Who’d ever thought that a thousand-year-old food would have so many benefits? Enter ghee, a popular staple food of India and Southeast Asian. It’s the “other butter” known for both its culinary in medicinal use. Not too long ago, you’d have to go to an ethnic market or the internet to buy it. Now? These days, most stores sell it, although you can also find it in your local health food market. If you ever wanted to learn more about ghee, then let this be your guide! And for those of you who can’t tolerate dairy, you may want to stick around, because I’ve got (good) news for you! Let’s not wait anymore- let’s dive into the world of ghee!

But First, the 101

How about we get to know ghee first? The word itself comes from ancient Sanskrit, roughly translating into “clarified butter.” While traditional ghee is made from cow milk, other varieties include buffalo, camel, goat, or sheep. The process of making ghee is very similar to making butter with just an extra step. Instead of leaving the butter as is, you heat it until the water and milk solids rise to the surface. Once that happens, you strain them off until all that’s left is pure butterfat. In most cases, this is all that’s done. Other times, special herbs and spices can be added either for flavor or medicinal use (as medicated ghee). For instance, in Ayurveda (the ancient “sister science” of yoga), ghee is used as a “vehicle” (anupan) to drive healing herbs like shatavari and brahmi “deeper” into the body. In other words, it’s meant to increase absorption.

[1][2]

Nutrition

Nutrient-wise, ghee isn’t just a high-fat type of butter. Surprisingly enough, it contains several fat-soluble vitamins, including Vitamin A, D, E, and K. As far as its fat content goes, it contains saturated fat, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and butyric acid. [3]

CLA is a popular type of supplement in the fitness industry, known for reducing body fat and encouraging weight loss. However, when it comes to supplements, the results are often lukewarm at best, with the best outcomes being seen in animals, not humans. Not to mention the fact that supplemental CLA is made from sunflower seed oil, which can is highly processed and inflammatory. Either way, sunflower seed oil is still a type of refined oil, while ghee is a whole food. Most of the headlines today that warns against CLA are often based on processed sources of CLA, and not the kind found naturally in beef and grass-fed dairy. Going back to CLA, it’s known to be anti-carcinogenic and protective against diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and atherosclerosis. [4

Butyric acid is a type of short-chain fatty acid that is incredibly healing for the gut. It lowers inflammation, nourishes intestinal cells, and improves symptoms of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), constipation, blood sugar, and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). [5] [6] [7]

Finally, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: saturated fat. Yes, everyone processes saturated fat differently. Not everyone should be increasing their saturated fat intake, but not everyone should be avoiding it like the plague, either. Another concern about ghee is that it contains oxidized cholesterol, which is dangerous to heart health. However, what many people miss from the research is that it’s based on poor quality ghee. It’s been reheated over and over again for several days and gets improperly stored. That’s like saying olive oil is terrible while forgetting to mention that the entire bottle was boiled many times and left outside on the front porch in the middle of summer. Of course, it’s going to be unsafe! When using the exact serving size (and not the whole container) and stored correctly, ghee is perfectly fine for most people. [8]

Here’s the good news I mentioned for those of you who can’t handle dairy. Ghee is extremely low in dairy byproducts like casein (protein) and lactose (sugar). While butter contains traces of these two, ghee is almost, if not entirely, free of them. If you happen to have a sensitivity to dairy, ghee might be a better option. [9]

Benefits

Now, onto the benefits!

• Heart Health (In humans, ghee increases ApoA, a type of protein found in “good” HDL cholesterol particles that’s associated with a lowered risk of heart disease. In animals, it increased antioxidants like glutathione, which also prevent heart disease.) [10] [11]
• Safe for cooking (Ever heard of the smoke point? This is a measurement for how hot you can cook an oil or butter before it oxidizes and becomes inflammatory. Ghee is a highly stable cooking fat with a smoke point of 482 degrees F. Feel free to use it in stir-fries, sautés, and baking.) [12] 
• Moisturizes dry skin and hair (In India, women often use ghee to moisturize dry skin and hair.) [13]

Source Matters!

When buying ghee, the source matters. Keep in mind that there’s ghee made from vegetable oil (vegetable or Vanaspati ghee) that’s highly inflammatory. It contains up to 14-40% trans-fats, an unstable, dangerous type of fat that may contribute to heart disease. Read the labels and make sure that you’re getting a 100% animal-based product! If possible, look for organic and grass-fed ghee; the better the diet of the animal, the more nutrients it contains. [14] [15]

Over to You

There you have it, everyone! All about the benefits of ghee. Have you ever cooked with it? I’d especially like to know if anyone with dairy allergies is OK with. Let me know in the comments what you think!

Sources:

[1] Carl Darling Buck, A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages, 1949, reprinted 1992 ISBN 0226079376, p. 399, §5.89 ‘Butter’
[2] https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/blog-the-banyan-insight/details/ghee-the-golden-nectar-of-ayurveda/
[3] https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/2/2
[4] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/conjugated-linoleic-acid#bottom-line
[5] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/short-chain-fatty-acids-101#section7
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4027835/
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3070119/
[8] https://www.nutritionadvance.com/ghee-vs-butter/
[9] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ghee#section3
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24575140
[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23923985
[12] http://chartsbin.com/view/1962
[13] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/how-to-use-desi-ghee-for-healthy-skin-and-hair/articleshow/70689059.cms
[14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22131700
[15] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24639860