Bulletproof Coffee
BulletProof Coffee
This is coffee (decaf in my case, as not to disrupt the adrenals) blended with ghee and ideally with some form of caprylic acid (one of the healthiest part of coconut oil) made popular by Dave Asprey (www.bulletproof.com). As a kid who grew up in the “fat is the devil” 1980s and remembers that weird overweight girl in middle school who would always sit by herself at lunch and chew down a whole stick of butter, this was hard for me to get my head around and initiate. In fact, the first time I attempted bulletproof coffee I didn't fully commit and I used regular butter (e.g. with salt, preservatives, not grass fed...etc), blended it by hand, and with no caprylic acid. Therefore I didn’t notice much of a positive improvement. Like a lot of things in life, Do it right or it won't work.
A couple years later, as I evolved in my understanding of health, and the importance of butyric acid (which is contained in butter, and higher amounts in ghee) and short and medium chain fatty acids, I did bulletproof coffee the right way. I used two tablespoons of organic, non-GMO, ghee from grass fed cows, and two tablespoons of Brain Octane (100% caprylic acid), blended together in a magic bullet. The first time I drank the stuff it was one of those rare experiences (like the two others listed above) where I immediately felt more energized, and not in an overstimulated way. It felt like my body had been craving this concoction my entire life. And in fact I couldn’t help myself, I had three more cups that same day. That would be the equivalent of 6 tablespoons of ghee, almost half a cup. Look who is eating sticks of butter now!
Dave Asprey’s blog as a ton of info on bulletproof coffee, and below are some of the publically available research on butyric acid and caprylic acid.
Summary of benefits:
Ghee, aka clarified butter (contain short-chain fatty acids):
In ghee, the most common short chain fatty acids are butyric and caproic acids, which are found in grass-fed dairy products.
Short chain fatty acids aid in “gut health” by providing energy for colonic epithelial cells and promoting the growth of healthy colonic epithelium. An unhealthy digestive tract has been linked to depression, anxiety, and a lowered immune system response. Short chain fatty acids have also shown to have anti-inflammatory properties in patients with ulcerative colitis and inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells.
Even Time Magazine has come to understand the importance of daily fats in the diet, (Butter on Cover of Time)
Brain Octane and other Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT)
I use Dave’ Asprey’s Brain Octane which is 100% caprylic acid, a saturated fatty acid containing eight carbon atoms. Test tube and animal research have shown caprylic acid to have antibacterial (1), antiviral (2), and antifungal (3) properties. Preliminary reports from the 1940s and 1950s indicated that caprylic acid may be effective against yeast (Candida) infections in humans (4,5). In general, the lower the chain the lower the amount of energy required for your body to process the fat to energy and less work for your liver. Other MCTs include: caproic (C6), capric (C10), and lauric acids (C12, be careful of products marketing themselves as MCT when it contains lauric acid, and as it acts more like a long-chain). Research has shown that when olive oil was replaced with MCT oil, subjects who consumed MCT oil lost more weight. MCT oil, which is known to induce a ketogenic state, has been studied as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease with promising results.
One note of caution is that caprylic acid may be associated with a higher likelihood of developing kidney stones, so if think you are at risk, opting for just MCT oil may make more sense. Again, I get no benefit from promoting any products, but Dave Asprey’s XCT Oil (which contains more capric acid) seems to be the best on the market.
Pubmed and other sources: Clostridium butyricum, a probiotic derivative, suppresses dextran sulfate sodium-induced experimental colitis in rats Effect of butyrate enemas on the colonic mucosa in distal ulcerative colitis Physiological concentrations of short-chain fatty acids immediately suppress colonic epithelial permeability
1. Nair MK, Joy J, Vasudevan P, et al. Antibacterial effect of caprylic acid andmonocaprylin on major bacterial mastitis pathogens. J Dairy Sci 2005;88:3488-95.
2. Isaacs CE, LitovR,Thormar H. Antimicrobial activity of lipids added to human milk, infant formula, and bovine milk. J Nutr Biochem 1995;6:362-6.
3. Liu S, Ruan W, Li J, et al. Biological control of phytopathogenic fungi by fatty acids. Mycopathologia 2008;166:93-102.
4. Keeney EL. Sodium caprylate: a new and effective treatment of moniliasis of the skin and mucous membrane. Bull Johns Hopkins Hosp 1946;78:333-9.
5. Neuhauser I, Gustus EL. Successful treatment of intestinal moniliasis with fatty acid resin complex. Arch Intern Med 1954;93:53-60.
This is coffee (decaf in my case, as not to disrupt the adrenals) blended with ghee and ideally with some form of caprylic acid (one of the healthiest part of coconut oil) made popular by Dave Asprey (www.bulletproof.com). As a kid who grew up in the “fat is the devil” 1980s and remembers that weird overweight girl in middle school who would always sit by herself at lunch and chew down a whole stick of butter, this was hard for me to get my head around and initiate. In fact, the first time I attempted bulletproof coffee I didn't fully commit and I used regular butter (e.g. with salt, preservatives, not grass fed...etc), blended it by hand, and with no caprylic acid. Therefore I didn’t notice much of a positive improvement. Like a lot of things in life, Do it right or it won't work.
A couple years later, as I evolved in my understanding of health, and the importance of butyric acid (which is contained in butter, and higher amounts in ghee) and short and medium chain fatty acids, I did bulletproof coffee the right way. I used two tablespoons of organic, non-GMO, ghee from grass fed cows, and two tablespoons of Brain Octane (100% caprylic acid), blended together in a magic bullet. The first time I drank the stuff it was one of those rare experiences (like the two others listed above) where I immediately felt more energized, and not in an overstimulated way. It felt like my body had been craving this concoction my entire life. And in fact I couldn’t help myself, I had three more cups that same day. That would be the equivalent of 6 tablespoons of ghee, almost half a cup. Look who is eating sticks of butter now!
Dave Asprey’s blog as a ton of info on bulletproof coffee, and below are some of the publically available research on butyric acid and caprylic acid.
Summary of benefits:
Ghee, aka clarified butter (contain short-chain fatty acids):
In ghee, the most common short chain fatty acids are butyric and caproic acids, which are found in grass-fed dairy products.
Short chain fatty acids aid in “gut health” by providing energy for colonic epithelial cells and promoting the growth of healthy colonic epithelium. An unhealthy digestive tract has been linked to depression, anxiety, and a lowered immune system response. Short chain fatty acids have also shown to have anti-inflammatory properties in patients with ulcerative colitis and inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells.
Even Time Magazine has come to understand the importance of daily fats in the diet, (Butter on Cover of Time)
Brain Octane and other Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT)
I use Dave’ Asprey’s Brain Octane which is 100% caprylic acid, a saturated fatty acid containing eight carbon atoms. Test tube and animal research have shown caprylic acid to have antibacterial (1), antiviral (2), and antifungal (3) properties. Preliminary reports from the 1940s and 1950s indicated that caprylic acid may be effective against yeast (Candida) infections in humans (4,5). In general, the lower the chain the lower the amount of energy required for your body to process the fat to energy and less work for your liver. Other MCTs include: caproic (C6), capric (C10), and lauric acids (C12, be careful of products marketing themselves as MCT when it contains lauric acid, and as it acts more like a long-chain). Research has shown that when olive oil was replaced with MCT oil, subjects who consumed MCT oil lost more weight. MCT oil, which is known to induce a ketogenic state, has been studied as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease with promising results.
One note of caution is that caprylic acid may be associated with a higher likelihood of developing kidney stones, so if think you are at risk, opting for just MCT oil may make more sense. Again, I get no benefit from promoting any products, but Dave Asprey’s XCT Oil (which contains more capric acid) seems to be the best on the market.
Pubmed and other sources: Clostridium butyricum, a probiotic derivative, suppresses dextran sulfate sodium-induced experimental colitis in rats Effect of butyrate enemas on the colonic mucosa in distal ulcerative colitis Physiological concentrations of short-chain fatty acids immediately suppress colonic epithelial permeability
1. Nair MK, Joy J, Vasudevan P, et al. Antibacterial effect of caprylic acid andmonocaprylin on major bacterial mastitis pathogens. J Dairy Sci 2005;88:3488-95.
2. Isaacs CE, LitovR,Thormar H. Antimicrobial activity of lipids added to human milk, infant formula, and bovine milk. J Nutr Biochem 1995;6:362-6.
3. Liu S, Ruan W, Li J, et al. Biological control of phytopathogenic fungi by fatty acids. Mycopathologia 2008;166:93-102.
4. Keeney EL. Sodium caprylate: a new and effective treatment of moniliasis of the skin and mucous membrane. Bull Johns Hopkins Hosp 1946;78:333-9.
5. Neuhauser I, Gustus EL. Successful treatment of intestinal moniliasis with fatty acid resin complex. Arch Intern Med 1954;93:53-60.