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Is it Healthy to Put Butter in Your Coffee?
As part of your morning coffee ritual, milk and sugar are usually staples that add flavor and thickness. But recently, adding butter or other fats may improve focus and mental clarity – a trend started by lifestyle author and CEO of Bulletproof Dave Asprey after returning from Tibet where locals consumed coffee mixed with yak butter as an energy boost at high altitudes. Since then, low-carbohydrate diets, ketogenic diets, bodybuilders or anyone looking to increase daily fat consumption regularly consume this drink as part of their routines or daily fat consumption increases significantly – as claimed.
Butter in coffee may help slow the body’s absorption of caffeine and avoid sudden spikes and crashes, while simultaneously helping reduce inflammation and bloating in your gut. Although the concept is intriguing, keep in mind there are other healthier food and beverage options that provide energy boost without adding unnecessary calories and saturated fat to your diet.
Many of these other options provide a healthier mix of carbohydrates, proteins and fats than butter coffee. One tablespoon of coconut oil or butter contains around 12 grams of saturated fat which may increase cholesterol levels significantly; although not as damaging to heart health as some have claimed.
Concerns have been raised that butter coffee’s high fat content could inhibit your body’s ability to utilize stored fat as energy and lead to overeating and weight gain. Furthermore, its high-fat content may be hard for some individuals to digest and may result in bloating, gas and nausea in those not used to eating so much fat first thing in the morning.
To avoid these issues, try switching out butter for grass-fed ghee, which has been clarified to contain less lactose and casein and therefore is suitable for people with dairy sensitivities. It also contains lower calories while providing more butyrate, an essential fatty acid that supports gut health while aiding metabolism.
If you enjoy coffee drinks and are curious to give it a try, be mindful to limit yourself to just one daily serving in order to keep calories and fat intake under control. If not, there are numerous other healthy solutions such as turmeric and collagen available that could provide your daily caffeine dose!