Wellness Trends: Going Bulletproof
We like to think we’re pretty open-minded when it comes to most unusual wellness trends: we’ll give most weird and wacky workout classes a try, we’ll experiment with sneaking extra vegetables into sweet desserts and we’re even happy to give meditation or digital detoxes a go. However, our opinion on butter is that it’s something to spread on toast or melt into hot potatoes – not to mix into our precious morning coffee. But thanks to technology entrepreneur and ‘biohacker’ Dave Asprey, this buttery beverage, coined Bulletproof Coffee, is something we’re seeing pop up left, right and centre…
What Is Bulletproof Coffee?
If you’re yet to hear of bulletproof coffee, it's not just sticking a spoonful of Lurpack in your morning Nescafé.
It’s actually a high-quality, low-toxin, brewed coffee, with grass-fed butter or ghee and a shot of MCT (medium chain triglyceride) oil. Once blended together, it becomes emulsified and produces a thick, foamy layer on top – kind of like a normal latte!
The thought is that it will suppress your appetite, turn your body into a "fat-burning machine" and promote healthy weight loss. It also is said to improve your mental focus and brain power, without the usually jittery feeling or energy spike that coffee gives.
The Science
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of trustable studies done on the effectiveness of MCT oil. It appears that it *may* contribute to a small amount of fat loss but a whole lot more research needs to be done, and it certainly isn’t a miracle cure (For more on this, check out this post, here, by Evidence Based Fitness which includes more helpful resources and references).
It’s also not a particularly nutritious start to the day, as the coffee concoction lacks protein, carbs, and a huge variety of vitamins or minerals. There's an argument that maple syrup and soup diets have also shown results for weight loss, but that doesn’t mean they’re either healthy or sustainable.
Clearly, a lot of people think it’s not only delicious but also makes them feel great, otherwise, no-one would be doing it. However, there are a fair few people who report bulletproof coffee has caused them stomach cramps, nausea (thanks to ingesting so much fat in one go) and was essentially just an expensive way to moisturise their lips.
The Verdict
We think that when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, “doing what works for you” is key. However, we also believe in balance, and bulletproof coffee and the lifestyle that comes with it is a little extreme. There are plenty of easier ways to be fit and healthy than buying expensive butter, spending hours scrubbing grease from the inside of your blender and consuming more than your full RDA of saturated fat first thing in the morning. If you’ve always longed for a morning cuppa that doubles up as a lip moisturiser (because who has time to do both?) this is the trend for you, but otherwise, you should probably just stick to your classic flat white…
Want to find out more? Here's a few resources to get you started:
https://evidencebasedfitness.net/the-lime-in-the-coconut-is-purely-optional/
https://www.entitymag.com/bulletproof-coffee-review/
https://blog.bulletproof.com/how-to-make-your-coffee-bulletproof-and-your-morning-too/