If you follow a keto diet you have probably heard of or even tried bulletproof coffee. This magical beverage was born in the Silicon Valley of the United States and has spread rapidly all over the world.
Bulletproof coffee not only refreshes the brain, but also makes you more energetic, and focused, while also having miraculous weight loss effects.
Just search for “bulletproof coffee” on the Internet and you will find that all kinds of information are available. However, there are also both mixed praise and criticism about its function and effect.
Everything has two sides and should not be generalized. Well, the same is true for magic bulletproof coffee. Although it has many benefits, if used improperly, you may experience weight gain and even possibly endanger your health.
What Is Bulletproof Coffee
Dave Asprey, the inventor of bulletproof coffee, is an engineer in Silicon Valley, USA.
According to him, when he took a trip to Tibet a few years ago, he drank a local butter tea. There, he experienced its magical effect of boosting his spirit while also making him less hungry.
After returning home, he started his research. After a series of experiments and adjustments to the formula, he finally invented a new version of butter tea, which he called bulletproof coffee. He then founded Bulletproof 360 in 2013 and registered a trademark [*].
Although the word “bulletproof” is in the name, this coffee has nothing to do with bullets. The reason for the name is to metaphorically point out the better performance this coffee has on the body.
“Bulletproof – The State of High Performance”
The main ingredients of bulletproof coffee include:
- 2.5 tablespoons mold-free coffee beans
- 1-2 tablespoons of MCT oil or coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted grass-fed butter
Mix all the ingredients in a blender until bubbles appear.
How does it taste?
For those who like coffee, a cup of this thick aromatic coffee will definitely satisfy you.
What about the effect?
First of all, as coffee, it tastes refreshing. Additionally, with the added fat, it helps a person feel more full. As a result, this coffee helps to fight hunger.
How Bulletproof Coffee Works
The secret is the fat that is added to the coffee.
The most important thing is coconut oil or MCT oil extracted from coconut oil, because their main ingredient is medium-chain fatty acids.
Most ordinary fats and oils are long-chain fatty acids, which are broken down and digested in the body for a long time. Medium-chain fatty acids have a shorter chemical chain, which can be more quickly absorbed by the body and transported directly to the liver.
Once the medium-chain fatty acids reach the liver, they will immediately be metabolized into ketones to provide energy for the body instead of being stored in adipose tissue-like long-chain fatty acids.
The other fat comes from grass-fed butter. The purpose of using butter is to increase the consistency and taste of the coffee. In addition, grass-fed butter is a good source of butyrate, which contains important nutrients such as vitamin A, β-carotene and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
If you have lactose intolerance, you can skip the butter or use ghee instead.
These oils work together with coffee to improve brain power, increase energy and fight hunger.
Can Bulletproof Coffee Help You Lose Weight
Before explaining this question, let’s take a closer look at its founder Dave Asprey.
Dave Asprey used to weigh more than 300 pounds before he encountered bulletproof coffee. Even though he was only about 30 years old, he often felt tired and exhausted. His brain function was also affected. His doctor warned him that he was not far from having a stroke and heart disease.
Just as his health was deteriorating, in 2004, Dave drank the local butter tea after a long journey on the Tibetan Plateau. This bowl of tea quickly helped him regain his strength and left him feeling refreshed. This inspired him and eventually, he invented bulletproof coffee.
Over the next few years, Dave succeeded in losing weight by drinking bulletproof coffee along with making some changes to his diet.
According to Dave, bulletproof coffee had a magical effect that helped him to lose weight.
However, the coffee should be combined with a ketogenic diet to help with weight loss.
First of all, bulletproof coffee contains a lot of fat and is very high in calories. If you eat a high-carb diet while drinking the coffee, this method can increase the storage of body fat.
The ketogenic diet is a very restricted diet, especially with regard to the choice of carbs you eat, along with how many carbs you eat. It is difficult for most people to adhere to this diet, long enough to enter a state of ketosis in a short time.
Drinking bulletproof coffee without controlling calories is actually going to cause weight gain, similar to eating fat bombs.
In the early stage of the keto diet, in order to convert the body into a fat metabolism mode as soon as possible, you need to strictly limit carbohydrates intake and eat a lot of high-quality fats.
However, when your body enters a state of ketosis and starts to burn fat if you still consume too much fat, your body will always use external fat for energy, instead of burning the fat stored in your body.
Dave Asprey himself finally lost weight by following a ketogenic/low-carb diet while having bulletproof coffee.
There are also many people who combine intermittent fasting + bulletproof coffee.
The main purpose of this is to keep blood sugar and insulin levels to a minimum. It also allows your body to produce ketones while prolonging the time your body will burn fat efficiently. This effect is even better than a ketogenic/low-carbon diet.
Related:
Two Potential Risks Of Bulletproof Coffee
Although bulletproof coffee has many benefits and also helps people to lose weight when combined with a ketogenic diet, long-term and large amounts of consumption of this coffee can cause some health hazards.
1. May cause malnutrition
Bulletproof coffee provides a lot of healthy fats, which can reduce appetite and provide energy. However, it lacks a variety of nutrients.
Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil is a refined fat with no other essential nutrients.
Grass-fed butter also contains only some conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), butyrate and some vitamins.
If you only drink bulletproof coffee for breakfast and don’t get enough nutrients in your other two meals, it can easily cause malnutrition.
2. May increase cholesterol levels
The MCT oil and butter added in bulletproof coffee are both high in saturated fatty acids.
Although there was some controversy regarding the health effects of saturated fat, the medical profession generally believes that excessive intake of saturated fat can increase the risk of heart disease and other health problems [*].
In spite of MCT oil having special fatty acids that can increase the level of good cholesterol (HDL), it also increases the level of bad cholesterol (LDL).
Studies have found that butter increases LDL levels more than coconut oil and olive oil.
If you find that your cholesterol rises after following a ketogenic/low-carb diet, avoid excessive consumption of butter, including bulletproof coffee.
Summary:
Bulletproof coffee is a high-fat coffee beverage that is often used as a substitute for breakfast to help increase energy, boost brain power and resist hunger.
If you want to use it to lose weight, you should strictly follow a ketogenic diet. Otherwise, you will not lose weight and may actually gain weight.
At the same time, bulletproof coffee also has some potential health risks. It may cause malnutrition and increase cholesterol. It is best not to drink large amounts of Bulletproof coffee over a long period of time.
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