I’m sure you heard of it. Maybe you’ve even tried it. The infamous BulletProof Coffee.

I’ve tried it. In fact, I use to drink it, but don’t anymore. But it does have some pretty kick ass benefits. And I’ll lay some of them out below. But first..

Some background on BP Coffee

Bulletproof coffee is the brain child of an entrepreneur named Dave Asprey. He seems like a pretty smart guy, and cares a lot about food quality. Though he’s a bit too low carbohydrate centric to me (I am in the higher carb camp), and entirely too high fat as well (I’m in the moderate fat camp), there are many things he believes that I believe as well.

And one of them is that caffeine is a nootropic. It just is. Though you may have some creativity tradeoffs (I get less creative when on high amounts of caffeine), your speed of mental processing will noticeably be better when on the substance. And you might have other neurological benefits as well.

But let’s get to the bulletproof coffee thing. What it’s made of is fairly simple: Coffee beans that Dave Asprey makes, that are designed to have less toxins than run of the mill beans, butter, and MCT Oil. MCT Oil is an oily substance filled with 8 or so saturated fatty acids that the brain utilizes for quick energy. I’m not even sure they actually get metabolized, and think they just literally make their way up to your brain to give it a good source of energy. I’m quite sure through making ketones first. The reasoning for butter is quite the same, and I think Dave cites Butyric acid as having additional benefits.

Together, this combination, through various proposed mechanisms, (you can hunt around Dave’s site for those) create a pretty kick butt mental state. And it does actually work. I use to drink the stuff all the time, and it really did make my brain work insanely good. It was in fact like a nootropic, but unlike any I’ve ever taken. It was powerful. It was massive, and I drank the stuff for almost a year every day of my life.

I remember sitting down and being able to just endlessly and effortlessly crank out work while drinking the stuff. It was almost like a limitless pill, and my brain had some serious energy. I hustled through acquiring a bunch of B2B customers for my iPad repair company, iMobileRescue. I sprinted through my daily Quickbooks accounting management. I was on fire while drinking the stuff.

But – some things, for some bodies, are not sustainable

On top of the fact that the MCT Oil, in the dosages enough to actually create a performance enhancement in my brain, caused my GI distress, I remember a nagging chest pain that always came with consuming the stuff. Must be a heart attack! Run to the ER to get an EKG! Well, not so fast.

You see – these days, “fat,” especially the saturated type, has made a bit of a comeback. There is research to suggest it isn’t unhealthy at all, is moderately unhealthy, and is completely unhealthy. Frankly, I don’t look at it in any of those ways. You need fat to build hormones. Get some of it, but don’t geek out on it. It is worth moderating.

But the reason for my chest pains while drinking bulletproof coffee were probably related to digestion, and not my heart. Digestion pains often manifest as chest pain, and make millions of people think they are dying of a dreaded coronary on the spot.

But still, I didn’t like having that annoying pain. I stopped drinking it, and boom, the pains went away.

But that wasn’t it. At the time, I was also following an almost no carbohydrate diet (mistake, and ruined my health for quite some time), that I believe really messed with my digestive processes. One of the things I think it did was drastically lower the content of stomach acid I had and was producing (fixed certain ailments I was having related to the diet with increasing stomach acid via Apple Cider Vinegar, and Betaine HCL).

So – was that causing my GI distress? Was the MCT oil’s digestibility, in conjunction with a GI problem I caused by believing carbohydrates were the enemy the problem? It’s likely. But I still side with the research that large quantities (especially easily drinkable quantities) of saturated fatty acids aren’t optimal for human beings, and might be harmful. I will not respond to your attacks in the comment section about this, Saturated fat lovers. I eat the stuff ALL THE TIME in cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and other foods. I just think there is an upper limit for some people, to stay in a healthy place, and do not believe you can eat as much of the stuff as you want. And frankly, it’s insanely calorie dense, and doesn’t help my physique/workout goals.

Wrapping it all up

Definitely don’t let me steer you away from trying it. It’s a worthwhile experience for nootropic enthusiasts. That’s why I’m writing about it here. The concoction, whatever the mechanisms are, of rapidly usable saturated fatty acids, and good clean coffee, is a nootropic force to be reckoned with. It will produce some interesting energy results for most people, and is a pretty kick ass experience.

And I respect the creator of the idea and the product, even if he wants to deprive himself of those lovely lovely carbohydrates, and promote a high fat diet. To each his own. I need me my carby carbs to assist in protein synthesis and muscle gain.