Ghee benefits: Is it better than butter?
It's tough to imagine Indian cooking without ghee. This golden liquid can instantly transform any food, adding richness and a lovely flavour to anything it touches.
In India, ghee has a lot of cultural significance and is used in many religious rituals, apart from just cooking.
Once thought to be a fattening food responsible for causing coronary artery disease, ghee has been vindicated in recent years. It turns out that ghee is a nutritional powerhouse with a slew of nutrients that benefit the body.
What is ghee?
Ghee is butter that has been heated till no trace of milk solids or water remains. In other words, it is pure fat.
Ghee was invented in ancient India where it was the primary cooking fat. When butter started spoiling in the hot tropical weather, people started heating it to remove all milk and water components from it. By doing so, they could extend the shelf life of the fat.
The Sanskrit name for ghee is goghruta or simply ghruta or ghrita. Ghee was revered in ancient India where it was considered among the purest substances that were worthy of being offered to the gods.
Although it's made from milk, ghee contains little to no traces of lactose; so it's believed to not cause any symptoms in people who are lactose intolerant.
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Ghee nutrition and calories
A 100 gram serving of ghee contains the following nutrients:
Nutrition
| Measure (Daily Value)
|
Calories
| 876
|
Protein
| 0.28gm
|
Fat
| 99.5
|
Calcium
| 4mg
|
Phosphorus
| 3mg
|
Potassium
| 5mg
|
Sodium
| 2mg
|
Zinc
| 0.01mg
|
Copper
| 0.001mg
|
Vitamin B1
| 0.001mg
|
Vitamin B2
| 0.005
|
Vitamin B3
| 0.003
|
Vitamin B6
| 0.001
|
Choline
| 22.3mg
|
Vitamin B12
| 0.01 µg
|
Vitamin E
| 2.8mg
|
Beta carotene
| 193 µg
|
Retinol
| 824 µg
|
Health benefits of ghee
The virtues of ghee have been elaborated in ancient Ayurvedic texts. It was called the healthiest fat with many benefits. Ghee was known to improve digestion and absorption of nutrients and nourish the tissues of the body.
It was also known as brain food, capable of sharpening brain strength and boosting the nervous system. Most commonly, ghee was used in the treatment of respiratory diseases.
Ghee was also prescribed as an ointment for skin diseases and as a vehicle for medicinal preparations.
Ghee is a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins, tocopherols, lanosterol, carotenes and ubiquinones.
Let's look at the health benefits of ghee.
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1. Good for the immune system
Ghee is rich in butyric acid, which plays an important role in modulating the immune system. It aids the production of killer T cells in the gut, boosting the body's defences against pathogens. In the times of the pandemic, ghee is, therefore, a good addition to an immune-boosting diet.
2. Boosts digestion
In the ancient Ayurvedic texts, ghee is a substance that can stoke the digestive fire or agni, which ensures that the food is properly digested and the nutrients are absorbed. Ghee also stimulates the production of gastric juices, which breaks down the food for digestion.
In a healthy body, gut bacteria convert fibre into butyric acid, which has many functions in the body. But sometimes, when the gut microbiota are affected by stomach infection or diarrhoea, the production of butyric acid gets hampered and the body falls prey to infections.
Consuming ghee, which is rich in butyric acid, is one way to supplement the nutrient and to support the good bacteria in the gut.
3. Anti-inflammatory
Consuming ghee can be good for inflammatory conditions such as joint pain, autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies. Butyric acid in ghee acts like an anti-inflammatory agent, soothing inflammation in the body.
4. Good for skin
Ghee is a rich source of beta carotene, which gets converted into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A plays a huge role in skin health, maintaining its youthful appearance. Ghee also contains vitamin E, another skin-loving nutrient that prevents UV damage caused by the sun.
Topical application of ghee can also soothe certain inflammatory skin conditions.
5. Could benefit heart health
The high saturated fatty acid content in ghee has been somewhat of a concern. However, the presence of omega 3 fatty acids could be an encouraging factor.
A 2010 study on rats in the journal Ayu noted that while consumption of 10% ghee increased the triglyceride levels, it did not raise lipid peroxidation, which is linked to heart disease risk.
Other benefits of ghee
- Soothes stomach problems
- Reduces joint pains
- Good source of vitamin A
- Could aid weight loss
- Improves memory
- Is a brain food
- Could be suitable for those with lactose intolerance
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Ghee vs butter
Ghee is made from heating butter to such a great degree that its water and milk content evaporates. It is pure fat as opposed to butter which also comprises milk solids and water.
Butter and ghee have their own merits. However, ghee has an edge over butter for a couple of reasons.
- Ghee has a better shelf life than butter which can spoil easily.
- Ghee has little to no lactose, which makes it suitable for people who are lactose intolerant.
- Ghee has a high smoke point (250°C) which makes it better than butter for deep-frying. Butter can smoke and burn at 177°C.
- Ghee also has medicinal and therapeutic value.
- Ghee has a nuttier, deeper flavour than butter.
Why you should never mix ghee and honey
Ghee and honey are both good for health. They have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial qualities. However, they don't go well together.
Ayurveda forbids the consumption of honey and ghee together, especially in equal proportion. It is written in the Charak Samhita that consuming a combination of honey and ghee can be toxic in the long run.
According to the text, it can cause sterility, herpes, eye diseases, skin conditions, fitsula, leprosy, oedema, fever, foetal problems and even death.
A study published in the Toxicology Reports journal in 2020 found that rats fed on a diet of honey and ghee in equal measure for 61 days suffered from tissue inflammation, oxidative stress, high cholesterol, hair loss, weight loss and red patches on the skin.
References:
1.Borycka-Kiciak, K., Banasiewicz, T., & Rydzewska, G. (2017). Butyric acid - a well-known molecule revisited. Przeglad gastroenterologiczny, 12(2), 83–89. https://doi.org/10.5114/pg.2017.68342
2. Sharma, H., Zhang, X., & Dwivedi, C. (2010). The effect of ghee (clarified butter) on serum lipid levels and microsomal lipid peroxidation. Ayu, 31(2), 134–140. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8520.72361
3.Karandikar, Y. S., Bansude, A. S., & Angadi, E. A. (2016). Comparison between the Effect of Cow Ghee and Butter on Memory and Lipid Profile of Wistar Rats. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research : JCDR, 10(9), FF11–FF15. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/19457.8512
4.Tarasiuk, A., Talar, M., Bulak, K., & Fichna, J. (2021). Ghee Butter from Bovine Colostrum Reduces Inflammation in the Mouse Model of Acute Pancreatitis with Potential Involvement of Free Fatty Acid Receptors. Nutrients, 13(9), 3271. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093271
5.Borycka-Kiciak, K., Banasiewicz, T., & Rydzewska, G. (2017). Butyric acid - a well-known molecule revisited. Przeglad gastroenterologiczny, 12(2), 83–89. https://doi.org/10.5114/pg.2017.68342
6.Aditi, P., Srivastava, S., Pandey, H., & Tripathi, Y. B. (2020). Toxicity profile of honey and ghee, when taken together in equal ratio. Toxicology reports, 7, 624–636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxrep.2020.04.002
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