difference. Let’s find out the answer to the most commonly asked question – does green tea make you poop?
But first, let’s see what bio-active compounds are present in green tea.
How is green tea made and what does it contain?
Green tea is a commonly consumed beverage worldwide. It comes from the tea plant Camellia Sinensis which is also the source of other tea varieties such as black tea, oolong tea, and white tea.
It is just the difference in processing that gives each tea variety its unique properties. Green tea does not undergo too much oxidation.
The content of caffeine in green tea is less than what is present in black tea and coffee. On average, there is 35 mg of naturally occurring caffeine in a single cup of green tea.
Moreover, apart from caffeine, the major compounds present in green tea are:
Polyphenols – Green tea has plenty of polyphenols in it. One category of polyphenols is the flavonoids out of which flavanols are the most well-known ones.
They are called catechins and the most active of them all is EGCG (or epigallocatechin gallate). Studies to date show that EGCG is the main source for most of the health benefits that green tea offers.
Amino acids – The main amino acid in green tea is L-theanine that is responsible (along with caffeine) for the alert calmness you get by drinking green tea.
Is green tea a laxative?
Now that you know what green tea contains, you would be yearning to know whether green tea is a laxative or not and which compound gives green tea a mild laxative effect.
Well, green tea is a laxative and this effect is chiefly because of caffeine!
Why green tea makes you poop?
By nature, caffeine is a stimulant that stimulates the nervous system. However, at the same time, it stimulates one’s bowel movements as well.
Caffeine draws water from the body and makes it exit the system in the form of urine.
Thus, you get dehydrated and your colon draws out the extra water from the stool. This gives your stool a different texture and even something like diarrhea.
In case you are constipated and are trying to get some relief from it, caffeine can be the answer.
So, again, does green tea make you poop just because it has caffeine in it? Well, the answer to that would be ‘no’!
The presence of huge amounts of antioxidants in green tea such as matcha is also why it helps you go to the toilet (sometimes more frequently).
Apart from the antioxidants, L-theanine is also helpful in speeding up the body’s metabolism and make things move in your digestive tract.
Factors that make green tea a laxative
1. How long you brew the green tea?
The brewing time of green tea decides the caffeine content in your cuppa. That is, the higher the brewing time, the more the content of the stimulant in the green tea.
When you brew it for 60 to 90 seconds, the green tea will have 35 mg of caffeine in it. However, steeping the tea for too long increases its caffeine content.
This stimulating effect of caffeine makes stool gather faster and makes it leave the body faster. Hence, making you poop.
2. How many cups of green tea you consume?
Are you under the impression that drinking green tea makes you stay in the toilet longer? The answer is, nope! Green tea won’t make you poop when you drink it in moderate amounts.
You can easily drink up to 2-3 cups of green tea in a day without feeling like going to the toilet.
However, if you are drinking green tea for the first time, start with one cup a day so that your body gets used to it.
3. At what time you consume green tea?
Another factor on which the laxative effect of green tea depends is the time of the day when you consume it. If you drink it in the morning on an empty stomach, the chances of green tea making you poop are higher.
The effect of caffeine will make bowels move faster especially when you consume green tea in the morning. Being a warm fluid, green tea helps in widening the digestive tract’s blood vessels and increases gastrointestinal activity.
On the other hand, having green tea with a meal will bring down its stimulative effect.
The Bottom Line
Green tea makes you poop when you drink it in really large quantities especially on an empty stomach. This can certainly help those who have constipation and are in search of a natural laxative that would increase bowel movement.
There can be diarrhea too because of drinking green tea when you are not used to consuming caffeine.
However, it is just a temporary side effect. All in all, green tea can be added to your diet to keep your bowel movement regular.
I hope you found this post satisfactory. And, if you believe there is more information that can be added here, please feel free to comment in the box below. I will be happy to add it 🙂