You’ve probably heard of Bulletproof Coffee. It’s coffee to which you add a special kind of fat supplement that’s available from only one company, plus grass-fed butter that you buy at the market. The manufacturer’s claims are that this morning brew helps you lose weight, “upgrade your brain” and get “boundless energy and focus.”

Now there’s a new new thing from the same folks—FATwater. Yes, it’s water with added…fat! It’s actually the same fat supplement you add to the coffee. FATwater, the Bulletproof folks claim, helps you “sustain energy and hydration throughout your busy day.”

But is it a good idea to be adding these extra fats to your coffee…and now, water? To find out, we spoke with Spencer Nadolsky, DO, a family practice physician in Maryland, who is also board-certified in obesity medicine. He’s seen many patients climb onto the Bulletproof bandwagon…with disturbing results.

BULLETPROOF FAT: CLAIMS VS. SCIENCE

First, a Bulletproof primer. For the coffee, you buy butter that comes from grass-fed cows at your local market. Then you purchase two products from the company—“toxin-free” coffee beans and a proprietary fat supplement, either “XCT” or “Brain Octane.” Both are derived from coconut oil and are formulated to maximize specific kinds of fatty acids called medium chain triglycerides (MCT).

For the coffee, you brew an eight-ounce cup of coffee, add one or two tablespoons of the fat supplement, plus one or two tablespoons of butter and whir it in a blender. For FATwater, you pour yourself a glass of water, then add a form of the fat supplement that mixes well with water and contains natural flavoring and sweetener. You can also buy premixed bottles of FATwater.

What’s so special about MCT? The Bulletproof folks claim that it gets turned into energy that can be used by the brain faster than other oils…that it’s not stored as fat but burned…and that, unlike other fats, it doesn’t raise cholesterol. But here’s what the science says…

• Brain focus. Misleading. MCT may indeed improve cognitive function—but only in people with mild cognitive dysfunction or Alzheimer’s disease. How? Glucose metabolism is impaired in those conditions, so the brain doesn’t get the glucose it needs to function well. Ketones from MCT step in and get the brain working. However, according to Dr. Nadolsky, who has studied the scientific literature, there is no evidence that MCT improves energy or mental function in normal, healthy adults.

• Body fat. Misleading. It’s true that MCT is not digested the way other fats are. It passes directly into the bloodstream and then the liver, where it gets converted into ketones, a ready source of energy. But that’s only significant for weight loss if you replace other fats with MCT. Water has no fat—and no calories. Unless you cut back on calories elsewhere, simply adding fat calories to your water may lead you to gain weight, not lose it.

• Cholesterol. Partially true. In most studies, MCT does not raise LDL cholesterol. A few show that it does raise LDL levels, so the results are mixed.

Add MCT to your water? Some people say it coats the tongue, and not in a pleasant way. Plus it turns your water cloudy, which is pretty unappetizing. Otherwise, it’s likely harmless. But there’s no evidence that FATwater can help you control appetite, lose weight, have more energy or be more hydrated than drinking pure water.

Bulletproof coffee, on the other hands, is another story. It truly may be bad for your heart, in part because of all that extra butter.

BULLETPROOF COFFEE: A HEART ATTACK IN A CUP

It’s possible Bulletproof Coffee works for some people in some ways, helping them feel full and eat less, at least in the short term. But that doesn’t mean it’s a healthy thing to do. Dr. Nadolsky’s main concern with the “fat coffee” fad is that it may increase cholesterol levels…a lot. He’s seen patients who followed the daily protocol develop cholesterol levels that mimic those of people with a genetic condition that causes cholesterol to hit the roof—and triggers heart disease to hit early, too. In one medical case study, a man with an already-elevated LDL (“bad”) cholesterol level of 156 mg/dL saw it shoot up to 232 after picking up the bulletproof habit. Says Dr. Nadolsky, “In my patients, this happens a month or two after starting the Bulletproof habit.”

The Bulletproof folks claim that salt-free butter produced from grass-fed cows has more heart-healthy omega-3 fats than butter from grain-fed animals. That’s true, but the amounts are still tiny, says Dr. Nadolsky. And while it’s also true that not all saturated fats are bad for the heart, “butter has high concentrations of palmitic acid, a long-chain saturated fat that has been shown to increase LDL,” said Dr. Nadolsky. That’s why he suspects that the butter in the coffee, more so than the oil, is at least partly responsible for raising cholesterol levels. To be clear, a little butter in your diet is fine, but that doesn’t mean literally pouring it into your morning brew is a good thing.

But it’s not just the Bulletproof coffee that’s the cholesterol culprit. Follow the rest of the diet, and you’ll skip all grains and legumes completely, limit fruit to one or two servings a day, and get 60% of your calories from fat. Dr. Nadolsky believes that the buttery coffee in combination with the whole Bulletproof diet is responsible for skyrocketing cholesterol levels he’s seen in some patients.

A BETTER BREAKFAST IDEA THAN BULLETPROOF

Bulletproof Coffee isn’t just a beverage, but a breakfast replacement. You’re supposed to drink it instead of eating breakfast. So you’re missing out on all the nutrition in, say, eggs or fruit or yogurt or oatmeal, while getting plenty of fats and calories. One cup can have more than 400 calories and 52 grams of fat. (Some people ignore the advice and have it with breakfast, which just piles on the calories even more.)

Dr. Nadolsky is a big fan of a healthy breakfast with plenty of protein, fiber and good-for-you fats such as “a couple of eggs, with berries and nuts. Healthy fats from nuts and olive oil are great.” Want an all-liquid energy-boosting morning beverage? “Add some protein powder to your coffee,” he suggested. “That will satiate you as well, but without all that fat.” Just make sure the coffee is cool when you add the powder so that it mixes in well.

If you like coffee, it’s certainly a healthy beverage with which to start the day. What about buying those expensive “toxin-free” beans from the Bulletproof folks? A waste of money. It’s true that coffee can contain toxins from fungi—but nearly all are removed when the beans are washed and roasted, a standard practice.

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