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Keto Coffee: Is It Good For Your Diet?
Understand how a ketogenic diet works and why keto coffee helps in the process.
Published September 1, 2021
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Joachim Estal
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
If you have ever encountered a gym rat or health buff in your local coffee shop, you may have also heard them order keto coffee. This means the person may be on a very strict type of diet – the keto diet.
There are lots of restrictions in keto. Lots of beverages are avoided, including fruit juices, sodas, energy drinks, smoothies, beer, and the list goes on. While milk isn't all forbidden, it should be minimized because one glass can contain a large amount of carbs.
So what can you drink if you are on a keto diet? Water, unsweetened tea, wine, and coffee. So what exactly is keto coffee? Isn't it just coffee minus the sugar, milk, and creamer?
Not quite. Keto coffee includes some other ingredients which are meant to help you lose weight and burn body fat quicker and more efficiently. This article will help you understand how a ketogenic diet works and why keto coffee helps in the process.
What is Keto?
When you say keto diet, it means a low-carbohydrate diet. Since most of the carbs you intake are already removed from your diet, plenty of fat and moderate amounts of protein will become your main source of calories.
At the same time, sugar is also eliminated from your intake. Starches like bread, pasta and rice, legumes, potatoes, and most fruits are all avoided. Processed and packaged foods, gluten-free ones, are all out since they have high amounts of carbohydrates as well.
How Does Keto Work?
Basically, carbohydrates are chains of sugar that break down in the digestive system whenever we eat them. One of the byproducts of this whole process is glucose, the primary energy source for the brain and cells. Without enough glucose produced, your brain and body cannot function properly at all.
In a ketogenic diet, the body isn't getting the carbohydrates required to function, and all the extra glucose stored for emergency purposes is all gone. When this happens, the body looks for an alternative source of energy and goes into a state called ketosis.
In ketosis, the body produces a replacement for glucose–ketones, which are produced by the liver. In order to produce ketones, the body burns stored fat. In return, fat burning will result in weight loss.
What is Keto Coffee?
Keto coffee is a low-carb coffee with some added fat from high-fat foods such as coconut oil, butter, or ghee.
Most of us add milk, cream, and sugar to our daily dose of caffeine, especially if we are not into black coffee. Adding these ingredients wouldn't work for a keto diet.
Sugar, including artificial sweeteners, is strictly forbidden on a ketogenic diet since it is nothing but a soluble carbohydrate. Milk and commercial creamers are also carb-heavy, so they should be eliminated from your coffee as well.
Heavy cream or whipping cream is acceptable to consume on a keto diet. However, you should use them in moderation as they have lots of calories and some carbs that may still add up if you are not careful. On the other hand, dairy-free milk such as almond and coconut milk is okay but would not contribute much of the fat you will need for your keto coffee.
That finally brings us to the high-fat food alternatives–butter, oil, and ghee. Just like milk, sugar, and creamer, these ingredients will also tone down the bitterness of the coffee. In addition, they will increase the fat content in your coffee as well.
How To Make Keto Coffee?
Keto coffee is also called bulletproof coffee or butter coffee.
Bulletproof coffee is actually a trademarked brand name founded by David Asprey in 2008. It is a recipe that consists of ground coffee, ghee or grass-fed butter, and brain-octane oil. Butter coffee is called as it is for obvious reasons–it is coffee combined with butter.
Best Recipe For Keto Coffee
Making keto coffee is easy. You just need to have the necessary inclusions and blend them right away.
- One cup of coffee
- Two tablespoons of coconut oil
- Two tablespoons of grass-fed butter
- Heavy cream/whipping cream (optional)
- Vanilla extract, cinnamon, or cocoa powder (optional)
- Make coffee in a large container using your favorite brewing method. Choose a vessel that's large enough to avoid spillage when we start blending the drink.
- If you use a pour-over or drip method, grind your coffee to a fine size as fine as salt.
- Prepare your butter, coconut oil, and immersion blender. You can use a regular blender. However, an immersion blender is more recommended, as it is easier to use and clean afterwards.
- Put the two tablespoons of butter into your coffee. You can use unsalted or salted butter – the latter can be tastier. Make sure the coffee is still hot, so the butter melts quickly.
- Add two tablespoons of coconut oil.
- You can also add your optional flavoring into the press or blender. A teaspoon of vanilla extract, cocoa powder, or cinnamon should be enough.
- Add two tablespoons of heavy cream or whipping cream. You can skip this step if you prefer not to have cream in your coffee.
- Mix them all together using your immersion blender. Move the immersion blender up and down to get the fat emulsified into the coffee properly. Usually, you should do this for about 45 to 60 seconds to create froth on top of your beverage. If you use a regular blender, transfer the contents into the pitcher and blend within the same timeframe.
- Serve right away.
One cup of this keto coffee has 260 calories, 1.05 grams of Net Carbs, 1.08 grams of protein, and 27.7 grams of fat.
If you want to get extra energy and health benefits, you can simply add some collagen powder to your beverage. Have the freedom to tweak your keto coffee just the way you want it to taste like; just make sure the inclusions you put are all keto-friendly.
Benefits Of Keto Coffee
Mornings continue to become a struggle, and a cup of coffee is essential to survive the day. However, there are times when caffeine doesn't seem to do the magic anymore. And so, ketogenic coffee becomes an option for you to fight the sleepy nerves.
If you ever become curious what effects keto coffee will have on your body, below is a list of its health benefits:
Boosts Energy
Drinking keto coffee in the morning will surely give you an active start. A cup carries enough calories and fats for you to get through a busy schedule. Plus, the caffeine you will be consuming will stimulate your body and mind as well.
Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Taking organic coffee means opting for the one with no preservatives or pesticide residue. It is very important to check on the kind of coffee you consume daily. In addition, mixing butter into your coffee is organic and all-natural as well. There are Omega-3 fatty acids present in grass-fed butter, which are known to have significant anti-inflammatory benefits.
Good For Digestion
Coconut oil acts as a natural laxative. Therefore, it makes keto coffee beneficial for digestion. Coconut oil is known to lubricate the entire digestive system as well as ensures a healthy gut. Finally, coconut oil also possesses antiviral, anti-fungal, and antibacterial properties.
Promotes Weight Loss
Drinking ketogenic coffee can suppress the appetite and may promote weight loss in return. Since it is mainly composed of healthy fats, this will make you feel fuller for a more extended period. It can also eliminate the present cravings you have and give you instant satiation instead.
Drawbacks On Keto Diet
The Keto diet seems overwhelming as it restricts the consumption of many foods that are usually okay in other types of diets. We know that eating junk food and too much sugar should be avoided. However, you also can't eat bread, grains, pasta, etc. This aspect may be difficult for many even to give the keto diet a try.
Another thing difficult to handle is that the keto diet makes you consume more fat than what the body is supposed to have. The ideal consumption of fat is limited to only 35% of one's daily diet. However, ketogenic dieters get their calories from fats, and their eating plans are composed of as much as 70% fat.
In addition, transitioning to a keto diet may get you the keto flu. This is where the body encounters flu-like symptoms when it undergoes ketosis. The best way to thrive and survive on the ketogenic diet is by finding alternative recipes and approaches that can add more fat to their diets.
Bottom Line
In moderation, keto coffee can be healthy and beneficial for one's ketogenic diet. However, with the restrictions on several aspects, it is pretty low in nutrients but high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
If you are on a keto diet, make sure you don't become obsessed with drinking too much keto coffee. And of course, getting advice from your nutritionist is the best starting point before finally transitioning to keto or any other kind of low-carbohydrate diet.
About the author
Joachim Estal
8-year barista for a world-class coffee chain from the Philippines. Passionate writer and coffee champion. "Coffee has always been one of my biggest love interests in life. And I am here to share it with all of you through this platform."
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