The Bulletproof Diet inventor is entering uncharted waters
Oil and water don’t mix — so why are there droplets of fat in the newest bottle of H2O? Because the Silicon Valley techie who mixed butter with coffee and created a diet he calls “Bulletproof” put them there. He thinks his new drink — yes, it’s called FATwater — is better than regular water.
“My whole career in Silicon Valley has been about disruptive technology,” says Dave Asprey, creator of FATwater and a cloud-computing pioneer. “This is a disruptive technology for beverages.”
The secret ingredient in FATwater is teeny droplets of fat extracted from coconut oil in Asprey’s proprietary process. The oil helps the water do its job better because cells are more likely to take in H2O that has a tiny bit of fat in it, he says.
Meanwhile, the fats in the oil provide a temporary energy boost and do not get stored as body fat in the way sugar does, he adds.
Besides, it’s only 2 grams of saturated fat — the equivalent of two squares of Chocolove dark. “The oils enhance thermogenesis, which is a fancy word for ‘fat burning,’ ” says Asprey, 42. “They get burned as energy and have an appetite-suppression effect. It’s not like we put in sunflower oil or canola.”
For now, Asprey is selling FATwater only at his Bulletproof Coffee Shop in Santa Monica, Calif., and at an L.A. natural-foods store. But he has plans to expand nationally.
Nutritionists say he shouldn’t rush — this oil is of the snake variety.
“It is just getting crazier and crazier,” says Rochelle Sirota, a dietitian and nutritionist. “What is the need? Coconut water can be very hydrating because of the electrolytes, but I do not get this whole thing.”
Nutritionists at Brown & Medina Nutrition in Manhattan also questioned FATwater’s claims, saying in a statement that the small amount of fat diluted in the water “would most likely not have an impact on fat burn.”
There is “no research on the fat being more hydrating,” the statement continued.
The country’s sole water sommelier, Martin Riese, who offers 20 mineral and spring waters at Ray’s & Stark Bar in Los Angeles, was aware of FATwater — and doesn’t think much of it.
“Water should not have any calories, and this has 20,” he says. “This, I say, is a ‘near water product.’ I believe water should come from nature and not a factory.”
Though Asprey is not the first to extract the oil, he is the first to mix it in water, patent it and market it.
Research, smesearch, he suggests.
He cites his creation of Bulletproof Coffee as evidence that conventional wisdom is wrong and that everything — even nature itself — can be improved upon.
“Biohacking is taking control of the environment around you so you have control of your biology,” he says.
“So you are less stressed and recover better and are a nicer person. I am making it easier for people to make those little changes and feel good all the time.”
We sent a bottle of lemon and berry flavors of FATwater into the Daily News Taste Kitchen — and about the nicest thing anyone said is that FATwater is an acquired taste.
One reporter thought the berry tasted like “liquid soap,” while another thought the lemon was “like Crystal Light not fully diluted.”
Two testers actually shook with revulsion. But one took a long sip, swallowed and gave FATwater its highest praise: “You know what? It’s not that bad.”