It’s the stuff of science fiction: Futuristic diets, with seemingly magical ingredients, promise a complete body overhaul—more energy, slimmer figure, longer life. Local techies may laud the diets’ transformative abilities, but these new trends beg the question: Can man survive on butter-fortified java?
Coffee, butter, and oil don’t exactly make for a balanced breakfast. Unless you’re hooked on the lastest fad diet Bulletproof Coffee (bulletproofexec.com), the wild fancy of local tech entrepreneur Dave Asprey. The high-calorie recipe—a riff on the yak butter tea Asprey sipped while traveling in Tibet—calls for low-mold coffee (that is, undamaged by the myotoxins that can make brews bitter), two tablespoons of grass-fed unsalted butter rich in Omega 3, and two tablespoons of an easily digestible fat such as coconut oil. It sounds unappetizing, but the energy-boosting concoction, which also reportedly stimulates weight loss and even cognitive function, has quickly gained traction. Celebs including Ed Sheeran, Shailene Woodley, and the LA Lakers are touting the power of Bulletproof Coffee, which will further fuel the cultish following with its first brick-and-mortar café, opening in LA this spring.
Meanwhile, 26-year-old Robert Rhinehart’s new company wonders: “What if you never had to worry about food again?” Inspired by his life as a startup drone (too broke to eat out, too busy to cook), Rhinehart is taking deprivation to the next level with Soylent (soylent.me), a bland, but macro-nutritious shake said to consist of everything the human body needs for survival: protein, fats, fiber, and vitamins. His promise that people can subsist on the watery liquid alone stirred the pockets of others looking for a minimum-effort-meets-maximum-efficiency panacea: Last year, the LA company raised more than $3 million on Crowdtilt—3,000 percent of its $100,000 goal.
For those who would rather chew their breakfast, heed the call of the Norse. The New Nordic Diet adheres to semi-strict guidelines: Consume more seafood, and eat more plants than animals—preferably foraged and wild, respectively. Similar to the Paleo plan, beloved by CrossFitters who shun grains and dairy in the name of muscle definition and small waists, the Viking diet prohibits refined grains, processed foods, and olive oil. So where can you find a Nordic meal in the Bay Area? Try Zenbelly, which specializes in Paleo pop-up dinners (zenbelly.com).
“People want to eat good food,” says chef and founder Simone Miller. “And if they can live longer and feel better while doing it, then that’s a win-win.”
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