Bulletproof diet

Given Bulletproof diet’s promise of mental sharpness and increased energy, it’s not surprising that many people in the invisible illness community are curious about it. This diet was created by biohacking lifestyle guru Dave Asprey of Bulletproof coffee fame. For the moment, it’s definitely one of the trendiest diets around, and it’s endorsed by celebs like Shailene Woodley. Even if you’re not on the Bulletproof train right now, there’s a good chance you’ve heard someone mention Bulletproof coffee (and we’re guessing you were either completely fascinated, or mildly horrified!) The Bulletproof diet claims that you can lose up to a pound per day, reduce inflammation, and maintain peak performance by following a strict diet of high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carb foods, with the help of intermittent fasting. If some of this sounds familiar, this plan does incorporate a lot of elements of other diets, including keto and anti-inflammatory diets. But, there’s an added focus on food purity, sourcing, and preparation, as well as detoxing. There are also a lot of trademarked products to buy. As for the diet’s food, you’ll get up to 60% of your calories from healthy fats (like coconut oil, avocado, and grass-fed and/or pastured meat), about 20% from protein, and the rest from nonstarchy vegetables. The plan is similar to keto because it encourages keto-style eating for 5 to 6 days, followed by 1 to 2 days of “carb cycling,” meaning you can include starchy foods like sweet potato, white rice, and squash. The idea is that your body will be put into a state of ketosis, maximizing fat burn, but you won’t experience the potential side effects (constipation, kidney stones) of the keto diet due to your carb-inclusion days. Sounds fairly simple? Well…not so fast. Bulletproof puts a lot of stock into the quality of ingredients. Guidelines state that if you can find grass-fed meat, choose the fattiest cuts possible. But if you can’t, choose the leanest cuts of grain-fed meat. Why? The explanation is that grain-fed meat is high in pro-inflammatory omega 6 fats and has accumulated toxins in its fat from the cattle’s feed, while the grass-fed meat has more anti-inflammatory omega 3s and is lower in toxins. Getting dinner on the table never seemed quite so complicated—and this is just one small example! Bottom line: There are some people who thrive on diets with a lot of rules and regulations, others who prefer swaps, modifications, and cheat days (or entire cheat weekends—no judgment!). If you’re in the rules-and-regs camp, the Bulletproof diet could be an attractive way to test out a new approach to clean eating.