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Drink coffee healthily | how long is it appropriate to drink tea or coffee after a meal?

Published: 2026-04-04 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/04/04, Communication of professional baristas Please pay attention to the coffee workshop (official Wechat account cafe_style) how long should I drink tea or coffee after dinner? Some people say that caffeine will affect protein absorption, and drinking tea after a meal will also produce toxins, which makes people feel alarmed. What on earth is going on? Let the dietitian answer it! Caffeine can increase the secretion of gastric juice, drink the right amount after meals, and help the digestive system.

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How long is it appropriate to drink tea or coffee after a meal? Some people say that caffeine will affect protein absorption, and drinking tea after a meal will also produce toxins, which makes people feel alarmed. What on earth is going on? Let the dietitian answer it!

Caffeine can increase gastric juice secretion, drink the right amount after meals, and help the digestive system operate.

Many people like to drink a cup of tea or coffee after meals, but it is spread on the Internet that caffeine will affect protein absorption, and even produce toxins after meals, making people at a loss as to what to do. Chen Yanhua, a dietitian at Changhua Christian Hospital, pointed out that caffeine can increase gastric juice secretion and drink moderate amounts after meals, which is conducive to the operation of the digestive system, but daily caffeine intake is best controlled within 300 mg. In addition, the tannic acid contained in tea will combine with protein to form "tannic acid protein" and coagulate and precipitate, resulting in symptoms such as difficulty in digestion and gastrointestinal discomfort, but it is not poisoning. It is recommended to drink tea at intervals after meals to reduce gastrointestinal load.

"Daily caffeine intake in 300mg"

Nutritionist Chen Yanhua points out that caffeine has many functions, one of which is to stimulate the sympathetic nerve and increase gastric juice secretion, so drinking a moderate amount of caffeine after a meal is helpful to the operation of the digestive system, and you don't have to wait for an hour after a meal to drink it. As for how much caffeine is "the right amount"? According to the recommendation of the Department of Health, caffeine intake per person should be limited to less than 300 mg per day, in the case of American coffee, per 100 c.c. It contains about 200 milligrams of caffeine, and for adults weighing 60 kilograms, a cup of black coffee exceeds the standard.

As for the saying that drinking tea after a meal will produce toxins that lead to poisoning, Chen dietitian pointed out that tea contains tannic acid (tannin, tannin), which is a polyphenolic substance, which is a strong antioxidant, so it tastes astringent, because when eating, protein foods are often eaten, and the two combine into "tannic acid proteins" and coagulate and precipitate, resulting in symptoms such as difficult digestion and gastrointestinal discomfort, but not poisoning.

"tannic acid and protein avoid eating together."

She said that tannins are common in foods. Besides tea, guava, grapes, Hawthorns and persimmons are also rich in tannins. It is recommended to separate them from protein-rich foods such as eggs, seafood, dairy products and bean products to avoid indigestion.

Chen dietitian said that some ingredients in tea are affected by brewing mode, long-term storage after brewing, concentration, intake and time, and physical condition and other factors. generally speaking, the content of tea tannic acid drunk during meals does not affect protein and digestion, but after drinking tea, the food absorbs water and expands, which is easy to make people feel full and think it takes longer to digest. In fact, there is no difference in time. It takes about 4 hours from the time the food is eaten to the time it is not completely emptied.

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