Morning routines are deeply personal. For many people, the day begins with a familiar dilemma: coffee first or food first? And while health advice around mornings is often filled with rigid rules, real-life routines tend to be far more flexible. Kareena Kapoor Khan once spoke about how her mornings usually unfold on her talk show for Mirchi Plus, offering a glimpse of a routine many people might find relatable rather than aspirational.
When actor Aditya Roy Kapur asked, “What’s your morning routine?”, she paused and said, “What’s my morning routine? Okay, that’s a good question. I mean, what you said, I shouldn’t be doing that. But yeah, I have coffee in the morning on an empty stomach.”
Aditya then responded with nuance: “But if it doesn’t affect you, it’s fine.” Kareena then recalled, “(I eat) soaked almonds or something before, not like a big breakfast. But that’s enough.”
As the conversation continued, the idea of having a small bite before coffee came up. “They say even if you put something, like, have five bites of something before that coffee, it’s fine,” Aditya said. To this, Kareena replied, “So then I have that. That’s my morning routine.”
Exercise, she explained, doesn’t happen immediately. “I mean, that comes later. Workout and all is not like instantly.” She added that she needs time to ease into the day: “I need two hours.”
That slow start resonated with her guest. “Exactly. Before you kind of, like, open up to the world,” she said, agreeing with Aditya about the need to mentally wake up before engaging fully. Eventually, she admitted, “Yeah, and then I check my phone.” But she also acknowledged that routines vary widely. “But again, like, for different people, different things work.”
She also pointed out how parenting influences her mornings. “It works. But obviously, I have a different routine also because I spend a lot of time in the morning with my children. So that also keeps me a little away from the phone.”
From a health perspective, how harmful is having coffee on an empty stomach, and does it truly vary from person to person?
Dr Palleti Siva Karthik Reddy, MBBS MD general medicine and consultant physician, tells indianexpress.com, “Having coffee on an empty stomach is not universally harmful, but it can be problematic for certain individuals. Coffee stimulates gastric acid secretion and can increase cortisol levels, which may trigger acidity, bloating, palpitations, or anxiety in people who are sensitive, have gastritis, acid reflux, or high stress levels.”
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For others with good gut tolerance and stable blood sugar regulation, he says, it may not cause noticeable issues. So yes, it does vary significantly from person to person based on gut health, stress levels, sleep quality, and hormonal balance. The key is paying attention to how the body responds rather than following a one-size-fits-all rule.
Small pre-coffee snack vs. full breakfast
Even a small pre-coffee snack like soaked almonds or a few bites of food can make a meaningful difference. Dr Reddy notes, “It helps buffer the stomach lining, reduces the sharp spike in cortisol, and prevents sudden blood sugar fluctuations that coffee can cause on an empty stomach.”
While this does not replace the nutritional value of a full breakfast, Dr Reddy mentions, it is a practical compromise for people who are not hungry early in the morning. “From a digestion and energy perspective, a light snack is certainly better than having coffee completely on an empty stomach.”
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your health practitioner before starting any routine.
