What Is Bulletproof Coffee? The Original Recording Behind My 2017 Video
This is the raw file behind a video that's already up. On 2017-08-04 I recorded a three-and-a-half-minute explainer on bulletproof coffee. The edited version went to YouTube the same day as "What is bulletproof coffee?". The original runs 206 seconds and the upload 196, and the words match almost line for line (live JHJF4019, video DLRlphyc1t8). So read this as the uncut take. The full write-up, with the drill-down on fat versus protein, is on the YouTube video's page. This page adds what changed afterward.
In this recording
- [0:01] What it is: coffee with MCT oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, heavy whipping cream or some mix, usually blended to a latte texture. I called it a spin-off idea that isn't directly part of keto.
- [0:42] Why it shows up in keto: it's an easy way to get fat in. But keto doesn't require coffee, MCT oil or grass-fed butter. People add grass-fed butter for omega-3s, which I said have good research behind them but aren't tied to ketosis.
- [0:42] MCT and coconut oil get added for medium-chain triglycerides. I mentioned research on epilepsy and on brain benefits, again not tied to ketosis itself.
- [1:30] Heavy whipping cream is my favourite coffee add-in, a lower-sugar, higher-fat swap for milk or half-and-half. If you already enjoy bulletproof coffee, keep drinking it.
- [2:12] If you haven't started it, or don't like the taste, you don't need it. My worry for people losing weight: it's a lot of fat without much nutrition along with it.
- [2:55] I'd rather people get their fat from salmon, avocados or a grass-fed chuck roast. My read on the Kerrygold-and-MCT craze: people found keto at the same time they were reading health news about those products.
Then vs now: the same answer two years later
This is one of the few topics where I said the same thing in 2017 and in 2019, just with a different food in the spotlight.
On 2019-08-28 I did a Live about chaffles, the cheese-and-egg waffles everyone in the group was making. I gave them the same treatment I'd given bulletproof coffee. You can have them, they aren't required, and neither one "is keto." I said I'd had the same issue before with fasting and coffee drinks, and that people really asked me whether they could do keto if they didn't like coffee (live JDOC7543). The answer hadn't changed: nothing about coffee is needed for keto. Keto is about cutting carbs.
In that 2019 Live I also suggested something new for people who like the coffee ritual: put a protein shake in it instead of piling in more fat (live JDOC7543). That's the 2017 worry turned into a fix. If the problem with a fat-only drink is that it brings calories without much else, add the nutrient that fills you up.
By the December 2019 reboot, bulletproof coffee showed up as an example of what I find when someone says they're stuck. Without a food log, "I eat keto foods" tells me nothing. Once we look, we might find too much fat in the coffee (live JDDW2290).
The evidence for that fix
The protein evidence page is where the swap makes sense. In one small trial, raising protein from 15% to 30% of energy, with carbohydrate held the same, led people eating freely to eat 441 fewer calories a day. They lost 4.9 kg over 12 weeks (Weigle 2005). That was 19 adults, and the study wasn't about coffee. But it points the same way as my 2017 worry. A breakfast that's all fat gives up the part of a meal that seems to keep hunger down.
I'm not putting numbers on MCT oil, omega-3s or grass-fed butter. None of the evidence pages for this site covers them yet. "Promising research, not about ketosis" is still as far as I'll go.
Key points
- This is the unedited original of the YouTube video DLRlphyc1t8, recorded and uploaded on 2017-08-04 (live JHJF4019).
- Bulletproof coffee is optional. Keto requires cutting carbs, not any particular drink.
- Heavy cream instead of milk is the simple swap if you drink coffee anyway.
- For weight loss, the worry is fat calories with little else. By 2019 my fix was adding protein rather than more fat (live JDOC7543).
- If you're stalled, the calories you drink are the first thing to log. See hidden calories.
Related
- Guide: Bulletproof coffee · How much fat · Too much fat · Hidden calories that stall keto
- Blog: Is MCT oil necessary? · Is grass-fed butter worth it? · Eat less fat to lose weight
- Videos: What is bulletproof coffee? (YouTube edit) · Eating too much fat · Chaffles and electrolytes (2019) · The December 2019 reboot