What Happens to Your Digestion When You Drink Green Tea Regularly?

Drinking green tea can help you poop and offers additional digestive health benefits. It can help reduce inflammation, support the gut microbiome, and reduce the risk of colon cancer.

1. Helps Bowel Movement Regularity

Some people notice that they poop more regularly after drinking green tea every day. Scientists don’t know exactly why this is, but there are a few theories, such as:

• Caffeine content: Like coffee, green tea contains caffeine. Caffeine has a laxative effect, meaning it stimulates your digestive tract and can give you the urge to have a bowel movement.
• Increased hydration: Another way green tea may help you poop is by increasing your liquid consumption. Dehydration can cause constipation, so drinking more liquid lubricates your digestive tract and results in easier and more frequent bowel movements.
• Stress-reducing properties: Green tea has also been shown to reduce stress levels due to compounds it contains, such as L-theanine. Stress is another trigger for constipation, so relaxing with a cup of green tea may make you feel like you need to go.

2. Decreases Digestive Tract Inflammation

Green tea may help reduce inflammation in the stomach and intestines. Catechins, a compound found in green tea, are thought to be the source of its anti-inflammatory effects.

One study found that participants who drank 1 liter (L) of green tea in addition to standard bowel preparation before a colonoscopy had significantly less nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain than those who did not drink green tea.

Subsequently, significantly more people in the green tea group completed their bowel prep and had a successful colonoscopy. The researchers theorized that this may have been due to green tea’s anti-inflammatory effects on the digestive tract.

Scientists also believe that the compounds found in green tea could help reduce inflammation for people with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, two types of inflammatory bowel disease. However, more research is needed.

3. Reduces Starch Digestion

Green tea blocks the digestion of starch, a complex carbohydrate that your body breaks down into sugar and uses as energy. Some starchy foods (like whole grains, legumes, and vegetables) are healthy for you. However, others (such as white bread, cookies, and chips) contain few nutrients and low fiber, which can spike your blood sugar.

Research shows that taking green tea extract (a supplement of concentrated green tea) decreases starch digestion and absorption. However, a normal cup of green tea is less concentrated than green tea extract, so the effect on starch digestion may be less pronounced.

4. Alters Gut Microbiome

A large body of research shows that drinking green tea can positively change your gut’s microbiome. Your gut microbiome is the collection of microorganisms (like bacteria) that live in your gut. Everyone’s microbiome is unique, and having different proportions of certain microorganisms has been linked to various health conditions or health benefits.

Green tea can stimulate certain microorganisms to grow, while also stopping the growth of less desirable species. Bacteria in your gut can also feed off of green tea compounds, releasing secondary compounds. Scientists believe that some of the benefits of green tea may be due to how green tea changes the microbiome and the particles that these bacteria release.

5. Lowers the Risk of Colon Cancer

Green tea may also lower your risk of colorectal cancer, which starts in the large intestine.

Animal studies and small human studies have found that green tea polyphenols (antioxidant compounds found in plants) have anti-colorectal cancer activity. Researchers believe this benefit results from the way green tea alters your mouth and gut microbiome.

6. Reduces the Absorption of Certain Medications

One drawback of green tea on digestion is that it may reduce the absorption of certain medications in your intestines.

Studies have found that drinking green tea, whether repeatedly or just once, can make your intestines less likely to absorb nadolol, a beta-blocker medication that lowers blood pressure and relieves chest pain.

Other drugs that may be less effective after drinking green tea include:

• Crestor (rosuvastatin), a statin used to treat high cholesterol
• Prograf (tacrolimus), an immunosuppressant used after an organ transplant to prevent the body from rejecting the new organ
• Jantoven (warfarin), a blood thinner used to reduce blood clots
• Zocor (simvastatin), a statin used to reduce high cholesterol