You, Only Better

Not fit to print... Why give this guy any publicity. Shall I go on about Vit C and A and how they repair epithelial tissue -- and there's something extracted from pine bark called Pycogenol? Homeopathy is big business but pretty much only the Germans have done extensive research on various products (St. John's Wort.)

Wonder what the Bulletproofers think about the coffee beans that are sold only after going thru the digest tract of an animal. Remember the Atkin's diet?!!

"Asprey says he finally lost faith in Western medicine at 23, when a doctor told him that vitamin C could kill him."

This is like saying, "Once a taxi driver got me lost and I've walked everywhere since." I get it, though.... every shuckster's argument begins with an appeal to abandon the world of empirical evidence.

Is it just a fad? You have to ask?

Why not just put butter on his bread, and eat it while drinking coffee, French style?

Hard to believe we don't get to hear more from nutritionists, some of whom have research showing the diet does not work.

I like butter and coconut oil, I use them liberally in cooking but they taste weird in coffee. Naturally-fatty foods satiate the appetite, and some ketosis is beneficial now and then.

People are vulnerable to fad diets because our nutritional and medical authorities have failed to offer any useful or effective advice on diet and weight loss. This doesn't mean that any or all "alternative wisdoms" are correct, but the "conventional wisdom" has clearly failed.

When I was a much younger version of me, I would joke that if I couldn't have my butter and coffee and cigarettes, there wasn't much point to having a longer life. Since then, a wiser me has let the cigarettes go, but I have to say that if one has to micro-manage their diet to a computerized data plan, there isn't much time left to honor one's life by savoring it. Now my mainstays for happiness are my grandchildren, pfeffernuss cookies from Germany, my coffee, SOME butter (I had a cigarette inspired heart attack three years ago), and am looking to move back to a warmer climate where my weight was healthier because I could tolerate being outside for the exercise.
I will probably die earlier than those who carefully chronicle and manage their diets, but I defy anyone to tell me they are happier or enjoy life more. Besides, when I die, I won't know it...but the days that I savor delicious food, both the flavors and the aromas, help define the happiness in my life.

Can someone say how this is different than the paleo diet other than buying his products and the'fasting'?

Sounds like a more expensive and faddish version of the Atkins diet. Yes it works if you can stick to it, but that's old news.

I came across Mr. Asprey a couple of years ago in my ongoing research on diet and health. I do think he brings some interesting observations to the table, no pun intended. However, I do worry about obsessions like mycotoxins in coffee. I'd guess even if they are sometimes there, and they sometimes impact the Asprey's of the world, for most of us, it's a non starter. One of the reasons I admire Mark Sisson ( http://www.marksdailyapple.com - he saved my life, by the way - is that while he has stuff to sell, it's just offered, not pushed. Take it or leave it. I'm suspicious of those who tell me, that I MUST by certain products or I'll reap no benefits. Like Mr. Asprey. Remember that Jim Fix, he of running fame, dropped dead on the side of the highway in his forties. Running. Jay Dinshah was the founder & president of the American Vegan Society. Although a vegetarian from birth, then a vegan for 43 years, he died from a heart attack at 66 years of age. Beware of those who claim to hold all the answers.

Yikes! Sounds great for the upper 10%. The rest of us will just get by on a little common sense, and try to be a little less self-absorbed in this world, maybe spending more time thinking of others...

After he went on Joe Rogan's podcast and dodged questions about mycotoxins and the fact that NO STUDIES show that there are significantly higher levels of mycotoxins in other brands' coffees, this charlatan lost all credibility in my eyes.

He's nothing more than a 21st century snake oil salesman, and in today's quantitatively and scientifically illiterate society, he'll find an eager audience.

Bulletproof? A poor choice for a name, I think. It evokes violence and we could all do with a lot less of that.

Marketing and enough hyperbole will always find a gullible target for the latest diet and miracle cure.

Sheesh!
Yet another fad... There is no magic cure, serum or potion that is the "perfect food" Today its coconut oil. Next week it will be oil peels or carrot pulp.

One can only wonder why we Americans are so easy a mark for strange diets. It seems to have something to do with a pathologic desire to become pure and return to Eden and escape death. That and our never ending supply of hucksters.

A friend of mine micro-managed his diet, exercised like mad, lost a lot of weight and became sick as a dog. He monitored himself every second and drove himself into sickness. Only now can he walk, his joints all ache, and he's sorry he ever did this to himself.

Another fad diet .. with well executed marketing courtesy of the NYT.

This is the old 'Calories Don't Count' diet, which was around at least 50 years before the book came out in the '60s, and which works by inducing ketosis, which depresses appetite.

(My father said he saw the 'Tapeworm Diet' as well, and figured it was about as good for losing weight.)

Asprey, like so many scam artists, has first convinced himself of his scam. Once that is accomplished, the rest of it is easy. On the TV show, 'Seinfeld', the George Costanza character, played by Jason Alexander, delivered the essence of the scam artist when he said, "Jerry, it's not a lie if you believe it yourself." The used car salesman first convinces himself the clunker he is selling to you is the best car on his lot. The essence of Asprey's "health food" scam is caffeine. The rest of it is quasi-scientific mumbo-jumbo. Have a cup of coffee. You WILL feel more energized, for about an hour. Duh. It is unfortunate the NY Times Magazine is giving this man so much free advertising. The article should be called "You, only with a lighter wallet".

"He is also an avatar of the quantified-self movement, a loose-knit group of people who obsessively collect data about their lives in order to learn more about their behavior, and potentially change it."

I hope these people collect enough data to learn how much time and energy they devote to themselves, and to potentially change their behavior to devote time and energy to others.

"The success of the dietary-supplement industry is best explained by wish-fulfillment fantasies.’’

This is partially true. The other part is believing in the fantasy without any doubt. The placebo effect is very real and well documented. As long as what these people are consuming isn't poison, the belief that it is helping is often enough to achieve a real positive effect. Often the more expensive or time consuming something is, the more someone is likely to believe it because their level of commitment to the idea is higher. While I don't have much respect for the snake oil salesman, it can be argued that in the end they are actually delivering due to the placebo effect. They really are selling an idea more than a product. The product is merely the delivery vehicle for the idea.

Asprey is a good model for anyone looking to maximize their health and well being in connection to their diet. If more people tracked and monitored their health (energy, clarity, weight, libido) in relation to what they ate, we probably wouldn't have a national obesity rate of 38%. What works for Asprey is not likely to work for everyone, and while the diet he describes is not bad, it requires strict discipline on the part of the eater which is not likely to be sustainable in the long run. Also, it's a ketogenic diet, which forces the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates, which can have serious health consequences for some people. Drinking his coffee or consuming his branded oils or products without making the other changes will not produce miraculous results, but sounds like a good pick-me-up for the late afternoon doldrums. Take-aways = eat the best quality, organic foods you can, avoid foods with toxins, added sugar, consume natural fats in a healthy proportion to the rest of your diet and pay attention to how you feel.

where is the "science" in this article?

For a second there I thought Bohack Supermarkets was coming back, as a verb.

Just another fad, this time with the cover of our latest 'technological fix' micro-measurement of our entire daily activities with the (generally) false hope that collection of tons of data will miraculously find THE magic 'dietary alogrhythm'.
Just get some discipline, eat moderately and from broad food groups and yes...get some exercise get some exercise please...and get up from your computer desk and become aware of your activities without recording it all.
A quantified self may, surprisingly, not be a very self-aware self.

I think people who are completely obsessed with what they eat have an eating disorder.

I'd rather live a few years less and enjoy myself. His coffee sounds absolutely nauseating.

I read Asprey's book and followed the program for weigh the-loss. I would like to hear from nutrition scientists whether the "bio hacking" technique of feeding the brain with Bulletproof High-Octane coconut oil (MCL's) is better or more efficient for the brain than glucose from eating carbs. Maybe other commenters can write about this premise of Asprey's program. Key to the diet is referred to as intermittent fasting, i.e., going around 12-hours or more every day without eating, e.g., from after dinner until lunch the next day, with an intake of only coffee and butter in the morning. This practice alone, along with high consumption of vegetables are proven ways to lose weight. The emphasis on caffeine and coffee didn't agree with me after awhile. Personally, I feel better having increased my intake of plant-based foods, less dairy and animal products.

I'm so grateful to biohacks like Dave Asprey who are providing us with alternatives to the misguided low fat recommendations that have been shoved down our throats for decades.

Today's lab tests are a very poor approximation of what is really happening to our bodies and designing a comprehensive one for all diet around them is misguided at best. It will take a quantum leap in computing power coupled to a deeper understanding of complex biological systems before biohacks become a reality.

Six weeks ago, a reference to Bulletproof Coffee (reading reviews for a blender) caught my eye... I clicked over to Dave's book, and impressed with the 5* reviews, bought it and spent the weekend fully absorbed. Now just four weeks into the Bulletproof plan, I've lost 10+ pounds without hunger or cravings, and even better, experienced significantly increased physical energy and mental clarity.

It is important to note that I originally doubted I could follow the plan, since a single cup of coffee (whether home ground gourmet or popular brand coffee shops) caused serious gut distress for decades. So I crossed my fingers and bought Dave's BP coffee. To my surprise and real delight I drink several cups of BP coffee daily, and only feel great!

Please read Dave's book before you dismiss the quality of his work or his exuberance. Or, checkout the valuable info on the BP website - hundreds of articles, podcasts and user forums. The focus on pasture fed protein sources, high quality fats, and organic vegetables is not radical at all, once you dig into the data.

If you're a busy person, the plan can be followed in an uncomplicated fashion. If you have more time, bio hacking is a fascinating topic (at least to me). Happily retired, I find nutritional study and cooking are turning into an enjoyable hobby/pursuit. Knowledge is power and empowering your health is awesome!

I find logging my food and counting my steps helpful habits in keeping mindful about healthy eating and exercise. I've learned a lot from it, it got me down into my ideal weight range, keeps me active, and takes just a bit more effort from me than brushing my teeth. But this sounds like junk pseudoscience. And downing a mix of coffee and supplements to optimize cognitive performance? Being injected with 'vitamins' called a 'shine shot'? This just does not sound healthy to me.

Wise man once said: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
This is probably all the "hacking" you need. Of course, this philosophy is unlikely to develop into a global business.

I just want to point out that the author repeatedly uses the term "nutritionist" which is completely unregulated and meaningless in the US. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. But the average "nutritionist" may have little to no formal training. A better source of information about diets and food is a registered dietitian who has a bachelor's degree, has passed a national exam, and is required to earn ongoing education credits. None of which is required to call yourself a nutritionist. Marion Nestle is quoted, she has her PhD and is a professor of nutrition, and is well respected.

Digression. A Sunday morning blind taste test (labeled the travel mugs on the bottom, then scrambled them on the tray): a single-origin Blue Bottle coffee, a coffee from a friend who has a small fair trade business, and Bulletproof upgraded beans. (We love taste tests.) My wife and I both chose the Bulletproof. I wouldn't have even tried the Bulletproof beans, because they're more expensive, but we noticed a jittery feeling after my friend's latest shipment. We don't think of ourselves as mold hyper-responders, like Dave Asprey, but we're now sold on "real" Bulletproof coffee, after a couple of years of adding pastured butter and MCT oil to coffee brewed from other beans. Mornings are now my favorite time of day. Yes, caffeine is a powerful drug, and wonderful in this form.

The concept of N=1 testing (trying things out and seeing how you do) makes a lot of sense in our genetically-diverse human population with our genetically-diverse microbiomes. True, how we feel and perform isn't a perfect indication of our body's health (some nutritional deficiencies don't show up immediately), but it's important information. And Asprey's "pseudoscience" is no more indicted by his financial interest in it being true than is most nutritional and pharmaceutical research. I appreciate that I can try out what worked for Asprey and see how it works for me. I'm too lazy to monitor my performance on a mental test after consuming garlic, then onions 3 days later, then avocados 3 days after that.

First world diet fads, where people who have the cash or credit available, will start buying into what they think is some super healthy diet that will bring them closer to immortality and make them super human like. N=1. The next diet and exercise approach fad will be just around the corner and Bulletproof will be a distant memory.

This reads like a stealth press release. While it's a candid admission, "Listening to his story, I stopped questioning his logic" is not on the list of qualities I look for in a NYTimes reporter.

The "secret" to weight (body fat) control: eat less; exercise more.

This much fat in the diet could be really dangerous if you have any kind of liver disease

"Asprey believes that nutrition should be as effortless as everything else in our technology-enhanced existence ..."

Effortless?! Spending your time trying to give your body continual upgrades through micro-managed nutrition and "bio hacking" sounds like 24/7 occupation to me, to the exclusion of anything else. What's the point of a perpetual existence if you never take the time to live ?

Coconut benefit is also very rich in useful nutrients , vitamins and fiber . http://goo.gl/wyWBS5

"Listening to his story, I stopped questioning his logic."

maybe others will do the same, in which case trinity ventures would appear to have made a good investment.

caffeine is a hell of a drug.

Neither cholesterol nor saturated fat cause heart disease. Credit Suisse sum up this 1950s myth in a recent report:

"A proper review of the so called “fat paradoxes” (France, Israel and Japan) suggests that saturated fats are actually healthy and omega-6 fats, at current levels of consumption in the developed world, are not.

The big concern regarding eating cholesterol-rich foods (e.g. eggs) is completely without foundation. There is basically no link between the cholesterol we eat and the level of cholesterol in our blood. This was already known thirty years ago and has been confirmed time and time again. Eating cholesterol rich foods has no negative effect on health in general or on risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), in particular."

http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2...

Asprey is an entertaining phenom. I'm a customer of his MCT oil because it's convenient to source. I think he deserves a healthy dose of skepticism. He's not easy to fact check.

The problem with N=1 hacking is that real effects are difficult to distinguish from placebo effects. Also, what works for Dave may or may not work for me.