Can you eat dark chocolate and drink coffee without any problems?

[Crohn2357]

I can’t drink coffee, even a few sips give me abdominal pain, diarrhea etc.; but I can eat a little (10 grams?) dark chocolate (above 85% cocoa, the ones that don’t contain any dairy) every day. If I try to increase this amount, I get intestinal symptoms.

I am curious if other Crohn’s patients who can’t have coffee can eat more (like 50 grams a day) dark chocolate than I can without any gut-issues, every day?

Do you think the main reason why coffee causes severe intestinal problems is because of caffeine? Has anyone tried decaf coffee and seen different results with that? If it was due to caffeine only, I would think I wouldn’t be able to eat dark chocolate either; I am having a hard time understanding this.

 

[Lisa]

I tend to stay away from chocolate, it doesn't always agree with me.....coffee I used to drink 1-3 cups/day (for YEARS), but this past spring I started feeling 'not right' and stopped drinking it cold turkey...since this past April I don't think I've had a full cup...only a sip here or there. I am drinking tea now though, but only over the last 1-2 months and about 1-2 cups/day.

 

[Crohn2357]

I tend to stay away from chocolate, it doesn't always agree with me.....coffee I used to drink 1-3 cups/day (for YEARS), but this past spring I started feeling 'not right' and stopped drinking it cold turkey...since this past April I don't think I've had a full cup...only a sip here or there. I am drinking tea now though, but only over the last 1-2 months and about 1-2 cups/day.

Black tea? When you stopped drinking coffee cold turkey, have you experienced a betterment in your digestive system?

 

[Pangolin]

I'm personally not a Crohn's patient (my son is), but I have found coffee to be harsh on my digestion while black tea has been very good for my digestion. I now drink several cups of tea a day, and it's been a noticeable improvement.

 

[westernbuddy]

Coffee is a big no go for me would cause inflammation.

Any chocolate has no effect on my crohns and feels safe. My teeth probably wouldn't like it however.

 

[Crohn2357]

Coffee is a big no go for me would cause inflammation.

Any chocolate has no effect on my crohns and feels safe. My teeth probably wouldn't like it however.

I hear you, chocolate causes tooth pain for me. For this, I have found the ratio of cocoa to be important. Increased cocoa ratio (say, 90% cocoa compared to 70%) in the chocolate means there is less sugar in it, which translates as less tooth pain for me.

 

[Crohn2357]

I'm personally not a Crohn's patient (my son is), but I have found coffee to be harsh on my digestion while black tea has been very good for my digestion. I now drink several cups of tea a day, and it's been a noticeable improvement.

What about chocolate? How does your son do with coffee and chocolate? You may want to research home made bone broth, for your son’s health. It reduces intestinal inflammation significantly.

 

[Pangolin]

I've never noticed a problem with chocolate. My son doesn't drink coffee, and we can't tell if chocolate does anything worse to him than all the other foods. Bone broth would probably be good for him, but he's never been willing to try things like that. Good idea though, maybe we should try again to get him to try it.

 

[lost]

I can eat any thing I want as long as I also eat a a ton of well cooked fiber for lunch and dinner.

IMO it all comes down to moderation of what you eat.

 

[wild_one353]

coffee really makes me tired after drinking it for a few days and after a week or seems to affect my bowel movement quality, i think i started bleeding once, which I never do. I quit coffee when I was diagnosed, but started drinking it occasionally like once a week about 2 years ago, with periods of drinking it for a few weeks here and there, so that is my experience. So now I rarely drink it, but green tea gives me no issues, i consume it everyday, and I recommend it, but cant promise others will react the same way.

 

[Bufford]

I can eat chocolate covered ice cream popsicles fine. I made a chocolate cake, and it made me feel sick, I had to toss half of it out. Very disappointing, when I was younger for this was not the case.

 

[wild_one353]

no major issues with chocolate for me, all those antioxidants will most likely be medicinal for anyone with a chronic illness, except for its ability to stimulate hunger and be a source of empty calories from fat, for me I keep it to a minimum.

 

[wild_one353]

I can’t drink coffee, even a few sips give me abdominal pain, diarrhea etc.; but I can eat a little (10 grams?) dark chocolate (above 85% cocoa, the ones that don’t contain any dairy) every day. If I try to increase this amount, I get intestinal symptoms.

I am curious if other Crohn’s patients who can’t have coffee can eat more (like 50 grams a day) dark chocolate than I can without any gut-issues, every day?

Do you think the main reason why coffee causes severe intestinal problems is because of caffeine? Has anyone tried decaf coffee and seen different results with that? If it was due to caffeine only, I would think I wouldn’t be able to eat dark chocolate either; I am having a hard time understanding this.

when you say you drink coffee do you mean you make it yourself and consume it plain? that's the only way I've consumed it in the past few years, but with so many things added to coffee say like at starbucks, there is a few other ingredients that could make your reaction to coffee even worse, like synthetic emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, or sugar itself.

As far as whether its the caffeine or not that might irritate IBD, I would consider acrylamide content, as these were always suspected toxins generated from the roasting process, and in the last 2 years I've only consumed dark roast. link

 

[Crohn2357]

Home-made, plain coffee.

 

[jadegreen]

I used to drink coffee like mad when I worked in a coffee shop (and yes, those fancy drinks have all kinds of nasty things in them people w/Crohn's shouldn't consume, wouldn't be surprised if it contributed to the development of my illness), however, I have to say, for me, the coffee itself helped me to stay regular.

I don't drink coffee at all anymore, because I find the caffeine itself to be so addictive and my withdrawals are terrible, so now I stick to a little bit of dark chocolate each day (I like Pascha in particular because it is so clean) and the occasional green tea if I really need a lift. So far so good.

 

[hawkeye]

Coffee every day, 2 or 3 cups and dark chocolate occasionally - no issues.

 

[Ignotius]

found some ultra low heavy metal cacoa powder i have my eye on......extra dark tho it really does help a little choco in a muffin or such....goes a long way.

coffee i never drank, but tea is another things.....as latte, with A2 milk....and a bit of benefiber, seems to do a benefit few times a week.