Coffee with an upgrade - does "Bulletproof Coffee" deliver what it promises?

Bulletproof Coffee introduced the idea of 'coffee hacking' and the use of butter in morning coffee. As a result, it has become something of an internet sensation. People are talking about it. Many even claim that it works wonders for them.

But what is it about this magical concoction that makes people want to spice up their coffee? More importantly, do the results actually match the hype surrounding Bulletproof Coffee?

"Hacking": the quest to improve everything.

Everyone knows that a healthy lifestyle is a journey - not a destination.

In fact, it's a lifelong journey defined by the "relax, slow down and take it one day at a time" approach we use in our nutrition programs for men and women.

But who doesn't love shortcuts? Or tweaks or tricks?

Welcome to the hack - a way to improve, customize and/or make a process more streamlined - just like a computer hacker manipulating the original software.

"Hacking" has become a defining concept in our culture. There is Ikea hacking(http://www.ikeahackers.net/). Body hacking. And if you go the full distance - life hacking.

In the training and nutrition world, if you're more advanced, you may have asked yourself the following:

"Is there any way I could hack my nutrition or fitness?"

Or maybe you're bored with your morning brew:

"Is there a way I could make my coffee more scientific and amazing?"

And if you're that kind of curious person who's always looking for better ways to do things, then you may have already stumbled across Bulletproof Coffee.

What is Bulletproof Coffee?

Bulletproof Coffee (BPC) is actually a recipe.

Basically, it's a combination of coffee, butter from grass-fed cattle and MCT oil (oil made from medium-chain triglycerides.

(Some people even add nootropics - cognitive enhancing supplements or medications - to the mix).

Of course, not just any coffee is suitable for Bulletproof Coffee. You can't just pick up a coffee from the discount store and think it's fine. Remember that hacks need to be optimal.

This is why people rave about so-called Upgraded™ Coffee. (Yes, that's a registered trademark.)

Proponents of Upgraded™ Coffee claim that it improves energy, mood, productivity and overall health... much more than regular old coffee.

Plus, unlike regular coffee, Upgraded™ Coffee is said to be free of mycotoxins (we'll get into this in a bit). This is next-level space age stuff - right here, right now.

Here's the recipe:

• 2 cups (500 ml) black Upgraded™ Coffee
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) unsalted butter from grass-fed cows (or more, up to 80 grams)
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of MCT oil
• Blend (ideally with a high-speed blender) until the oil emulsifies and the coffee looks like a latte macchiato.

Fans of Bulletproof Coffee claim that it is satisfying, kills hunger, eliminates inner restlessness caused by high coffee consumption and will keep the coffee drinker in a good mood all day long.

Are these claims realistic?

It's time to investigate.

First, I'll take a look at what the science has to say about coffee, mycotoxins, saturated fat and MCTs. Then I'll try a Bulletproof Coffee myself.

Let's start with the coffee

Is it good for you or is it bad for you?

Based on the scientific research on this topic, it's hard to make a blanket statement about coffee.

As is often the case in the field of nutritional science, the data on coffee is correlational. Correlational data tells us nothing about cause and effect. It merely tells us which things tend to be associated with each other.

The potential benefits of coffee

On the one hand, regular coffee consumption (1 to 3 cups per day) is consistently associated with a lower risk of the following:

• Diabetes
• Alzheimer's disease
• Parkinson's disease
• Many types of cancer
• Overall mortality

Coffee and caffeine are also widely recognized boosters of physical and mental performance.

The potential harmful effects of coffee

Unfortunately, many of the potential benefits seem to disappear if we drink too much coffee - say more than 3 cups a day.

Coffee consumption has also been linked to the following:

• A higher risk of miscarriage
• Disturbed sleep
• Exacerbation of PMS symptoms
• Increased blood pressure - even in people who do not suffer from high blood pressure.

So we have mixed results here. There is no clear winner.

The benefits (or detrimental effects) of coffee definitely seem to depend, at least in part, on how much we drink.

But there could also be other factors, such as:

Caffeine metabolism

One reason coffee studies are so difficult to interpret is that people are so different. For genetic reasons, we don't all react to coffee in the same way.

About half of those reading this are... a little slow.

No, seriously, about half of all people have genes that make them slow caffeine metabolizers. If you're one of those "slow caffeine changers" and you drink a lot of coffee, then your risk for things like heart disease increases.

The other half of people are "fast" caffeine metabolizers. These people have won the genetic lottery here - habitual coffee consumption lowers their risk of heart disease. (If you're in this group, don't get too cocky now. You still need to limit your coffee consumption to about 3 cups a day to see benefits).

Of course, there are many other factors involved in maintaining good health and avoiding cardiovascular disease. But if you are interested in nutrition and fitness (and I assume you are), then you will probably control all the factors you can.

But there is another risk factor that you may not have heard about: Mycotoxins.

Do mycotoxins play a role?

Much of the discussion about Bulletproof Coffee centers around the potential mycotoxin content of coffee.

"Myco" comes from the Greek word mukēs, which refers to fungi. Coffee is grown in tropical countries near the equator. And due to the climatic conditions prevailing in these countries, fungal growth is more common there.

Mycotoxins are a type of potentially toxic mold (more specifically, metabolic products produced by the fungi) that can develop on coffee beans and other foods.

Scientists have known for decades that high intakes of mycotoxins can cause health problems in humans and animals.

There are six primary mycotoxin strands - aflatoxins, ochratoxins, citrinin, ergotamine alkaloid, patulin and fusarium - that commonly appear on or in food products.

As with many environmental compounds, the dose makes the poison with mycotoxins. As early as 1980, scientists noted that:

• Mycotoxins are not commonly found in commercial coffee products
• When mycotoxins are present, their levels are low
• Roasting destroys 70 to 80% of mycotoxins (and recent studies even show a reduction of 69 to 96%)

However, these are not universal results. More recent studies have come to some different conclusions.

Ochratoxin A (OTA)

When it comes to coffee, ochratoxin A (OTA) is the most studied mycotoxin. It is toxic to the kidneys, it suppresses the immune system, it can cause birth defects and has been classified as a possible human carcinogen. That all sounds pretty bad.

In 1997, a team of scientists analyzed 633 coffee samples from several European countries and tested them in 9 different laboratories.

They found that more than half of the samples had no measurable levels of OTA and the rest had quite low levels.

According to their estimates, consuming 4 cups of coffee (about 900 ml) would provide about 19 nanograms of OTA.

In 2010, some French scientists tested 30 types of roasted coffee from French supermarkets. They found that a 300 ml serving contained 31 ng of OTA.

This is clearly substantially more than the rough 5 ng per 240 ml that the team of scientists found in 1997.

The scientists made the statement that OTA in coffee is generally underestimated because there are other substances in coffee that interfere with a quantitative determination of the OTA content. Therefore, the values of the second group of scientists were higher.

What is a safe amount of OTA?

Scientists are not sure how high a safe OTA dose would be:

Opinion 1: 1.5 nanograms per kilogram of body weight per day according to the Virtually Safe Dose (VSD) mentioned by the French scientists.

Opinion 2: 5ng/kg per day according to the European Commission and according to the FDA (the American health authority.

Opinion 3: 14.3 ng/kg per day according to the joint committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Okay, I weigh 86 kilos. Let's convert these figures to my weight.

Opinion 1: I would have to drink 5 to 27 cups of coffee a day to exceed the limit considered safe.

Opinion 2: I would have to drink 17 to 91 cups of coffee a day to exceed the limit considered safe.

Opinion 3: Over 250 cups per day.

Well, it looks like I'm not in any danger regardless of the limit used.

As I mentioned earlier, mycotoxins are also found in other foods. OTA is found in small amounts in raisins, cereals, peanuts, beer, wine and legumes.

A mixed diet that includes significant amounts of all of these foods, even combined with moderate coffee consumption (1 to 3 cups per day), will probably not put me over the safety limit for OTA consumption. That's right, even if I overdo it with peanuts and California raisins.

If:

• However, you are concerned with optimizing - perfecting - your intake
• You are still worried about OTAs and mycotoxins
• You have a very low risk tolerance
• You're willing to spend twice as much money for the same amount of coffee

Then you might feel more comfortable with something like Upgraded™ Coffee, which is supposedly low in mycotoxins.

But remember that - at least according to scientific research - most of the coffee you drink contains low levels of mycotoxins anyway.

And there is no evidence to suggest that this one brand of coffee has a lower mycotoxin content than any other brand.

Coffee with added fat

The second controversial component of Bulletproof Coffee is the added rich amount of saturated fat and the total amount of fat - in the form of butter and MCT oil.

While Bulletproof Coffee may seem like modern chemistry to you, the idea of adding butter to this brew is not new to traditional Ethiopians (who sometimes add butter to their coffee) or Mongolians (who drink yak butter tea).

So the whole thing is not really as strange as it might sound.

Fat and calories

I'll take another look at saturated fats and MCTs in a moment, but let's start with calories.

It should come as no surprise that you'll dramatically increase the calorie content of your coffee if you throw a big dollop of fat into your coffee - over ten times more calories than a standard coffee with creamer.

Comparison of the nutritional content of coffee with additives

	Calories	Fat (saturated)	Carbohydrates	protein
Bulletproof Coffee	468 kcal	52 g (44 g)	0 g	0 g
Condensed milk (2 tablespoons)	40 kcal	3 g (2 g)	1 g	1 g
Whole milk (30 ml)	18 kcal	1 g (0.6 g)	2 g	1 g

Over 400 extra calories is a lot - especially if you drink more than one Bulletproof Coffee a day, as many people do

If Bulletproof Coffee is your "meal" - i.e. if you drink the coffee instead of having breakfast - then you can probably get away with the calories. You should also note that one cup of Bulletproof Coffee provides the same amount of fat as 12 (!) egg yolks.

You should also keep the following in mind: To make the rest of your food intake for the day adequately nutritious, you need to make sure you eat more protein, fruit and vegetables at other times.

You should also consider reducing your fat intake at other meals and you should eat primarily monounsaturated fats (avocado, nuts, olive oil) and polyunsaturated fats (nuts, seeds, fish oil) throughout the rest of the day to maintain your balance of different types of fat.

So what you save in time with Bulletproof Coffee, you could lose elsewhere through careful food preparation and planning to ensure you're eating healthily.

Saturated fats in context

At PN, we don't think too much about saturated fat. We think the whole "saturated fat will kill you faster than rat poison" hysteria is greatly exaggerated.

A reasonable amount of saturated fat in the form of whole food sources (coconut, dark chocolate, full-fat dairy, animal fat sources) is perfectly fine, especially if you eat a wide variety of minimally processed foods such as vegetables, fruits, proteins, whole grains and other healthy fats.

Three recent literature reviews have openly stated that there is no significant association between consumption of dairy products, including full-fat dairy products, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

However, this does not mean that saturated fats are completely harmless. Or that you should consume your daily amount of fat in the form of saturated fat all at once.

This is especially true if you are not eating a balanced, nutritious diet at other times.

Saturated fats and indicators of blood lipid levels

We won't give you a complete overview of lipodology in this article, but here are some things to keep in mind.

Many clinical studies have shown that when people suddenly increase their consumption of things like coconut oil (which is the richest source of MCTs), their blood lipid levels increase dramatically.

Here's an example from 2013, published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology. A 52-year-old woman started eating coconut oil every day.

Her blood lipid levels were as follows:

• Total cholesterol: 303
• LDL cholesterol: 178
• HDL cholesterol: 106
• Triglycerides: 94
• Non-HDL cholesterol: 197

The doctors then advised her to stop her daily supplementation with coconut oil. Her blood lipid levels dropped dramatically after just 6 weeks:

• Total cholesterol: 201
• LDL cholesterol: 127
• HDL cholesterol: 58
• Triglycerides: 77
• Non-HDL cholesterol: 197

Many will now argue that blood lipid levels don't matter because cholesterol is not the real problem.

While this may be technically true, there are elements of blood lipids that definitely increase the risk of heart disease.

• Total LDL particles (as well as apolipoprotein B particles, which are the carriers of all non-HDL cholesterol including LDL cholesterol) appear to be the best predictor of cardiovascular disease risk.
• Non-HDL cholesterol is a good proxy for this measurement (since it requires complicated lab tests to determine LDL particles or apoB levels).
• Your HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol are simply the cholesterol content of these particles and say nothing about the size or number of particles (and there could be other components of these lipoprotein particles besides cholesterol).

The non-HDL cholesterol levels of the aforementioned patient dropped quickly after she stopped excessive saturated fat supplementation, suggesting that the number of her LDL particles (as well as her aopB particles) had increased due to the coconut oil.

In other words, the extra coconut oil appears to have increased their risk of heart disease.

Dr. Spencer Nadolsky studied more than 100 patients who followed the Bulletproof Coffee protocol. Many came to him with skyrocketing levels of LDL/apoB particles. After they stopped the protocol, these blood markers dropped back to normal.

Here is a case study of one of his patients in his own words.

Bulletproof Coffee case study

How does Bulletproof Coffee affect blood lipid levels? Let's examine this with this case study.

A 25 year old man came to me to have his blood levels checked.

He had no health problems. All he wanted was a comprehensive lipid/lipoprotein lab test

I had the number of LDL particles (LDL-P), the apoB levels and a regular cholsterol/lipid blood count done.

His levels were very high, with his LDL particles at 2759 nmol/l and his LDL cholesterol at 253 mg/dl.

I was concerned that this patient might have a family history of hypercholesterolemia and would need a statin (a cholesterol-lowering medication).

I asked him about his diet at the following appointment. He told me that he followed a very low-carb, high-fat Paleo diet. I had a few patients who were eating this way but had much better blood lipid levels, so I asked him for a few specifics.

He told me that he started his day with a Bulletproof Coffee, in which he put heaps of butter. I told him to stop drinking the Bulletproof Coffee so that we could run new tests after a few months.

On these tests, his LDL particles had dropped to below 1683 nmol/L and his LDL cholesterol to 161 mg/dl. Both values are still in the higher range, but definitely do not require medication.

Was it simply the extra calories he was eating or was it the excessive amounts of saturated fat that had altered his LDL cholesterol/apoB metabolism?

I'm not sure, but I've seen this happen more often. It seems to be a trend: many people who consume Bulletproof Coffee have high blood lipid levels, even if not all consumers of Bulletproof Coffee do. As soon as people with super high blood lipid levels stop consuming Bulletproof Coffee, their blood lipid levels fall back to normal.

What does this mean?

As with coffee and caffeine, there could be genetic or environmental differences in the way the body deals with extra saturated fat.

Blood lipid levels will rise dramatically in some people if they consume too much saturated fat. Other people, however, will have no problems at all.

The only way to find out is to have your blood lipid levels tested.

If you're a Bulletproof Coffee fan (or at least trying to be) and you're passionate about your low-carb, high-fat diet, then you should get your blood lipid levels checked:

• If your blood tests show no changes in your blood lipid levels and an overall healthy lipid profile, you can continue doing what you're doing.
• However, if your blood test results show elevated blood lipid levels, then you should consider making some changes to your fat intake.

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs)

Along with superstar coffee and high-end butter, medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) also contribute to the chemical appeal of Bulletproof Coffee.

Fat normally has to be packaged into lipoproteins, then enter the lymphatic system and subsequently the bloodstream.

MCTs are a special type of fat that is absorbed by the portal vein and transported directly to the liver, bypassing the normal digestion and absorption of fat.

The scientific research on MCTs is a bit of a mixed bag:

• MCTs don't seem to satiate better than other fats. In a systematic review of the MCT literature from 2012, only one of 7 studies concluded that MCTs improved satiety.
• MCTs could help people slim down and improve their body composition. The 2012 review found that 6 out of 8 studies conducted with MCTs showed a positive effect on body composition or body weight. While these results are promising, they were generally studies of relatively short duration, ranging from 4 to 16 weeks. And these studies tended to show poor overall dietary composition (such as inadequate protein intake).
• Adding MCTs to a diet will not result in sudden fat loss. You will still need to maintain a calorie deficit.
• MCTs may help the body burn more calories than other sources of fat. However, this benefit is only modest in nature. And it must be weighed against potential problems with blood lipid levels.
• MCTs may have some modest benefits in terms of body composition, but only if they are used in place of other sources of fat or calories. On their own, MCTs will not magically make you slimmer.

BSP's Bulletproof Coffee Experiment

OK, that was the clinical research.

Now it's time to try it out for yourself.

I ordered myself a Bulletproof Coffee Kit - Brain Octane Edition. This included 2 bags of Upgraded™ Coffee and 1 jar of Upgraded™ Brain Octane Oil (100% MCT oil). Total cost: $64.95 USD.

And I bought with unsalted butter from grass-fed cows (Kerrygold, as recommended). Total price: $4.99 USD.

Experiment 1: Black Upgraded™ Coffee

Protocol: Pure coffee, no extra stuff.

Result: Delicious. This coffee definitely tasted like high quality coffee. My wife agreed and told me how good the coffee tasted to her. It definitely helped me clear my head a bit and I felt good after this coffee. But I can't say for sure if I felt better or worse than after my usual coffee, which I usually drink first thing in the morning.

Possible adulteration: Freshly ground coffee beans. These will always taste better than pre-ground coffee.

I usually buy ground coffee because it's more convenient and because I make and drink my coffee when my kids are still asleep. Grinding my coffee beans every morning is simply not an option - at least not until they get old enough and I can train them to make daddy's coffee.

Experiment 2: The Full Bulletproof Coffee

Protocol: About 2 hours later, I got serious. I followed the Bulletproof Coffee recipe carefully:

• 500 ml (2 cups) Upgraded™ Coffee
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) unsalted Kerrygold butter from grass-fed cows
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Upgraded™ Brain Octane Oil (100% MCT oil)

I blended all the ingredients with my 1500 watt Ninja Blender until there was a thick layer of foam on top of the coffee.

Result: This coffee tasted quite good. I usually drink coffee almost exclusively black, so I can't compare the taste and feel to other fancy blends. The coffee was very rich and a little greasy. But still pleasant.

I definitely felt energized and alert. But that's normal for me.

I didn't feel shaky, anxious, paranoid or like I was shooing invisible bugs off my skin. Everything was normal. I've had 3 cups of coffee in a day before and I can handle my brew like a man.

Possible problem: OK, "too much information" time. As many people, myself included, have found out through... uh... experimental learning, stomach problems are common with large amounts of MCT and butter.

If you want to try Bulletproof Coffee, you should start with less fat and slowly increase the amount. Otherwise you'll be running to the toilet pretty quickly.

Was Bulletproof Coffee an amazing, spiritual-chemical experience?

Not really. I enjoyed it, but it was nothing really out of the ordinary.

I wonder if some of the effects people feel are simply down to the magic of caffeine - or maybe a bit of the good old placebo effect. If you've spent a lot of money on coffee and gone to all the trouble of making it, then you'll probably really want it to work.

What that means for you

Experiment, carefully collect the data and draw informed conclusions about what works for you. As you may know, the only "science" that really matters is the response of your own unique body.

In moderate amounts, coffee is reasonably healthy for most people. Keep your coffee consumption under 3 cups a day and you should be in the green zone even as a slow caffeine metabolizer.

Mycotoxins don't seem to be a big problem with coffee. They are also found in other foods. However, the amounts are usually small.

Focus on the big picture. Take care of the basics before worrying about the details. Eat a varied and nutritious diet with minimally processed foods. Make sure you have a balanced fat intake and consume most of this fat in the form of real food.

If you're curious, keen to experiment, concerned about coffee quality and have money to burn, then you can try Bulletproof Coffee. But stay on the safe and sensible side. Do you really need 54 grams of fat in your coffee? Could you do with less?

Consider other coffee "hacks" as well. In reality, you probably won't experience significant benefits from most coffee hacks beyond what you get from regular coffee or tea.

Get your blood levels checked. Your blood lipid levels are a sure way to find out what's happening in your body. If you're experimenting with extremely high-fat coffee, see a doctor to find out what's in your veins.

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Source: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/bulletproof-coffee