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Ghee - Food of Gods

Submitted By: Anand Srivastava, a health & nutrition blogger

Ghee is the first and most essential of all foods – The Rig Veda

Ghee can only be described in superlatives. It has a very important place in Indian culture – it is one of the 5 Amrits or essentials when preparing prasad during festivals, it’s used to burn diyas at Hindu festivals and is essential in "Havanas". In fact from being mixed with honey for a newly born infant during the Naming Ritual aka "Namkaran Sanskar" to being used during the "Dah Sanskar" or cremation, it is important from the cradle to the grave.

In Ayurveda, it is considered the best form of fat, above butter.
• No meal is considered balanced without ghee.
• It is said to ignite the fires of digestion, so that the food digests properly.
• It is also said to balance Vata and Pitta Doshas, and must be avoided when Kapha dosha is dominant.
• It is said to be very important for the development of brain, intelligence and memory power.
• It is said to be very good for the skin, eyesight and bones

Contrary to Modern Medicine's expectation due to Saturated Fat and Cholesterol content, Ghee is not associated with increase in LDL Cholesterol. As a personal experience; I have been consuming ghee over a period of time; my HDL has increased and LDL has reduced. This has been observed in studies too.

There are several studies and individual reports from people following modern medicine – including Medical doctors or scientists – who endorse several of ghee’s properties as given by Ayurveda.

Health benefits of Ghee:

Bones, Teeth, Eyesight, and Skin

• Ghee is very important for building healthy bones. The magic ingredient in Ghee that is the reason for strong bones & good skin has now been identified to be Vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 is very important in Calcium metabolism. When there is optimum Vitamin K2, Calcium goes into bones and does not deposit in arteries or any other places.

• It reduces plaques and calcification.

• Vitamin K2 is also associated with a softer skin.

• Ghee also contains some preformed Vitamin A, which will be helpful for the eyesight. Ghee from Pastured cows is richer in Vitamin A. It also contains some beta carotene which gives it a golden yellowish color.

So a single factor - Vitamin K2; provides multiple benefits - better bones, low calcification, better eyesight and a softer skin that resists wrinkling. As a bonus it also prevents heart disease, by reducing calcification of the arteries.

Digestion

• As a fat, Ghee is highest in Short Chain Fatty Acids (about 10%), particularly Butyric Acid. SCFA's are very easy to digest and they lubricate & heal the intestine walls. So this property makes Ghee very easy to digest compared to other fats.

• Ghee is a very good substitute for SCFA from fiber. This is great for people with gut dysbiosis or digestive disorders, as the primary benefit of fibers is to feed the bacteria which produce SCFA in the intestines and colon.

The SCFA, Butyric Acid and the moderate amount of medium chain fats, makes Ghee the ideal food for a good digestion, as has been observed by Ayurveda.

Brain, Memory, and Intelligence

Unfortunately there has not been any research on the effects of Ghee on the brain, memory and intelligence. But one scientist (not a medical researcher) Seth Roberts, who measures everything he does, has found that of all the different foods he tried, butter gives the biggest boost to his mental capacity. One reader actually conducted an experiment with 45 volunteers and compared Coconut oil with Butter. Result was Butter improved memory function while Coconut oil had no effect.

If I am to guess why butter helps brain more than other fats, it would be the fact that Brains and neurons are made up of Saturated fats and cholesterol. Butter has both. The grass fed versions of butter or ghee also have a good amount of DHA, EPA, and Arachidonic Acid, which are also required by neurons. The exact ratios may be the best in Ghee and Butter, compared to other fats.

Ghee and Vegetarians
Vegetarians do not eat animal products except milk, and possibly eggs. For people not eating eggs, the only source of preformed fat soluble vitamins, like Vitamin A and K2, and also preformed DHA, EPA, and Arachidonic Acid is Dairy fat, particularly Ghee. Since India is the only country with very large number of Vegetarian people, there must have been enabling factors. I believe one of the most important enabling factor apart from around the year Sun is Dairy tolerance. Milk also provides Vitamin B12 and Zinc, which are quite a bit lower in Vegetarian foods.

Conclusion

Ghee is an elixir for the body. If you are a vegetarian; then even more so. So for a healthier mind & body, consume ghee at all meals. Do remember, pastured cow's ghee is more nutritious in most respects when compared to normal farmed cows, so try to get pastured grass fed cow’s ghee.

You can find more articles by Anand Srivastava on his blog http://mostlyvegpaleo.blogspot.in

I normally just mix the

Submitted by anand srivastava (not verified) on Fri, 09/28/2012 - 10:38.

I normally just mix the khurchan with jaggery and eat. It tastes great.

Hi! great article... always

Submitted by Aanchal (not verified) on Thu, 09/27/2012 - 04:51.

Hi! great article... always felt guilty about wanting to eat ghee.. now will do so happily! BTW, here are some recipes to use the milk solids or khurchan left after making ghee at home...

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of khurchan with 1 clove of minced garlic. Heat on low till the garlic sizzles. Add a pinch of salt. Spread this on toasted pita or bread slices for a rich tasting, yummy snack

2. Heat 2 tablespoons khurchan along with 6 roughly crushed peppercorns. When the peppercorns are fragrant, add 2 cups cooked rice and some salt. Mix well. We call this vennai chatti sadam (butter pot rice) – a recipe specifically created to use up the by product of ghee making.

3. Add sugar and wheat flour to milk solids. Gently cook. Then form the mixture into balls or laddus.