03\ The Bulletproof Diet
WHAT IS IT?
This divisive diet from bio-hacker Dave Asprey is based on 16:8, but adds buttery coffee to an otherwise empty morning menu
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Of all the fasting options out there, this is probably the most… out there. It’s timerestricted eating, but with a unique addition: bulletproof coffee, your regular cup of joe blended with grass-fed butter and brain-sharpening MCT oil. When you’re not slurping this down, you consume the bulk of your calories during a set time window but with a keto focus: high-fat, low-carb foods, including lots of red meat, fatty fish, avocado and eggs. Portion sizes aren’t restricted, but how much rib-eye can one man eat?
This might seem a bit nonsensical, but it’s based on an established dietary principle. Ketosis is the process by which a body starved of glucose begins to burn its own fat stores instead. A high-fat diet promotes ketosis alongside the preservation of muscle mass – which is why it’s big among bodybuilders. But it’s hard to sustain when a serving of rice can throw you out of your ketogenic state. Plus, Asprey’s coffee meets 75% of your daily allowance of saturated fat. At best, it’s a contentious recommendation.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why some feel bulletproof coffee is no better than snake oil. To Miller, it’s more trend than treatment. ‘It’s funny, really, because a tablespoon of butter is around 90 calories. So, if you’re having a couple of cups, you might as well have scrambled a couple of eggs.’ A less revolutionary idea, perhaps, but a habit that’s more likely to stick.
THE DIGESTED TAKE
Fat lot of good – 1.5/5