Can I drink bulletproof coffee if I'm not keto?

Bulletproof coffee, a.k.a butter coffee or keto coffee, is a hot beverage invented by Dave Asprey.

After travelling in Tibet and tasting yak-butter tea drinks, he decided to bring back the interesting buttered coffee drink, and its benefits, to America.

He experimented with different butter recipes and then released the beverage on his blog in 2009.

What is bulletproof coffee?

So, what is bulletproof coffee? Traditionally, bulletproof coffee is a mixture of grass-fed butter and/or ghee and MCT oil.

Since the drink was created, there have been a few alterations to cater to people's lifestyles.

To make bulletproof coffee vegan, you can swap out the butter and ghee for coconut cream/ coconut milk, plant-based butter or almond milk.

For the MCT oil, you could add a few drops to your coffee and try and blend the oil into the liquid.

However, this can be a long process, requires and blender and often doesn't have a good overall finish to the coffee.

However, you can now get bulletproof coffee products that have MCT oil already blended into them.

Rejuvenation water's Nespresso compatible keto coffee pods are the best keto coffee pods as they have MCT oil already blended into them.

They take the hassle out of making a bulletproof coffee.

What is MCT oil?

Now we have the basics of what a bulletproof coffee is, I'm sure you're asking what is MCT oil?.

MCT stands for medium chain triglycerides, which is a fat sourced from coconuts.

The shorter chain length of MCTs compared to long chain triglycerides (LCTs), means that they can be absorbed straight into the blood stream and don't need to be broken down in the liver first.

This means MCTs can then be used as instant, fast acting energy.

What are the benefits of MCT oil?

Fat Loss

Having a diet rich with MCT oil can increase fat-burning and weight loss compared to diets containing an equivalent amount of standard dietary fat.

Studies have even shown that they have a particularly positive effect on fat around the midsection of the body (belly fat), which is a risk factor for heart health.

MCT oil also promotes weight loss as it decreases calorie intake in the diet due to an increased feeling in satiety which leads to a longer time between meals. This increased feeling of fullness is caused by the stimulation of satiety hormones, leptin and cholecystokinin, being secreted into the bloodstream.

MCT oil has roughly 10% fewer calories than LCTs, which are found in foods such as olive oil, nuts and avocados.

Finally, gut environment is very important for weight loss and MCT oil may help optimise the growth of good bacteria and support the gut lining.

Brain Power

The ketones we produce when we ingest MCT oils increase mitochondria efficiency by increasing ATP yield (ATP is what our cells use for energy).

They also do not require insulin or glucose to cross the blood-brain barrier . This means they can provide a quick alternative source of energy to power our brain cells.

MCT oil could also help reduce the effects of Alzheimer's disease. This is because Alzheimer’s disease impairs your brain’s ability to use sugar. Studies have shown that MCT oil is beneficial to people with Alzheimer's disease as the MCT oil can provide energy to the glucose starved brain.

Manage Blood Sugar Levels

MCT oil can be very beneficial for people with diabetes. Firstly, as they reduce fat storage and increase fat burning, which can help to manage the condition.

A study found that that when 10 people with diabetes were injected with insulin, they needed 30% less sugar to maintain normal blood sugar levels when they consumed MCTs, compared to LCTs.

Can I drink bulletproof coffee if I'm not keto?

As you can see, the benefits of MCT oil are beneficial to everyone, not just people following the keto diet.

This is why to answer the question, 'can I drink bulletproof coffee if I'm not keto?', the answer is yes. Drinking bulletproof coffee, even when you are not keto, can help promote weight-loss, manage your blood sugar levels and provide fast acting energy to start your day.

The only issue with drinking bulletproof coffee when you are not keto is the increased calories that you will have.

Often a bulletproof coffee is used as a breakfast replacement to deal with this issue. Otherwise, you could be doubling your morning calorie intake.

Luckily, Rejuvenation water's Nespresso compatible keto coffee pods have only 13kcal per pod, giving you all the benefits of MCT oil and bulletproof coffees but with a fraction of the calories.