Coffee, a beloved beverage for many, can be a point of consideration when following a low-carb diet. While black coffee is naturally low in carbohydrates, the additions and variations popular today can significantly impact carb intake. This article explores the benefits and risks of coffee consumption within the context of a low-carb lifestyle, including considerations for additions like milk, sweeteners, and the increasingly popular "bulletproof" coffee.
Understanding Low-Carb Diets
A low-carb diet limits the amount of carbohydrates you eat, focusing on foods high in protein and fat. Many types of low-carb diets exist and are generally used for weight loss. In broad terms, such a diet focuses on proteins and some nonstarchy vegetables while generally limiting grains, legumes, fruits, breads, sweets, pastas and starchy vegetables, and sometimes nuts and seeds.
The body uses carbohydrates as its main energy source. During digestion, complex carbs are broken down into simple sugars, also called glucose, and released into your blood. Insulin is released to help glucose enter the body's cells, where it can be used for energy. Extra glucose is stored in the liver and in muscles.
A daily limit of 0.7 to 2 ounces (20 to 57 grams) of carbohydrates is typical with a low-carb diet. These amounts of carbohydrates provide 80 to 240 calories. Some low-carb diets greatly limit carbs during the early phase of the diet. In contrast, dietary guidelines recommend that carbohydrates make up 45% to 65% of your total daily calorie intake. A low-carb diet is generally used for weight loss. Most people can lose weight if they limit calories and boost their physical activity.
Coffee Itself: A Naturally Low-Carb Choice
Coffee, in its pure form, is inherently low in carbohydrates. This makes it a suitable beverage for those adhering to low-carb diets, including the ketogenic diet. Since it’s simply “extracted flavor” and water, there are no carbs in coffee. All types of coffee and tea are good for your health, and they won’t do a bit of damage to your low-carb diet as long as you drink them black.
Read also: Protein Coffee Smoothie Recipe
The Carb Creep: Additions to Watch Out For
While coffee itself is low-carb, the additions can quickly increase the carbohydrate content. It doesn’t matter whether someone’s having a cup of coffee with milk and sugar at home, or a latte or mocha from Starbucks or a local coffee shop. And that’s where carbs add up.
Milk and Cream
Adding milk to coffee introduces carbohydrates, with two teaspoons adding a small amount but potentially accumulating over multiple cups per day. Two cups of milk can threaten your stay in ketosis. Heavy cream, also known as heavy whipping cream, is considered more keto-friendly due to its high-fat content. When you drastically reduce the number of carbohydrates in your diet, you have to replace them with one of the other two macronutrients, protein or fat. And heavy cream is a great source of that healthy fat. It’s high in calories (50 calories per tablespoon), so it should only be used in moderation.
Unsweetened dairy-free milks, like almond milk and flaxseed milk, are preferable for keto dieters. It’s important, though, to always use unsweetened nut or plant milks.
Sugar and Sweeteners
Sugar is a significant source of carbohydrates, and even small amounts can impact a low-carb diet. Two teaspoons of sugar, three or four times a day, is almost a full day’s worth of carbohydrates on a strict keto diet. Honey, maple syrup, and other naturally sweet substitutes contain even more carbs than sugar, so they’re out. Artificial sweeteners are often used as alternatives, but some may have drawbacks.
“Sugar alcohols” like erythritol and sorbitol are often added to low-calorie and keto-friendly baked goods and prepared foods, but they’re not ideal coffee additives. Two novel sweeteners are commonly available. One is stevia, which comes from the South American stevia plant. Both stevia and monk fruit are incredibly sweet substances, as many as 300 times sweeter than sugar.
Read also: Weight-Loss Trend: Coffee Loophole Diet
When you’re going to add stevia or monk fruit to your coffee, be sure it’s pure stevia or monk fruit extract.
Commercial Creamers
Most commercial coffee creamers are anything but keto-friendly. The huge popularity of low-carb dieting over the last ten years has led to a new product category, though: keto coffee creamers. Low-carb (or zero-carb) coffee creamers like Super Creamer often contain one other ingredient that’s helpful for keto dieting: MCT oil.
Keto Coffee: More Than Just Low-Carb
Keto coffee is much more than simple low-carb coffee, though. Keto coffee often contains MCT oil. MCT is short for medium-chain triglycerides, which describes the molecular structure of a type of fatty acid not found in many foods. When LCTs are consumed, they have to be digested. MCTs don’t, because of their shorter length. They’re instead sent right to the liver where they boost the production of ketones - the body’s fuel when a dieter is in ketosis. MCTs can be extracted from the few foods that contain them, like coconut oil and palm kernel oil. Since most low-carb diets are also high-fat eating plans, keto dieters are always looking for easy ways to consume high-quality fats.
Bulletproof Coffee: A Closer Look
Bulletproof coffee, also known as butter coffee or keto coffee, is coffee with an added dollop of butter and oil. It consists of 2 cups (470 mL) of coffee, 2 tablespoons (28 grams) of unsalted grass-fed butter, and 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 mL) of medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil mixed in a blender (1). It was originally promoted by Dave Asprey, the creator of the Bulletproof Diet. The coffee produced and marketed by Asprey’s company is supposedly free of mycotoxins, which are naturally occurring fungal toxins found in some improperly stored foods (2).
The prep is simple: Add two tablespoons of butter and a little bit of oil to your morning cup of joe, and start sippin’. But you can’t use just any old ingredients. Bulletproof coffee calls for unsalted, grass-fed butter or ghee and medium-chain triglyceride oil (MCT) oil added to low-toxicity coffee beans.
Read also: The Truth About Baking Soda and Coffee for Weight Loss
Potential Benefits
Proponents claim that butter coffee can aid in fat loss, increase energy levels and boost mental clarity.
Fans of bulletproof coffee say caffeine isn’t the only reason that this brew provides a wide-awake start to the day. MCT oil can increase your energy levels, which may make it a powerful partner to the caffeine in coffee. Because medium-chain triglycerides are digested much quicker than other types of fats, they may lead to quicker bursts of energy. Butter and ghee also contain omega-3 and omega-6 fats that may slow down how quickly your body metabolizes caffeine. Butter coffee drinkers say this helps your body hold onto energy longer and avoid the crash that comes when the stimulant wears off.
MCT oil is thought to promote the release of hormones that tell your brain that your stomach is full, which can reduce your appetite and lead you to eat less (which may lead to weight loss).
Some studies show that MCT oil may reduce your lactic acid levels, which is associated with being able to exercise harder and for longer. But more research is needed on how and whether MCT oil can affect workouts.
Potential Risks and Downsides
Although drinking Bulletproof coffee on occasion is probably harmless, it’s not advisable to make it a routine.
Asprey and other promoters recommend that you consume Bulletproof coffee in place of breakfast each morning. Although Bulletproof coffee provides plenty of fat, which reduces your appetite and provides energy, it’s lacking in several nutrients. By drinking Bulletproof coffee, you are replacing a nutritious meal with a poor substitute. While grass-fed butter contains some conjugated linoleic acid, butyrate, and vitamins A and K2, MCT oil is a refined and processed fat with no essential nutrients. If you eat three meals per day, replacing breakfast with Bulletproof coffee will likely reduce your total nutrient intake by about one-third.
Bulletproof coffee is very high in saturated fat. While the health effects of saturated fats are controversial, many health professionals believe that high intake is a major risk factor for several diseases and should be avoided (3). Although some studies associate a high intake of saturated fat with an increased risk of heart disease, others have found no significant links (4). Nevertheless, most official dietary guidelines and health authorities advise limiting your intake.
Butter seems to be particularly effective at raising LDL cholesterol levels. One study in 94 British adults showed that eating 50 grams of butter daily for 4 weeks increased LDL cholesterol levels more than consuming an equal amount of coconut oil or olive oil (7). Another 8-week study in Swedish men and women with excess weight found that butter increased LDL cholesterol by 13% when compared with whipping cream. The researchers hypothesized that this could have something to do with butter’s fat structure (8). Also, keep in mind that not everyone responds the same way to a high fat diet. Some people see dramatic increases in total and LDL cholesterol, as well as other markers of heart disease risk (9). For those who have cholesterol problems while on a low carb or ketogenic diet, one of the first things to do is avoid excessive intake of fat (such as butter). This includes Bulletproof coffee.
Who Should Avoid Bulletproof Coffee?
Butter coffee is often incorporated into the keto diet, an eating style that isn’t recommended for everyone.
Skip this drink if you have:
- Diabetes: When you stay full longer, you may be inclined not to eat at regular intervals, which isn’t necessarily a good thing when you have diabetes. It’s not the safest route for people with diabetes, who need to be consuming a consistent amount of carbohydrates throughout the day.
- Gastrointestinal issues: Some people who try butter coffee report experiencing unpleasant side effects like bloating, diarrhea and an upset stomach after drinking it.
- Heart problems: People with high cholesterol and other heart issues are often advised to scale back on butter, due to its high amounts of saturated fat. Bulletproof coffee is definitely not part of a low-cholesterol diet.
General Health Benefits of Coffee
Many studies have added to a brew of good news for coffee drinkers. The new study analyzed health data and dietary habits of nearly of 20,000 Spanish university graduates who were involved in a long-term research project. Those who drank the most coffee (four or more cups a day) were 64 percent less likely to die within 10 years than those who drank the least (seldom or never) coffee. However, the benefits were largely confined to older participants: For adults who were at least 45 when the study began, every two cups of coffee per day was associated with an approximate 30 percent lower risk of dying over the next 10 years. The new research was presented last weekend at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona. “Our findings suggest that drinking four cups of coffee each day can be part of a healthy diet in healthy people,” said Dr.