Today I came across a really odd idea that’s spreading among the health-food crowd: Butter coffee. Not just butter coffee. Butter + coconut oil coffee. Sounds horribly unhealthy, doesn’t it? It sounds like a Paula Dean pipe-dream, or a Gitmo enhanced interrogation technique.

Apparently it’s the opposite: Proponents say it allows for a more even spread of energy throughout the day (eliminating caffeine crashes), and eliminates mid-day hunger. See the experiment from Sally Tamarkin at Buzzfeed here.

I’m not one for lifehacks, but I do never find caffeine to last long enough, so I might just try this one….

My favorite excerpt of Sally’s buzzfeed post below:

OK, but is this real? Or am I just super susceptible to placebos?

Is it all in my head that I am in fact functioning at a Bradley-Cooper-in-Limitless level?

I decided to run the apparent benefits by some experienced experts to see which ones (if any) were supported by science or their own clinical experience. Here’s what they said about each of my takeaways:

• Lasting, level, jitter-free energy:

According to Matheny, “The caffeine is released more slowly because fat slows down digestion,” says Matheny. So fatty coffee means a “slower release [of caffeine], less intense energy spike, and longer-duration energy.”

• Satiety and a suppressed appetite:

“Taking in a fatty meal in the morning is definitely going to make you fuller quicker,” says Dr. Lisa Ganjhu, D.O., associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. And because the fat slows down gastric motility (aka filling and, ahem, emptying of the digestive system), you feel fuller for longer.

That said, Brian St. Pierre, registered dietitian and director of performance nutrition at Precision Nutrition, points out that butter coffee’s effect on satiety has yet to be proven: Only 1 in 14 studies on medium-chain triglycerides (aka MCT oil) found that it had a positive effect on satiety.

• Alertness/mental boost:

St. Pierre and Ganjhu explained that the way MCT oil is processed by the body could make you feel an energy boost more quickly. Basically, it bypasses the normal multi-step digestion process and is transported directly to the liver, where it is converted into energy. So our body’s response to MCT oil is closer (in how we feel its effects) to medication and alcohol than to other foods, says St. Pierre. Perhaps for some people (like me), the combination of quick-hitting caffeine and long-lasting energy translates to enhanced alertness and performance.

• I didn’t track this, but I know people are interested: enhanced calorie-burning and weight loss:

If butter coffee is enhancing your satiety to the point that you’re eating fewer calories overall, well, then you will lose weight.

But as far as MCT oil directly impacting weight loss, the effect may be minimal, says St. Pierre. He cited a 2012 review of the MCT oil literature which found six studies that showed weight loss in participants. However, the review concluded that further controlled studies with standardized amounts of MCT were needed before any legit claims could be made about its impact on weight loss.