Should you drink coffee before or during breakfast?

  The research on the timing of coffee consumption will have a way to go before we see consistent results. But, quite a bit regarding gut health was revealed while researching consumption times. 

  “Caffeine intake suppresses bacteria and research has shown that both long-term coffee consumption as well as drinking two or more cups of coffee daily increases good bacteria in the gut compared to those who don’t drink coffee. It’s been shown that high caffeine intake positively affects the microbiome by increasing anti-inflammatory bacteria and reducing harmful bacteria, while the chlorogenic acid in coffee also appears to contribute to health in a wide variety of ways. Research has also shown that coffee appears to have an antioxidant, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effect on the lining of the digestive tract, but again it doesn’t specify if having it before, during, or after a meal is ideal,” say say Lyssie Lakatos, RDN, CDN, CFT and Tammy Lakatos Shames, RDN, CDN, CFT who make up the duo known as the Nutrition Twins blog on wellandgood.com

So, what’s the deal? Coffee before breakfast or during according to doctors?

   Stephanie Nelson, RD, a lead nutrition scientist at MyFitnessPal summed it up best. “If you drink coffee on an empty stomach and the effects bother you, then you're better off eating something with your coffee," she says. "However, if you don't experience stomach issues after drinking coffee on an empty stomach, there's nothing harmful about drinking coffee before breakfast.”

According to us, just drink coffee all day and you'll cover all the bases.