Bulletproof Coffee
DETROIT – When it comes to coffee, I am the kind of girl who drinks two or more cups a day. I like it plain with one sugar, and that's it. I don't like cappuccinos or frappe mochas. I like straight coffee and the thought of putting butter and oils in it creeped me out a little bit.
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Bulletproof Coffee is promoted as a substitute for breakfast in which you mix coffee, two tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of oil together in a blender and drink it instead of eating traditional breakfast foods.
When you first blend the mix together, the coffee no longer looks like coffee. It turns a light tan color, and the butter creates a liquid that is thinker than normal coffee. Once you pour it into your mug, a foam layer begins to float on top, hiding the illusion of coffee that lurks underneath.
If you're not scared off yet and decide to take that first sip, you have to go through the foam layer to actually get to the drink. Prepare for foam to get all over your lips and be aware the coffee will no longer be hot or even warm.
I assume the mix of butter and oil cools off your coffee to around room temperature, which most coffee drinkers will agree isn't the best.
Then, the coffee itself doesn't even taste like normal coffee. Aside from the fact that it’s cold and hidden under a layer of foam, it also has an overpowering butter flavor that drowns out any aspects of oil or coffee.
For people looking for a weight-loss beverage and a quick fix for more energy, Bulletproof Coffee should not be the answer. According to experts, you are essentially adding 300 calories of fat to a drink that started out calorie free. And by drinking it instead of breakfast, your body is missing out on the nutrients that it needs from traditional breakfast foods.
I would give Bulletproof Coffee a thumbs down and stick to regular coffee with my regular breakfast.
'Tea-Toxes'
I've always heard that herbal teas are extremely good for your body, but it appears "tea-toxes" are a different case.
The problem with tea-toxes is that they’re a mix of different herbal blends that aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. As a registered dietitian pointed out, that means experts don’t know enough about the herbs that are in them.
Certain herbs can cause side effects, such as interactions with medications.
The idea of not knowing what I’m putting into my body seems a little risky, but I took a sip.
The tea had a delightful cinnamon taste and aroma that took me by surprise. It seemed to have a rather soothing effect as it went through my body.
If I didn’t fear for what the herbs could potentially do to my body, I would probably feel a lot more comfortable drinking it.
Considering I have no desire to switch from standard herbal teas, I would give tea-toxes a thumbs down because I just don’t find them to be worth the risk.
Kombucha
I originally wanted to draw the line at drinking this one.
Kombucha is tea, usually black or green, that has a bacteria, yeast and some sugar added to it and then is fermented.
The thought of drinking something on purpose that was fermented, along with the warning labels on the back of the bottles, really made me nervous. So I only took one sip of kombucha.
It was raspberry-flavored with chia seeds, although it tasted nothing like raspberries to me. Vinegar would be a more appropriate word.
If you can get past the terribly strong smell of vinegar to actually drink the tea, you end up with not only a nose full of the scent of vinegar, but a mouth full of the taste of vinegar.
You can also feel the chia seeds floating into your mouth and down your throat with the rest of the kombucha, and it’s not a good feeling. The combination of the smell, the taste and the chia seeds made me gag after one sip.
Experts say kombucha is high in probiotics that contribute to gut health, but I would have to give kombucha a thumbs down and will stick to getting my probiotics in cheaper and safer ways, such as by eating yogurt.
Bone broth
When I first heard about bone broth, I thought it was just broth made from bones. Turns out I was basically correct.
To make bone broth, you put the carcass of an animal put into a kettle or pot, along with a few spices and herbs, and boil it for a long time. Then, you strain it and have the broth to drink.
Holding the warm cup of bone broth in my hands, I was almost sure it would taste like chicken broth. When I took that first sip, however, I realized it didn’t really taste like chicken broth. In fact, it didn’t exactly taste like anything at all.
If you thought about it hard enough, you could almost tell there was a hint of carcass in the taste, but other than that it was a very bland flavor.
Experts say there can be a therapeutic benefit to drinking a broth while you are ill. The bone broth did have a rather warm taste that made me feel good.
Even though the flavor is extremely plain, and I couldn’t picture myself sitting and drinking it for fun, I would give bone broth a thumbs up, mostly because I would cook with it or eat it as a soup with crackers and a lot more spices.
Coconut water
As someone who tries to run daily and exercises as much as possible, staying hydrated is important to me. I’m a firm believer in drinking lots of water and Gatorade to replenish those lost electrolytes.
Coconut water was one of the only trendy drinks I had actually heard of, but it still managed to surprise me.
In light of being called coconut water, I expected it to be clear, like regular water. In fact, the appearance reminded me of what diluted milk looks like. It was thicker than water and didn’t taste like water. But it also didn’t taste like coconuts to me either.
I’m actually not entirely sure how to describe coconut water. It didn’t taste bad, but it didn’t taste that great either. I believe coconut water is so popular because people know what it can do for you.
Coconut water comes with electrolytes and is also very high in potassium. Experts say Americans aren’t consuming enough potassium so drinking coconut water is a good way to get it if you need it, but there is no real reason why anyone would have to drink it.
I think it’s just a preference kind of drink.
I could see myself drinking coconut water because I thought it was good for me, but in reality there are many other way I can get exactly what coconut water provides into my body without drinking it.
Although water is cheaper, I would give coconut water a thumbs up because, unlike regular water, coconut water does have a slight taste, and it’s a nice, refreshing change.