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
This is utter hogwash. I have been having bulletproof coffee every morning for 18 months now and it is breakfast 4 days a week for me. I only sleep 5 to 7 hours a night. I am 48 and feel 22 again. I am still very slowly losing weight and I am asleep in 15 min or less and get up the next day with no problems. So sorry no convert here.
Glad it seems to be working for you but with all due respect, 18 months isn’t a very long time. And, 5-7 hours of sleep really isn’t enough is it? 7 is on the borderline of absolutely minimal. 5 is definitely too little. Think about how much people slept traditionally before electricity. They mostly slept from shortly after dark and rose with the sun.
Sarah,
I must say, as much as I enjoy your articles, this one has some flaws. First of all, bulletproof coffee is not equivalent into “skipping breakfast.” It is regarded as a form of intermittent fasting which is rather delaying breakfast. Coffee has been known to delay the negative effects of skipping breakfast, and including MCT and saturated fats increases testosterone levels while combining coffee and fasting increases nor epinephrine, serotonin, and BDNF. I am sure you are also aware that fasting increases focus and has been known to treat modern symptoms of ADHD. I am a nutritionist and I recommend bulletproof/intermittent fasting (with coffee) to all of my clients that are not endurance athletes. You make the common mistakes of creating an intersection between the negative effects of coffee and those of skipping breakfast. However, they seem to work together to negate these effects respectively.
This is not how the vast majority of people use it!
I’m sorry to say that this article is ridiculous.
My wife and I have been doing Bulletproof Coffee for about a year now and love it. Before that we did almost a year of fasting though breakfast. Not a problem either way.
Hi Sarah,
Brendan here from Ireland…land of green grass and Golden Butter…WAP Chapter leader Munster (keep an eye out for pics of our recent Wise Traditions conference in next edition of mag…)
First…thank you for your tireless work with your HHE site…don’t ever stop!
I live a stones throw from Kerry, in Limerick…cows graze outside my window and all over where I live for 40 miles in any direction.
I’m prompted to comment on the Kerrygold butter part of the discussion…if you don’t want a longer read here is the nutshell version…the grass is fertilized but not sprayed with pesticides here!
My longer comment…
Your reference to the Mafia grip KG has is sort of true insofar as it is a huge commercial entity and can dictate unfair terms to the farmers. But all the big ones do this…not just KG. Every dairy co-op that got big turned around and went private and then public and basically squeezed the farmers. I think, to be open minded about it, this is just business, in some sense it’s the farmers own fault and they need to evolve into more ‘in touch’ farmers and demand more respect and give more to the land, animals and customers.
The idea that the butter comes from lands sprayed with pesticides is definitely not true…they simply don’t need to spray grass for pests, excepting maybe the odd case of it. (In late winter some external feed is used and this may have ‘foreign’ product in it that could have been sprayed!)
The milk comes from all over Ireland, not just Kerry where the company and name originated, it’s simply not possible for KG to state that their milk is or is not treated with chemicals…there are thousands of small farms involved in supply…it’s all pooled in the end.
Unfortunately most do use N-P-K type fertilizer at least once a year, but use manure spray several times (I live beside that too!!!) but most don’t need to spray for pests.
Kerrygold uses the Green Emerald Isle image to promote itself…but most of the farms could IMO have much better quality grass if they really chose to do that…but the issue is they don’t need to do it because of the pooling of the milk. There is no advantage to being better. Enter CSA, Co-Ops and education…these will hopefully wake up the sleeping farmers to realise there is a good reason to aim for higher. I also believe you guys in the USA could speak up and help change things for the better here by letting KG know loud and clear that you really would prefer to buy their butter if it was not derived from chemically grown grass. (Of course I’d advocate local sourcing above that!)
If our farmers heard about this it would really make an impact because there is a deep connection here with the US and we do tend to follow it’s trend (for better or worse!!)
Sometimes I can get organic raw butter, most of the time I use kerrygold daily all the same. Our grass is decent but could be great!
I also enjoy a bullet proof coffee once in a while…and a good breakfast daily! As a former insomniac I did find benefit to coffee, it seemed to help me reset my rhythm…along with WAP fare.
Regards
Brendan
I don’t see you listed as a Chapter Leader for the WAPF in Ireland Brendan. Thanks for confirming the mafia tactics of Kerry Gold and for their use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides if needed even if not frequently. For the first reason alone, I wouldn’t buy their butter anymore. The fact that “all the big ones do it” is no excuse. There are plenty of small farms to buy from in your area, so I’m really surprised you would use Kerry Gold which is reputed to use GMO animal feed as well.
http://www.westonaprice.org/get-involved/find-a-local-chapter-international
Kerrygold should get the USDA Organic certification to remove all doubt. It is within their power to remove chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides and chemical herbicides as well as GMO feed.
If their pastures are clean, as they would want people to believe and as their website implies, then they should have no trouble taking the next step. It would be the right thing to do. Kerrygold certainly has the money and wherewithal to do it.
As with most things, consumers demanding improvement is what will bring about change. In the mean time, I’ll suspend my purchasing of Kerrygold products, including their butter and Dubliner cheese, and stick with local grassfed butters and cheeses from clean pastures.
Given that the Kerry Gold cows are already grazing on chemical fertilizer spiked pastures, it would take many years to qualify for the organic certification. Last time I checked, it takes at least 5 years for no chemical pesticides or fertilizers to be used at all before Organic certification can be approved. Perhaps it’s more lenient now … organic isn’t what it used to be once the USDA got involved.
So true… well, they should make it priority #1 and get cracking since it may take quite a while.
They also need to stop using GMO animal feed if Kerry Gold were to seek organic certification.
400 calories is hardly skipping breakfast. the body recognizes medium chain fats from coconut almost immediately as source of energy while the longer chained fats from butter keeps body stable for hours – why this drink is popular — and why they do similar things in himalaya, this is hardly dave asprey’s invention per se.
brain chemistry imbalance is not just about getting protein. our brains are predominantly fat. most of us are severely fat undernourished, why we are seeing so many autoimmune disorders and addictions on the rise also – not just about serotonin, this is only a minor part of the puzzle.
if anyone was doing this for every meal, we had an issue. and of course as no diet fits all, as will this breakfast also not be right for all.
that said, caffeine aids nutrient absorption – the fats you are getting from grass-fed butter and coconut goes directly into rebuilding brain and body cell structures. not the worst choice.
Did you read the article? Seems not.
This is a great piece that should be carefully considered! Although I am so glad folks are embracing whole foods like grass fed butter, we need to carefully analyze wholesale changes like this on their impact on the whole body and its processes.
Everyone is different, of course. I’ve been using BP coffee for a little 6 months (longer than that, but not seriously). I feel great. My energy level is MUCH more stable throughout the day. Cravings are less than ever in my life. Generally, if I have a craving, it’s because I’m standing in a store in front of the candy bar display. 95% of the time I can easily pass them up. My thyroid, cholesterol, blood sugar levels, blood pressure and levels of inflammation in my body are all quite improved and well within normal ranges. My accupuncturist, who didn’t know what I was doing, was palpating my abdomen and commented how much less inflammation was there. Most days, I do the intermittent fasting as recommended by Dave, Dr Mercola and my naturopath. I don’t believe the fast is broken by ingesting fats. I am losing weight slowly. In the three months ending December 29, 2014 (for example) I lost 8 pounds of fat and gained 1 pound of muscle as verified by a BIA test. I have lost 25 of about 65 pounds that I need to lose. I am 63 years old and have not felt this good in MANY years. I sleep great. It doesn’t matter if I use caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee for my morning drink. It is a lifestyle I can easily maintain for the duration. I REALLY appreciate your blog, Sarah, but this one painted with just a bit too broad of a brush. 🙂 PS Weston A Price is my hero, as well as the Price-Pottenger Foundation.
I’ve been replacing breakfast with bulletproof coffee for about a year and a half, and all was smooth sailing until about six months ago. My sleep was all out of whack, my weight loss not only stopped but reversed, and my carb cravings were suddenly out of control after over a year of LCHF, grain-free living. It never occurred to me that my coffee might be to blame. I think BP coffee is a great short-term solution, but I wish I had read this article when I had only been doing it for six months!.
Thank you for posting, yes this bulletproof coffee thing might seem like a miracle for awhile, but long term it is suicide to your sleep.
Lucky for me I have the metabolism of a great dane! 😀
Cute 🙂 But, unfortunately, having a good metabolism still does not protect from the inevitable long term health ravages of missing breakfast and replacing it with bulletproof coffee.
Sarah, what are your thoughts on Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride’s assertion that the body is detoxing until about 10AM, and that many people are better served by skipping breakfast and instead having the first meal of the day be an early lunch? This seems to coincide with my own experience of getting hungry later rather than earlier in the morning.
I don’t agree … I think folks who aren’t hungry until later in the morning are displaying signs of hormonal issues already .. this is what holistic psychiatrist Dr. Kelly Brogan MD writes about and sees in her practice all the time.
Skipping breakfast is not a bad thing per se. I’ve been in Intermittent Fasting for 3 years now (pre-hype) and have thus not have breakfast in ages. Sleep like a baby though.
There are many more factors involved. I’m not saying bulletproof coffee is the way to go, but skipping breakfast is not a big argument. Neither is serotonin really, you can get your tryptophan in other meals, and the brain has ample reuptake mechanisms in the synapses.
3 years is not a long time!
If you consume carbs for breakfast, such as a bowl of oatmeal, just before drinking your BPC, wouldn’t your body use the carbs for energy instead of the healthy fats?
I eat oatmeal every day with slivered almonds, strawberries, and blueberries. If I’m going to workout after, I’ll down a cup of black coffee. Once this bulletproof craze started catching on and I discovered the Lakers use it before games, I had to try it out. My breakfast routine remained unchanged except for a tbsp of coconut oil stirred in my coffee.
I just bought some Kerrygold butter and was going to try smaller doses of the BP recipe:
10 oz. coffee
1/2 tbsp of butter
1/2 tbsp of coconut oil
With this tapered down recipe and a bowl of oatmeal+fruit would my body still use fat energy stores for a workout or would it just use the carbs and store the butter and oil as fat?
I really want to experience the benefits of BPC without giving up breakfast because I agree with Sarah. Complete proteins are important, especially if you’re not intermittent fasting and like to workout in the morning.
I would skip the kerrygold butter. Did you know the fields where the cows graze to make that butter are sprayed with pesticides and chemical fertilizers?
I did not know that, but I already bought the butter and am not just going to throw it away. I trust my stomach to handle minuscule amounts of pesticides at a time as it most likely has in the past.
My question is more concerned with the metabolism component of consuming good fat with carbohydrates and whether or not the carbs negate the fat-burning properties of the good fats.
I did not know that.
I just want to know if a bowl of oatmeal and fruit is a good breakfast to eat before drinking BPC. I want the benefits of the healthy fats but I’m concerned that consuming carbohydrates will negate them.
Just make sure your oatmeal has plenty of butter and/or cream!
That sounds like terrible advice. Your body metabolizes carbohydrates before fat, so eating oatmeal with a bunch of butter or cream would burn the oatmeal for energy and store the butter and cream for later as fat. That’s why it’s suggest to drink BPC as a replacement meal, so that your body goes into fat-burning mode during “intermittent fasting”. I think I’m going to try this out and get the other nutrients I need from the rest of my day’s meals.
Just more misinformation. The Kerrygold website explicitly says their products are pesticide free.
I have it from a very excellent source IN IRELAND that the pastures where the cows graze are sprayed heavily with pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The Irish people themselves consider Kerry Gold to be the bottom of the barrel butter. I no longer buy it.
I’m sure there is some sort of regulatory loophole that allows Kerry Gold to claim their products “pesticide free” even though the cows are munching chemical grass.
Unreal the stuff people come up with to justify a bad habit.
I’d really appreciate some links collaborating that information. Simply saying you have reliable sources that say so is not evidence that it’s true. If you’re going to make those kinds of serious claims you should provide confirming sources / evidence to back it up. I did a quick search myself and found nothing.
Kerrygold makes no claims of being organic, and has acknowledged that up to 3% of their cow’s feed is GMO grain. Likely this grain was pesticide treated. That still places them head and shoulders above any other commercial source I can find.
What’s your suggestion for a better source?
Go to Ireland and talk to the people themselves. Apparently, KerryGold has a Mafia like hold over there and folks are afraid to speak out on the record.
This news about Kerrygold is very disturbing!
The kerrygoldusa website gives the impression that it’s pure, with sentences like: “The winds, rain and warming influence of the Gulf Stream all contribute to the lush grass our cows feed on year-round.” And “All Kerrygold butter comes from the milk of grass-fed cows that are free of growth hormones. Our Unsalted version is an all-natural, cultured-cream Irish butter…”
Of course “all natural” is not a regulated term, but many would agree that this should not include pesticides and herbicides on the grass.
Is there any way of having this tested?
I assume it also applies to their grassfed cheeses like Kerrygold Dubliner, right?
Kerrygold should get the USDA Organic certification, to remove all doubt. If their pastures are clean, as they would want people to believe, they certainly have the money and wherewithal to do it. Some letters and consumer demand could help. In the mean time, I’ll suspend my purchasing of Kerrygold products until there is some sort of assurance (if ever), and stick with local grassfed butters and cheeses.
I don’t buy Kerry Gold cheese either anymore. Easiest thing to do is to just switch to a brand that isn’t considered mafia-like by the people in the neighboring communities. I don’t advocate wasting time with testing with a company that has this sort of reputation.
As an Irish person, I have to say nobody here considers Kerrygold to be the bottom of the barrel, as per one of your previous comments, but rather a high quality product, though just one of many good butter producers in Ireland. Irish farmers do not routinely use chemical pesticides (what pesticides does grass need?) and fertilisers, though there may of course be exceptions, and we are very proud of the quality of our food. Bear also in mind that we are subject to very strict EU rules about food production. By all means go for something certified organic if you prefer, but don’t base your decision on hearsay from Northern Ireland, which, by the way, is subject to UK rather than Irish agricultural policy.
I don’t know where you found that information, but the country of Ireland is WAY more strict about pesticides and chemical fertilizers than we are. I have contacted the company asking very specific questions regarding the health of their grass and they said there was no chemical or pesticide use allowed there. I also disagree with your broad statements about bulletproof coffee. It is part of a whole healthy lifestyle change and you can’t just use any coffee beans you want in order for it to really be bulletproof. They must be low-no toxin beans that are tested from bush to bag. I have had no sleep disruptions while consuming a big mugful everyday and my energy is much more stable than it has ever been with no crash because the beans have no mycotoxins. My hormones and blood values are being monitored by my doctor as well. I have had only exceptional results in the three months I’ve been eating this way. I highly recommend reading the whole book and checking into the science behind it before coming down so hard on him. I have been a Nourishing Traditions fan for almost 15 years and it is a great improvement over the standard American diet, but truthfully, I never lost weight. I still advocate grass fed, and all that. I just had to get rid of grains and legumes, dairy, and several other things that my own body couldn’t process. Losing sugars was a given.
I respect your right to not eat this way, but I think there is more cutting edge research now than ever before to help us achieve health and wellness. I don’t discount the helpful age old wisdom, but it think it must be also viewed through a lens that takes into account that the ground and food supply was very different then. We as humans were different then and now we must make different choices if we are to attain health, sometimes within the parameters set forth by ancient wisdom, sometimes new wisdom.
By the way, I do think that there is no one perfect eating plan for everyone. I think we are all unique and thus require many options to choose from. Thankfully we have lots!
I appreciate all the good information you have on this blog, I just disagree with your opinion on bulletproof coffee. Peace.
I’m curious as to the source of the information that led you to this conclusion. What you’re saying is counter to what is written on their website and what Dave Asprey asserts about Kerrygold.
Asprey should actually go to Ireland and talk to the farmers over there about it.
Chad, have you seen how poorly the Lakers have been playing this season? 😉
My husband and I have been drinking bulletproof coffee every morning for about a year now. I didn’t start drinking it to lose weight, because I don’t have a weight problem. Rather, I drank it because of the claims of greater mental clarity. As a mother of three small children, I can use all the clarity I can get. 😉 Anyway, it gives us great mental clarity and stamina. We can feel the difference like night and day if we have to drink ‘regular’ coffee, either black or with cream. We have ended up following the intermittent fasting protocol of not eating between 8pm and approximately 12pm with the exception of drinking the bulletproof coffee with MCT oil and grassfed butter. At 12pm I have a small amount of nuts while making a healthy, substantial lunch. Then we got on to have a small snack in the late afternoon and a healthy, substantial dinner. We all sleep extremely well. I was surprised to read your article because we do this daily and haven’t suffered any of the ill effects you mention.
Greater mental clarity from supercharged caffeine from bulletproof coffee isn’t true clarity … just sayin’ I have 3 children too and have seen many a mother dependent on caffeine for child rearing eventually collapse in exhaustion with thyroid problems.
With all due respect, it seems to me that you are determined to invalidate those whose experience is different from what you are claiming with your article.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using caffeine to enhance performance. Athletes like myself use it on a regular basis.
If a person chooses to consume caffeine and it does not affect their sleep and it enhances their daily life for the better, then who are you to tell someone how to live their lives?
Not telling anyone how to live their lives … just warning about what a high caffeine intake coupled with skipping breakfast will do to your health over the long haul particularly to women.