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Bulletproof Coffee?
Nutrition | February 17, 2015
Some of you may know that I really swear by the concoction commonly referred to as Bulletproof Coffee. It’s marketed as a kind of gimmick, but the methods and ingredients involved are actually quite sound. Still, some of the claims made by Dave Asprey, the man behind Bulletproof Coffee range from suspect to just a marketing ploy.
For starters, I don’t think it’s a magic potion and it’s not for everyone (especially those of you who don’t like coffee or have sensitive stomachs). I personally like it because it combines healthy fats and caffeine in a very quick and manageable drink. I love it in the morning before my workouts. The healthy fats provide fuel and the caffeine helps keep me awake and alert. Again though, everyone may not experience the same results with this concoction. However, I always suggest eating healthy fats in some form or another (see my Nutrition Guide) and consider them crucial for our diets.
Bulletproof Coffee is easily made at home with a few simple ingredients. All that is required to make it is fresh coffee, unsalted grass-fed butter (I take one tbsp), coconut or MCT oil (also one tbsp) and some type of blender.
Unfortunately, one major aspect of Asprey’s Bulletproof Coffee that I consider suspect is that he insists you must purchase his coffee beans to avoid dangerous toxins. Asprey claims that other kinds of coffee purchased at stores or cafes are toxic. More specifically, Asprey insists that they contain aflatoxins due to mold. This is quite misleading. He is implying that you can and will get sick if you purchase coffee other than his own.
According to some studies roasting any coffee actually destroys almost all of the potential aflatoxins. A study done in the academic journal, Mycotoxin Research, states the following: “The percentage of toxin destruction was up to 93% for light roasted and 99% for dark roasted coffee with a slightly higher rate up to 100% for the electrically roasted coffee for light and dark roasting.”
Also, bear in mind that a variety of other foods contain or are at risk of containing aflatoxins. This includes nuts, legumes and seeds. Even if there are small levels of toxins present in our foods the risk is still minimal to none according to Dr. Bryan Chung, founder of Evidence-Based Fitness and a board member of the academic journal, Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine.
Toxins are everywhere. We should only be concerned when they’ve reached levels beyond regulated safety measures. It’s the dose that makes the poison. For example, apples contain cyanide, a potentially lethal poison yet we eat them everyday. Why? Because the amount of cyanide is so small, that it’s not worth considering as a health threat.
As much as I enjoy Asprey’s recipe for Bulletproof Coffee in the morning, some of the results are a bit farfetched. At the very least, they are subjective, meaning there are not any studies or research to fully support some of his statements – something I’m always careful to avoid.
Have you tried Bulletproof Coffee? How do you like it?
Private Member |
I have a sensitive stomach, and prefer to eat something first, and then have a coffee. I also wouldn’t drink it everyday. But!! since I first tried it, I fell in love with it and when I have coffee I prefer the bulletproof than any other. I noticed that some coffee may however be different, I don’t know if it’s a quality thing or what, but when I bought a ground coffee last time, it was delicious, and now I have a different one and it doesn’t taste the same. But I definitely love it 🙂 Plus I love the idea of coconut oil in it, because it’s healthy 🙂
Private Member |
I think I would drink it if it was Bulletproof Hot Chocolate 😀 I simply hate coffee, the taste 😀 I cant even get it through my neck… My stomach would turn upside down 😀 But I love the idea of coconut taste, yummie 🙂
Private Member |
Hi Kristina, I don’t like coffee either, so what I used to do was to make a mocha chai latte. Brew chai tea (bonus points for chocolate chai), blend with 1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 – 2 Tbs coconut oil. Sometimes I add full-fat coconut milk, but usually not. It’s quite tasty!
Private Member |
thank you 🙂
Private Member |
Hi Kristina as Sereohina said you can use another type of tea and add the butter and coconut oil. I love making a rooibos espresso..a brand we sell here in Cape Town it taste awesome and yes I feel different and energised because the MCT give a person instant energy.
Private Member |
ohio, united states
Ihave tried it with coconut oil only, no butter. I was not hungry all morning.
Private Member |
Do you mean tbsp or tsp? Cause in the picture above its a teespoon…
Private Member |
I love my Bulletproof too, but I dont blend it, I just stir 1tsp butter and 1tsp coconut oil, it keeps my hunger away for hours and I have a really clear feeling in my head. I know that blending makes it more like a latte with the foam on top, but if you think of the nutritional values is there any point why blend it? And i feel sick if I put 1tbsp of the fats in it, maybe my body cant handle that much fat at once?!
I feel bulletproof bulletproof bulletproof <3 <3
Private Member |
HI carrie I think perhaps your bodies enzymatic action must adapt to breaking down the MCT oils perhaps you must start with a small amount first and gradually increase as time goes on.
Private Member |
Hi Zuzka,
have you heard about the studies (on rats) from the book “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell on aflatoxin in relation to the consumption of animal protein? Where it states that aflatoxin is a very potent carcinogen. However, after the Indian researchers showed that decreasing animal protein (casein) intake from the usual level of consumption of 20% to 5% completely prevented this very powerful carcinogen to cause cancer. In case you did not know, I just wanted you to have the Info. Thank you very much for all your work, help and information on living fit, healthy and happy. You are my role model and like a beautiful shining star helping me to find my way home : )
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
No but what I have read about in recent years is how cancer cells can survive only on glucose from our blood stream. People who had cancer and eliminated carbs from their diet completely and went on Keto diet instead, got rid off the cancer completely. What happened was the cancer cells starved to death within weeks. It’s fascinating.
Private Member |
astoria, or, usa
My mother-in-law’s best friend’s son (early 30’s) has had a few forms of cancer recently. I tried telling her about the full-fat, no carb, keto, cancer-killer and she just scrunched her nose at the thought of eating fat. It was so sad, she couldn’t look past conventional, low-fat wisdom enough to even consider sharing it with her son. I about died when the Dr encouraged him to have a glass of red wine per night! Luckily after a few surgeries he’s in remission, but if it were me I wouldn’t touch sugar with a 10 ft pole!
Private Member |
To me those studies would then suggest, that too much glucose (refined white sugar) is dangerous once you have gotten cancer. “The China Study” is of great interest to me because it is dealing with studies on how cancer starts / gets initiated. Meaning, they have studies that show, how a low level animal protein diet prevents cancer from even being able to manifest / start / grow.
Private Member |
Human body can not survive without glusose in blood stream. If there is not enough dietary glucose, body will start gluconeogenesis in order to keep steady levels of glucose in blood. New glucose molecules can be created from fat and some AC. Fat we use for energy is called triacylglycerol, after acyl molecules are cut from glycerol, acyl molecules are cutted to many Acetyl Coa remains and used straight in Krebs cycle for energy making, Glycerol can be used for gluconeogenesis (new glucose). If the acyl remain has odd number of carbons the very last reaction of beta oxidation produce propionylCoA, three carbon molecule, that can also go into gluconeogenesis. So body is making its own glucose to keep going, and using it for making energy, glucose can be easily transported through blood stream where ever its needed. Forexample brain, imagine brain would have to store some fat in order have some energy stores, our heads would be huge :)). (brain and heart, can be fed also by ketone bodies, but glucose in blood stream is allways tried to be maintained on the same level, by decomposing dietary or stored fat and aminoacids in muscles or coming from food, there is also alanine-glucose cycle that keep exchanging AC alanine for glucose to keep energy in muscles).
Sorry for wall of the text, my field is biochemistry and I just couldn’t keep the information for myself.:)
It is all yet more complicated, but if you wanna look something up, you should look into regulation of these cycles. Insulin vs Glucagon for exmple.
Private Member |
I was skeptical about trying this, the thought of butter in my coffee just freaked me out, but it’s soooo good! I really do feel a more intense kick from the coffee drinking it this way too.
Private Member |
nj
I have it every morning, but I use coconut oil and coconut cream. I found that I just love the taste of it and because it gets foamy, it feels kinda like I am having a latte or something. I do find that I have more energy and are more awake than just having “regular” coffee.
I am glad that you think Asprey is doing that as more as a marketing scheme, because I have always thought that too. I think that blended coffees are a good idea to get some good fat (which is why I started doing it in the first place).
Private Member |
curitiba, parana, brazil
Hi Zuzka, I really do not like coffee at all, I don’t like the bitter taste unless I add lots of sugar, I cannot drink it. I would like to try this bulletproof but in Brazil I don’t get this grass fed butter, what can I use instead of this type of butter? Maybe ghee (clarified butter)? Thanks a lot. See you, take care.
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
You can just do more coconut oil instead of the butter. You can also use some non GMO, antibiotic free heavy cream.
Private Member |
Zuzka…. I have been doing this in the morning but with not a whole tablespoon on each as I am soo afraid of the calorie content…. but have not felt that feel good jolt during my workouts either. And right after my workouts I am soooo tired. Do you think it is because I’m not using the full Tablespoons? I just get so concerned about the fat/calorie content. Suggestions? Thanks:-)
Private Member |
The only concern I have is the cholesterol? Is it too much fat? I LOVE this in the morning and feel that if adds energy without all the chemicals I used to drink with the pre supplement energy drinks.
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
There’s a big misconception about cholesterol and fat. It’s actually a great idea for the next article.
Private Member |
seattle, washington
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee just posted some new guidelines. They are concerned with sugar intact and not so concerned with cholesterol anymore. National committees are like great ships and take decades to turn. They still recommend a low fat diet even with the science suggesting the opposite.