4 Reasons to Butter Up Your Coffee
If I know you, and we are totally getting to know each other, then I am willing to bet most of you would think we were crazy to actually suggest putting butter (fat) into your diet, let alone in your coffee. But think about it, you don’t think twice about putting one or two tablespoons of corn syrup solids, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, mono- and diglycerides, silicon dioxide, sodium stearoyl lactylate, soy lecithin, artificial flavor, and artificial color (a.k.a. coffee creamer) in your coffee. So let’s live on the wild side and consider unsalted, grass fed butter as a way to a healthier, more energetic, and tastier way to start your day (plus it’s much easier to pronounce and spell ;-P ).
Why
The first important reason to add butter to your coffee is to quickly get your body into a fat burning mode called ketosis, which makes it faster and easier to lose body fat.
The next time you don’t eat for a few hours, your body will use body fat for fuel. According to entrepreneur Dave Asprey, “Drinking it each morning puts your body in the routine to burn fat all day, helping you trim down overall. CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), found in grass-fed butter, has been shown to reduce body fat mass especially in overweight individuals.
This assumes that you do not add any other carb-providing sweeteners to your buttered coffee. Once you add these sugars, agave, honey, etc., you will no longer be in a fat-burning mode. You’ll love the buttery taste and find you don’t want those sweeteners anyway.
It’s the smart thing to do. Asprey also says that “It provides healthy fats for your brain and body to create cell walls and hormones. This short-chain fatty acid Butyrate (once thought to be bad for you) has been linked to preventing neurodegenerative diseases, increases energy expenditure and is also an anti-inflammatory.”
How it Provides You More Health & Energy
Carbs are used up (metabolized) quickly in your body. Fat is digested and metabolized at a slower rate than carbs providing you with longer sustained energy.
Carbs quickly increase and then can rapidly lower blood sugar. This is called the blood glucose roller coaster and your energy levels go along for the ride. Fat doesn’t have a direct effect on blood sugar/glucose levels because there are no carbs/sugar in fat. No more glucose roller coaster for you!
Grass fed butter is an extremely nutrient dense food. According to http://nextshark.com/5-reasons-why-everyone-is-putting-butter-in-their-coffee/,
“Only grass-fed butter has the right fats that regulate cholesterol, not add to it. Grass-fed butter has the best ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (which reduces body fat) and is a good source of vitamin K, both of which according to a studies reduce the risk of heart disease.”
In spite of the demonization of saturated fats, whole-food saturated fats (in place of simple carbs) can actually decrease the risk of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Vitamin K2 also decreases the risk for heart disease, cardiovascular disease and increases the effectiveness of vitamin D.
Proven Methods for Buttery Success
It’s Delicious! Trust us on this one! So, do you use a teaspoon or a cube? It depends on how hungry you are and your physical activity of the day. We suggest starting out with two tablespoons and see how your body adjusts. Our top suggestions for the ultimate killer coffee are:
You have to use grass-fed butter. Hands down, none of this will work with any other substitution.
Use a blender. If you end up with a filmy substance on the top of your coffee, you haven’t done it properly. Trust us on this one, too.
Don’t add anything else. No whey, protein, sugars/sweeteners (not even sugar-free syrups).
Don’t let a little travel or having to eat out get you off track. Most restaurants are now serving unsalted, grass-fed butter and coffee shops keep some around for bagels or other food preparation. It’s not the easiest of additives to carry around in your pocket, but we found it’s not that hard to put your individual butter supply in a sealed zip-lock bag or those ultra-sealable plastic travel containers for soap or shampoo. In a pinch, put your butter in your travel mug. When ready to drink, add a small amount of really hot coffee and stir, then add the rest of the coffee and shake the dickens out it. Double bonus--that adds a little arm work out!
Try it and let us know what you think. We are more than happy to receive recipes and ideas on this subject. Afterall, that’s the PLATFORM way!