Coffee connoisseurs have discovered a new trend in morning beverages and it is called bulletproof coffee. This concoction combines coffee, unsalted butter, and coconut oil. Since its debut, experts have lined up to either extol its virtues or decry its negative effects. They raise the very good question, should you be drinking bulletproof coffee?
The beverage derives its name from its creator, Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof Nutrition Inc. Many ketogenic dieters consider the key ingredient, coconut oil or in many cases MCT (medium chain triglyceride) oil a good addition to their diets. Opponents cite the use of butter and the replacement of a meal with a coffee as bad ideas. Let’s take a look at both.
Bulletproof Coffee and the Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet strives to steer the body toward burning fat early when searching through available energy sources. Straight MCT oil or the MCT oil found in coconut oil serves that desire. The added benefits of those oils include a reported clarity of mind as well. With the fuel for the mind, plus caffeine and the additional food source of butter, the drink supports the body through the morning hours. To gain the fat loss benefits, many users replace a solid breakfast with a bulletproof coffee.
Bulletproof Coffee as a Weight Loss Method
Does bulletproof coffee actually help you lose weight? According to those who support it, it does. Some users, however, report upset stomachs and nausea. When you consider that MCT oil detoxifies the body by the way it burns fat, you might understand that the release of toxins from stored body fats is to blame for the sensation. With that in mind, such queasiness might in fact by welcomed by those hoping to flush their systems of harmful products. Whether that is what you want from your morning coffee is for you to decide.
Deciding not to Drink Bulletproof Coffee
Detractors of bulletproof coffee point to the ills of saturated fats and the discarding of a healthy morning meal. While the recipe calls for a single tablespoon of butter, an article on healthline.com labeled the saturated fat level in the beverage as “massive.” It also suggested the drink’s best application is as an addition to a meal, not a replacement. Another thing to keep in mind is that experts tend to agree that exercise helps regulate or reduce the negative effects of saturated fats.
The Ugly Truth about Benefiting from Bulletproof Coffee
Keep in mind, those who most hail bulletproof coffee are those who exercise. Does that mean they receive their benefits from exercise instead of the beverage? No, it does not. It means that they receive the positive effects of of bulletproof coffee while exercising away the negative ones. The unfortunate truth is that–as with many other diets–you can’t cheat the system by skipping exercise.
The Good, the Bad, and the Tasty
Whether you choose to drink bulletproof coffee might well depend on your personal philosophies on dieting, or on how you prefer to live your life. Those shying away from the drink will opt for other weight loss methods or perhaps turn to MCT oils delivered in another form. Proponents of the beverage will surely not balk at the negative reports, especially if they have seen direct benefits from drinking it. There remains a third group, however, one not yet touched upon by the above, and that group consists of those who like to turn their coffee into a tasty confection.
