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Bulletproof Coffee & Fat-Fueled Mornings

Dave Asprey's famous butter coffee, presented honestly: a fat-rich morning coffee that blunts hunger and can make an eating-window approach easier, with clear notes on what it does and does not do.

'Father of Biohacking' / Bulletproof
Not endorsed · Based on the published work of Dave Asprey
Daily time
Mornings
Steps
5
Difficulty
Beginner
Sources
3
View the steps →
What it is

Bulletproof Coffee is Dave Asprey's signature: coffee blended with grass-fed butter (or ghee) and C8 MCT oil. His pitch is that starting the day with fat and caffeine curbs hunger, steadies energy and makes time-restricted eating easier to sustain. The honest framing matters here. Butter coffee is roughly 400 calories, so drinking it does technically break a fast, you are not in a true fasted state. For some people it genuinely helps push the first solid meal later and reduces snacking; for others it is just calories they did not need. We present the useful core and flag the brand claims that go beyond the evidence.

Why it works
Fat and caffeine are satiating, so a fat-rich coffee can blunt morning hunger and help some people extend their eating window without willpower battles, which is where its real, modest value lies. The bigger Bulletproof claims, that it uniquely boosts cognition, that ordinary coffee is dangerously mould-contaminated, that butter coffee is metabolically special, are not well supported. Treat it as a tool for hunger and adherence, not a fat-loss shortcut, and count its calories like any other food.
The evidence
Sources
Published work by Dave Asprey, cited straight to the source: long-form episodes, clips, peer-reviewed papers and their own writing. Select any to view it here.
1
The Bulletproof Diet and intermittent fasting (Bulletproof)
Article
2
What's the deal with the Bulletproof Diet? A balanced look (One Medical)
Article
3
Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Coffee and how it fits fasting (Fast This Way summary)
Article
Source viewer
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The protocol
Clinical strong human trials Mixed some or emerging evidence Commercial weak or unproven, sold widely Equipment / Test not an evidence claim How we grade →
Make it

Blend coffee with fat

Hot coffee + ~1 to 2 tsp C8 MCT oil + a small amount of grass-fed butter or ghee, blended until frothy

Blending emulsifies the fat so it is smooth rather than greasy.

Bulletproof
For this stepMixed
C8 MCT oil + grass-fed butter
The two fats in the classic recipe
Use it to bridge the morning

Drink it to delay the first meal

Have it in place of breakfast when you want to push your first solid meal later and curb hunger

The fat and caffeine blunt appetite, making a later first meal easier for some.

Bulletproof / Fast This Way
For this step
No product needed
Know it breaks a true fast

Be honest about the calories

It is ~400 calories, so it is not a true fast; if you want a strict water/black-coffee fast, skip the fat

Calling butter coffee 'fasting' is misleading; know which you are actually doing.

Independent reviews
For this step
No product needed
Mind caffeine timing

Keep it to the morning

Caffeine has a long half-life; keep it early so it does not undercut your sleep

Late caffeine harms sleep even if you fall asleep fine.

Independent reviews
For this step
No product needed
Count it in your day

Don't treat it as 'free'

Factor the calories into your day; do not stack it on top of normal breakfast and expect fat loss

It only helps weight if it replaces calories, not adds to them.

Independent reviews
For this step
No product needed
Is this for you?
Good fit if
  • Coffee lovers exploring time-restricted eating
  • People who get hungry mid-morning
  • Anyone curious about butter coffee
  • Those who want the honest version, not the hype
Cautions
  • Bulletproof coffee is roughly 400 calories and technically breaks a fast; 'fasting' with butter coffee is not a true fast, so be clear which you are doing and why
  • Several broader Bulletproof claims (specific IQ boosts, that most coffee is dangerously mould-toxic, that butter coffee is metabolically unique) are not well supported by evidence
  • Daily added saturated fat can raise LDL cholesterol in some people; if you have high cholesterol or heart disease, check with your doctor
  • It only aids fat loss if it replaces calories rather than adding to them; mind your total intake
  • We may earn a commission on products bought through this page
  • Educational only, not medical or nutrition advice
Related protocols
Update history
  • July 3, 2026 Protocol published.
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Not medical advice. This page is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical care. Consult a qualified clinician before changing your health routine.
Independent curation. YourProtocol.ai is an independent platform. This protocol is based on the publicly available work of Dave Asprey and is not created, reviewed, endorsed by, or affiliated with Dave Asprey or 'Father of Biohacking' / Bulletproof.

Bulletproof Coffee & Fat-Fueled Mornings
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