Bulletproof Barista

Superman is often depicted with bullets bouncing off of the red and yellow logo on his chest.  As opposed to Kryptonians, we earthlings do not possess such powers.

Dave Asprey must have felt powerful, though, when he started drinking his morning coffee with some unconventional additions. Never heard of Dave Asprey? You will easily find him and his biohacks on the interwebs. He invented Bulletproof coffee. (I went into this in my previous post: https://manualtransmissionautism.com/2021/10/06/which-fungus-should-i-drink/)

I have been faithful to drink some form of Bulletproof Coffee for years. Moka pot, Americanos, and now a French press – or I simply load a to-go mug with the MCT oil and real butter and head out to a coffee shop or an early breakfast meeting. I’ve been asked by servers and others, “What IS that in your coffee?” They have fallen prey to my web of autistic enthusiasms…

Asprey moved on, sold his rights to the name Bulletproof Coffee, and now shares his biohacking ways through a podcast called the Human Upgrade. I listened to a few of those podcasts, and I enjoyed them, but figured I would stick with more local advice.

People once said that coconut oil is brain food and may even start the process of reversing age-related dementia. I have no data on any study that would prove a bold statement like that, but that doesn’t keep me from trying something myself and tracking my own results.  I have been experimenting with a nightly dose of organic coconut oil (not the MCT-version; I reserve that for the morning joe). Sometimes my sleep is longer as a result.

Butter is a healthy fat that my brain seems to enjoy, too. I got away from creamers a long time ago, and rarely use any half & half either. But a tablespoon of butter is now something I enjoy. When I have time, I pull out the milk frother, and mix the MCT oil, butter and some of the coffee to emulsify them all together. This is dangerous, however…I get mistaken for a barista and people walk by and start ordering cappuccinos!

The only caveats I can think of: 1) Some folks are allergic to coconut, and 2) a full dose of MCT oil is not advised for beginners. I had to start with a little bit and work my way up over a week or so to the full tablespoon. Your mileage may vary, and please remember I am not your medical advisor!

I use a half-caff Four Sigmatic adaptagenic blend of coffee when I can, if not, any decent coffee. Asprey made a big deal about finding single origin coffee to reduce the chance of mold. Sounds important, but I haven’t invested the time or effort yet. Quality coffee seems to work for me. (I don’t like brewing through plastic, so those K-pods are off the menu.)

Changing a habit like coffee can be difficult for anyone, especially the neurodiverse. Now that I’ve built this habit, I can shift into automatic. My investigation of the perfect brain-food elixir may sound tiring for some, and adventurous to others. My advice to you: Keep shiftin’.

Epilogue: During the drafting of this blog, a lazy Sunday morning became full of work: My French press did not survive my stirring during the last step of my Bulletproof coffee. The spoon popped a hole in the lower side, and EVERYTHING ran out onto the counter, the crevices, the silverware drawer, the floor. The beaker was NOT bulletproof, and I had to clean up and start over. I survived, and there were no emergency room visits. Whew!