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The oily brew is the brainchild of U.S. entrepreneur Dave Asprey, who was served tea laced with yak butter when trekking in Tibet and became intrigued that mountain climbers use the drink for energy and sustained concentration. He went on to devise what he calls ‘the bullet-proof diet’ — a high-fat, low-carbohydrate regimen which, he claims, protects against fatigue, flab and chronic diseases, as well as promising dramatic weight loss.
The theory is that if you’re not filling your diet with carbohydrates (such as sugar, bread and pasta), your body will use fat as fuel instead. This is called ‘ketosis’. The ketogenic process is what makes Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets work, but it is frowned upon by conventional weight-loss experts in this country, who say that low-carbohydrate diets can lead to headaches, muscle cramps, general weakness and digestive problems.
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Its greatest appeal is as a breakfast drink among fans of extreme exercise (such as ‘Cross Fit’) because of its claim to boost stamina and performance without dulling your muscle definition, and the Paleo diet, which advocates a return to the unadulterated hunter-gatherer diet of our ancestors — no sugar, grain, junk or processed food of any kind.
The double shot of caffeine will speed your metabolism (studies have shown this) but the addition of fat (in the butter and coconut oil) slows the digestive process, preventing a sudden energy spike, which means the coffee ‘hit’ is gentler and lasts longer than it normally would.
Adding coconut oil gives a boost of lauric acid (a fatty acid), which some believe to be good for the immune system, and a particular type of fat called ‘medium chain triglycerides’ (MCTs). It has been argued that these MCTs are metabolised directly in the liver, meaning that they are more likely to be burnt as fuel than stored as body fat.
However, one cup of butter coffee packs 400-500 calories — more than a bacon sandwich — and 50g of saturated fat, which brings you alarmingly close to your total daily allowance of 70g in just your first drink of the day.
As a result, many experts say it is hard to understand how this can possibly contribute to weight loss. Dietitian Dr Sarah Schenker says: ‘Ketosis is only triggered when the liver glycogen stores are depleted, so if you enjoyed a carb-heavy takeaway the night before, your morning cup of bullet coffee won’t be enough to make the switch.’
BY the same token, if you succumb to a baked potato at lunchtime or a couple of biscuits mid-afternoon, the low-carb magic will be lost and your butter coffee becomes no more healthy than buttered toast.
Although butter is very high in saturated fat, studies increasingly suggest that the link with heart disease is contentious. But there are concerns that too much butter (and some bullet coffee blends contain two tablespoons of the stuff) could increase cholesterol levels, raising your risk of heart disease.
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Certainly, by drinking a high-fat, high-calorie drink for breakfast without making other changes to your diet or lifestyle, you are more likely to gain weight than lose it.