Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Skipping Breakfast a Big No-No for Sustainable Weight Loss
- Healthy Fats Added to Coffee Do Not Make it Breakfast!
- Skipping Breakfast in favor of Bulletproof Coffee
- Serotonin Deficiency Harms Sleep Quality
- Must Have Your BulletProof Coffee?
- BulletProof Coffee Already Wrecked Your Sleep?
- Once You’ve Got Your Serotonin Deficiency Under Control, Now What?
- References and More Information
Bulletproof coffee has become quite the fad with fans touting its use as a way to lose weight, shrink that spare tire, and have more energy. The basic recipe calls for 2 cups of coffee, a minimum of 2 tablespoons grass-fed butter, and 1-2 tablespoons MCT oil (some people substitute virgin coconut oil) all mixed together in a blender.
This coffee drink is promoted as a replacement for breakfast by Dave Asprey of the Bulletproof Executive as a way to feel “lean, focused and energized” and helps you “transform your diet without chewing on sticks of butter”.
While I have no doubt that this choice of morning beverage will indeed produce a high level of focus and intensity due to the quick injection of caffeine and medium-chain triglycerides (used by the body for energy rather than fat storage) to the bloodstream, any weight loss benefits to a bulletproof coffee habit over the long term are completely ludicrous.
At the very least, bulletproof coffee certainly won’t be helping you lose weight and keep it off. Yes, it’s just another yo-yo scenario and here’s why.
Skipping Breakfast a Big No-No for Sustainable Weight Loss
According to Julia Ross, bestselling author of The Diet Cure, skipping breakfast and replacing it with coffee or a drink like bulletproof coffee is a big no-no and not just because it increases your chances of overeating starches and sugars later in the day.
Skipping a nutritious morning meal particularly one with a quality source of protein does a number on your body’s ability to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin which is derived from the amino acid tryptophan.
Tryptophan, like all the amino acids, is contained in protein. Meat is the best source of tryptophan but only from animals roaming on pasture.
Healthy Fats Added to Coffee Do Not Make it Breakfast!
Adding a bunch of healthy fats to coffee in no way redeems the situation and bulletproof coffee does not qualify as a meal replacement!
Protein (food) —–> Tryptophan (amino acid) —–> Serotonin (neurotransmitter) —–> Melatonin (hormone for restful sleep)
Serotonin is what helps you feel happy, calm, and self-confident even in the face of stress. Moreover, ample serotonin is important for a restful night’s sleep as the body converts serotonin into melatonin at dusk.
Inadequate melatonin results in insomnia problems.
What about adding collagen, gelatin or protein powder to bulletproof coffee? Does this make it better?
Please note that adding collagen hydrolysate or gelatin to your bulletproof coffee does not solve the problem as these protein sources are completely devoid of tryptophan-containing primarily the amino acids glycine and proline in large amounts.
Protein powder would be the worst choice, however, as all brands are highly processed (don’t be fooled!) with the delicate protein molecules denatured even if processed at low temperatures due to the powdering process.
Skipping Breakfast in favor of Bulletproof Coffee
Skipping breakfast in the morning short circuits the body’s ability to produce adequate serotonin throughout the day. While eating protein later in the day definitely helps, because none was consumed at breakfast, your body ends up playing serotonin catch up all day every day.
Ms. Ross says that we all need about 20-30 grams of protein 3 times per day to fulfill the body’s requirement for amino acids in order to produce adequate neurotransmitters like serotonin.
Drinking coffee even if it’s bulletproof coffee first thing in the morning instead of breakfast has the double whammy effect of suppressing appetite as well. It’s the caffeine that reduces appetite so not only aren’t you getting the protein you need in the morning, but you likely won’t eat enough throughout the rest of the day either which further impacts serotonin and melatonin production in a negative way.
What good is feeling “energized and focused” from bulletproof coffee during the day if it also leaves you irritable, stressed, emotionally unstable and unable to get a quality night’s sleep when you get home?
Serotonin Deficiency Harms Sleep Quality
The research is ominous regarding serotonin deficiency causing insufficient melatonin production with the resulting effect of unwanted weight gain – even obesity over the long term.
According to Dr. Mercola, “it’s also well proven that lack of sleep is linked to obesity, while if you’re not getting enough sleep, there’s a good chance your melatonin production is not up to par either. The disturbance to your melatonin levels caused by lack of sleep may be one more reason why it leads to weight gain, and this could have far-reaching impacts on your health.”
In addition, Science Daily reported that scientists found that proper melatonin levels stimulate the production of beige fat, a heat-generating type of fat (also known as “good” or “thinning” fat) that helps your body to burn calories rather than store them.
Must Have Your BulletProof Coffee?
Long story short, if you must drink bulletproof coffee, at the very least, wait until after a protein-rich breakfast to do it!
This way, the impact on your serotonin and melatonin levels will not be as severe as drinking it as a replacement for breakfast with its appetite-suppressing effects affecting the rest of the day’s protein consumption as well.
You may find that this one simple change alone will leave you feeling happier, more emotionally flexible, less stressed, and with increased ability to tackle whatever challenges you face each day with improved self-confidence.
BulletProof Coffee Already Wrecked Your Sleep?
If you suspect that your serotonin levels are in the tank and you need neurotransmitter supplementation to help you with worry, anxiety, OCD thoughts or actions, depression, panic attacks, and/or chronic insomnia, Julia Ross recommends this dosage with the amino acid tryptophan:
- 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP – sources): 50 mg in the mid-afternoon and before bedtime.
OR
- L-tryptophan (sources): 500 mg in the mid-afternoon and again before bed especially if insomnia is a problem.
Note that 5-HTP is cheaper than L-tryptophan but some people get nausea from it, so switch to L-tryptophan if 5-HTP doesn’t work for you.
Raise the dosage as needed to eliminate low serotonin symptoms.
Once You’ve Got Your Serotonin Deficiency Under Control, Now What?
Once you’ve started eating breakfast again and eliminated or at least delayed your cup of bulletproof coffee until after you eat in the morning, you might perhaps feel motivated to try and wean yourself off coffee completely.
According to Julia Ross:
People who crave chocolate, coffee, alcohol, and even exercise are typically low in the neurotransmitter endorphin.
Using supplementation of the amino acids that are precursors to endorphin may really help in trying to shake the bulletproof coffee habit.
- Amino acid d-phenylalanine (DPA): 500 mg, 2-4X/day (sources). Use DPA if you are addicted to coffee and also an anxious person.
OR
- Amino acid d-phenylalanine (DPA) bound to the amino acid I-phenylalanine (LPA) – known in combination as DLPA: 500 mg, 2-3X/day (sources). Use DLPA if you crave the energizing effects of coffee and are not typically an anxious person.
Do you think a deficiency of neurotransmitters might be the reason some folks love their bulletproof coffee so much?
References and More Information
Why You Need to Change WHEN You Drink Coffee
Melatonin Regulates our Mood, Weight, Reproduction and May Fight Cancer
BC Recipe
Melatonin helps control weight gain
Why You Need to Change WHEN You Drink Coffee
Healthy Coffee Substitutes
Coconut Oil for Weight Loss
Coconut Oil Capsules: As Beneficial as Straight Up?
The Truth About Your Morning Coffee Fix
Fascinating. I wasn’t aware BPC was being promoted as replacing breakfast. I enjoy it from time to time in the morning for a boost, but I could never imagine skipping breakfast and just drinking coffee! I always make sure I have a good protein packed breakfast when I drink coffee, as opposed to some mornings when I have baked oatmeal or a smoothie.
Me too, Andrea Newman! I had no idea I was supposedly “replacing” my breakfast. I don’t drink “real” coffee, I drink decaf (the fair trade kind I buy at our local food co-op) and I’ve been adding a plop of butter to it for years- just like my gramma did! Sometimes I add a little coconut oil but I reallllllly can’t tolerate it very often, YUK. I use coconut oil in various other ways so putting it into my coffee isn’t a priority.
I only drink a couple of small cups of coffee in the a.m., not the huge 16 oz mugs like some folks do. I eat a regular breakfast of eggs and sourdough toast (or whatever) for breakfast sometimes but not necessarily daily. I don’t use “protein powders” or any of that kind of stuff. I do use kosher gelatin (bloomed first) then mixed with my vitamin C in warm water every other morning which makes it liquid form which is easier for my stomach to handle and the C is more easily absorbed.
People do what works for them, no matter how much “good” advice they’re given.
I also drink warm water with 1/2 a lemon squeezed into it every morning. I’ve been doing that for more than 10 years – gets the gallbladder and liver perked up and moving. 😉 Not everyone will think that’s a good idea for some reason or another but I’ve sure seen a lot about lemon water on the ‘net recently, as if it were some new phenomenon.
Asprey gives the paleo and ancestral health movement a bad name. Most of his “upgraded” solutions lead one to have to buy something obscure and expensive from him directly, contrary to the other paleo or WAP big names out there who stick closer to empiricism and accessible solutions. Asprey seems bent on figuring out how to sustain an unhealthy type A lifestyle at all times.
Great info and a great post!
However, one thing: you use “denatured” as if that’s a strike against certain protein products (protein powders). While I completely agree they are not optimal for all the other reasons you give, denaturing protein is not an inherently dangerous or undesirable process. Protein is denatured by the simple act of cooking, so if you cook your protein rather than eat it raw, you are consuming denatured protein too. Your post makes it sounds like denaturing protein is dangerous, but it’s not.
Thank you, and I look forward to following and reading more of your fantastic work!!
Here’s the particular problem with protein powders … they are a factory food. They are not Real Food, they are highly processed with the protein separated from it’s natural food source. Also, MSG is formed during the processing … it’s in the protein powder but not listed on the label because it wasn’t added … it’s a byproduct of the violent processing. Avoid protein powder!!!
It seems odd to quote Dr. Mercola to back you on one aspect of your offense while he himself is a proponent of intermittent fasting. I have never tried BPC, but I feel AWESOME on intermittent fasting (and I’d tried so hard for years to eat breakfast, even if I wasn’t hungry). So– I think I’ll try the BPC. I don’t know how else to get that much coconut oil down.
I was wondering about this, as well.
I feel awesome on intermittent fasting, too, based on Dr. Johnson’s Alternate Day diet. It has really balanced me out and I love it because when I do eat I can eat in line with WPF and I still get my daily CLO!
Here is a post by Mercola about fasting…
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2014/06/20/eating-breakfast-intermittent-fasting.aspx
I tried my own version BPO coffee (a little butter & a little coconut oil) and I think it is a tasty treat once in a while. The first time I every put any oil into a hot drink was after reading Sally Fallon’s Eat Fat, Lose Fat.
I like most of this website but perhaps having to always create blog posts might bring out the “diet dictocrat” even in those rebelling against the traditional “diet dictocrats”.
would an egg white scramble suffice to accomplish the requirements of a protein breakfast to kickstart this neurotransmitter cycling for the day? Or would there have to be a yolk too? Or is an egg insufficient and pastured-raised meat essential?
Eggs WITH the yolk would be wonderful. Don’t just do egg whites.
What’s your take on MCT oil???
It’s probably fine, but I prefer virgin coconut oil that hasn’t been processed at all.
This must be why I could barely sleep when I was on a 3-day coconut oil fast… wasn’t the wonderful cleansing experience I expected!
Hi Sarah,
I’ve been using Kerrygold butter for May years thinking it’s the best one on the market. Which one would you recommend?
I’ve switched to Finlandia (certified from family-owned farms, grassfed, nonGMO feed). Organic Valley’s grassfed organic butter is also way better than Kerry Gold … I just don’t like Organic Valley because the family farms that sell milk to the OV cooperative are not allowed to sell raw milk on the side. I’ve been boycotting OV products for years because of this (see my post on that).
Thanks for the Finlandia butter recommendation. I will add them to the WAPF Shopping Guide. I just looked at their cheeses and most, if not all, are made with part skim milk so they would not be recommended by WAPF. https://www.finlandiacheese.com/deli-cheeses-and-butter/gouda-cheese/
What do you think about adding collagen to your bulletproof coffee? Dave Asprey actually suggests in his book that women over 40 especially don’t do well if they don’t have protein in the morning, so he suggests they add the collagen for that extra protein.
I have also read that while intermittent fasting may work for some people, it doesn’t work as well for women, so I also bear that in mind!
I actually don’t have any collagen at the moment, only grass fed gelatin, so I was thinking I should just add that to my BPC (which I do have every day for the healthy fats!!).
Please note that adding collagen hydrolysate or gelatin to your bulletproof coffee does not solve the problem as these protein sources are completely devoid of tryptophan containing primarily the amino acids glycine and proline in large amounts.
I like to add a scoop of organic grass fed whey protein powder to my bp coffee if I don’t have time for a traditional breakfast.
Unfortunately, all protein powders are highly processed, denatured and not a good choice for protein. Yes, even when processed at low temperatures, the protein is denatured from the powderizing.
Agreed Sarah!