What about acidity? When you have a moment, please check out our Alkaline/Acid Chart page to see why drinking & eating acidic food too much is not good for your health.

Coffee is highly acidic to the body due to its content of over 100 acids. The acids in coffee, not all of which have even been identified, are highly irritating to the stomach and intestinal lining. Coffee stimulates an increased production of gastric acid leading to a variety of digestive ailments. Decaf has the same or even stronger effect because the beans used to produce decaf coffee are usually more highly acidic than regular coffee beans.

Caffeine is also a contributing factor to the reason why both coffee and tea have an acidic effect in the body. Caffeine belongs to a group of chemicals called xanthines. Caffeine has to be detoxified in the liver and its metabolites, methylxanthine, methyluric acid and uric acid, are excreted by the kidneys in the urine. If the diet is over-acidic and the kidneys are not able to keep up with processing acids, these acids can contribute to a build up of acidity in the body.

Studies have shown that coffee can reduce the pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter, which normally prevents the reflux of the acid contents of the stomach from going back up into the esophagus. Since this effect is produced by both coffee and decaf coffee, it is not just the caffeine in coffee that contributes to heartburn, acid reflux, and GERDS.