Mmm…butter! While your heart and stomach melt at the mere mention of fragrant, golden butter, doctors think otherwise.
Except for ghee.
Ghee is made by heating butter until milk solids separate, then skimmed off. Ghee is used not only in Ayurveda and Indian cuisine, but also in many industrial kitchens. Why? According to chefs, unlike other types of fats, ghee is great for cooking at high temperatures. Plus, it’s very versatile.
Is ghee useful?
Since technically ghee is not a dairy product, but mostly saturated fat, you can consume it without fear of raising your cholesterol levels. And this is just the beginning.
According to experts, ghee can: Enhance immunity Maintain brain health Help eliminate bacteria Provide healthy doses of vitamins A, D, E, K, Omega 3 and 9 Improve muscle recovery Positively affect cholesterol and blood lipids
Ah yes… weight loss
Much like the adage that you need to spend money to make money, you need to consume fat in order to burn fat.
“Most Westerners have a sluggish digestive system and gallbladder,” says Dr. John Duillard, an Ayurvedic therapist and instructor at the Integrative Nutrition Institute. “It means we’ve lost the ability to effectively burn fat.”
How does this relate to ghee? According to experts, ghee strengthens the gallbladder and helps to lose fat by lubricating the body with oil, which attracts fat and eliminates toxins that make it difficult to break down fat.
Duillard suggests the following way to burn fat with ghee: drink 60 g of liquid ghee in the morning for three days once a quarter as a “lubrication”.
Where is the best place to buy ghee?
Organic ghee can be found at most health food stores, as well as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
Disadvantages of ghee?
Some experts suggest using ghee in small doses as more research is needed on the claims of ghee’s benefits: “I haven’t found any clear evidence that ghee has a positive effect on health,” says Dr. David Katz, founder and director of the Research Center in Prevention at Yale University. “A lot of it is just folklore.”