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10 Reasons Bulletproof Coffee Is Ridiculous

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Bulletproof Coffee and the bulletproof diet are new fads sweeping millions.

Put forth by Dave Asprey, the coffee is supposed to be a “bio-hack” that gives you loads of energy, supercharges your brain, and helps you lose loads of weight. It’s also a load of baloney.

Don’t get me wrong, we are fans of the health benefits of coffee. And if there was a possibility that bulletproof coffee stood on solid science, we’d love it.

bulletproof coffee

Making Bulletproof Coffee Is Super Easy. Here’s what you need to make your bulletproof coffee:

  • Fresh ground coffee beans
  • 1-2 tablespoons of MCT oil (usually coconut oil)
  • 1-2 tablespoons of grass-fed Ghee (unsalted clarified butter)

Throw it in a blender with some filtered water, and in about 30 seconds, you’ll have your very own bulletproof coffee. Of course, the “best” bulletproof coffee comes purchasing the above ingredients from Asprey’s business, at a huge markup.

And with that, we start with why bulletproof coffee is ridiculous. Here are a few bullet points with things about bulletproof coffee.

10 Reasons Why You Should Stay Away From Bulletproof Coffee

1. Huge Markup

This “wonder diet” comes with a wondrous list of ingredients being sold at a huge markup. These are basically common ingredients, commonly available.

But of course, if you’re following the Bulletproof Diet, you’ll consider buying the materials from the source. The fact that the fad is pushing a product line at a huge markup should raise red flags giant enough to make Stalin go WTF.

2. A Lot Of Fat

Compared to your regular coffee, bulletproof coffee has more than 400 calories. The saturated fat from the oil and ghee could cause weight gain in some people. As an example, a usual cup with whole milk gives you 18 calories, the bulletproof coffee will pile up 468 calories!

3. You’re Supposed To Skip Breakfast

A big selling point of bulletproof coffee is that you won’t need to eat anything till almost noon or afternoon. That is true, the huge dose of fat and appetite suppression by caffeine could put off your hunger pangs.

However, you may also end up missing important nutrition. When you wake up, you’ve been hungry for 8+ hours. Forcing your body to go on nothing but fat is kind of risky.

4. Long Term Gains Are Questionable

You actually might lose weight with the bulletproof diet, but it may not be sustainable in the long run. Studies have found that over a long timeline, most diets have similar results. So you just put your body through a whole lot of stress and have nothing to show for it.

5. Risks Of Keto Diet Apply

A low-carb, high-fat diet usually works by engaging a body process called ketosis. Basically, when your body detects the lack of carbohydrates, it starts producing ketones by breaking down fatty acids.

This causes weight loss. Keep in mind, ketosis is an emergency response by the body due to the lack of carbohydrates, and thus, glucose. Your body is designed to run on glucose, not ketones.

6. Production Of Ketones

Production of ketones is the body’s risk protection against starvation or diabetes. Doctors may sometimes prescribe keto diet as a way to help in conditions like epilepsy, but probably not for a normal, healthy person’s weight loss crusade.

It is an emergency mechanism, not one that should run daily. Consult a doctor or a dietitian before you take this path. It’s quite literally a diet that needs medical supervision!

7. Doctors And Dietitians Remain Skeptical

But my Nutritionist swears by it. But do your doctor and dietitian do that as well? There’s a huge difference between nutritionists and dietitians.

The latter is a protected title and has to undergo extensive training before being registered. You can’t just put the title of ‘Registered Dietitian’ with your name.

That’s one of the reasons that while nutritionists go up and down the road swearing on bulletproof coffee, dietitians remain circumspect. Most dietitians who say they use bulletproof coffee do not explicitly endorse its claims. Why, you ask, well, that brings us to the next point.

8. There Is A Lack Of Scientific Evidence Backing Bulletproof

Well, yes, proponents of bulletproof throw around scientific claims, but a lot of it is cherry picking. There are usually a whole lot of ifs, buts, and don’ts attached that get ignored.

There is a thorough lack of scientific evidence to back bulletproof’s claims of supercharging the brain, or reducing weight, or taking you to the moon. On second thought, people who are unused to MCT may experience diarrhea. Make it violent enough and you could reach for the moon!

9. The Origin Story Is Bollocks

Every hero needs a good origin story, just look at the spate of superhero movies. Bulletproof coffee can’t be that good of a hero, because its origin story sucks.

Apparently, while on a visit to Tibet, Asprey enjoyed the local staple of yak butter tea and got the idea of bulletproof coffee. The famous tea is made from yak butter, tea leaves, water, and salt.

Tibetans consume it like we do coffee, and they obviously aren’t using it for weight loss. So this random dude who is not a nutritionist or dietitian sees an exquisite tea, and hits upon the idea of losing weight with coffee. The trope of going to uncharted, mystical places and returning with secret knowledge is so overdone.

10. Wake Up And Smell The Coffee

There are no magic beans that will help you lose weight, or magically supercharge your brain. There are, however, magic beans that will lighten your wallet. Do not think that buying an artificially expensive coffee with shaky claims to effectiveness will be helpful.

Should I Quit Bulletproof Coffee?

No harm enjoying bulletproof coffee if you like the taste. Used in moderation, the ingredients are harmless and even delicious. All that fat might make you wonder about the texture. The texture is fairly conventional and can easily pass as a latte.

The claims of the magic solution bringing weight loss while supercharging your health and brain are baloney, but your preference of taste is entirely an affair unto itself.

Oh, and speaking of taste, if you’ve enjoyed the taste of bulletproof coffee, you should absolutely give the yak butter tea a shot.

Do not fall for claims of Bulletproof coffee or any other magic diet. A healthy lifestyle and a healthy diet actually are useful and go a long way beyond random, baseless claims.

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