This one is for all the Indian families and for all the newfound ghee fans out there.
Ghee, or clarified butter, is the result of slowly cooking off the liquid from butter, leaving nearly pure fat. Routinely fed to babies and used in traditional South Asian cooking, ghee is a central component of diets on the Indian subcontinent.
Proponents of ghee argue that ghee may reduce blood sugar when mixed with a high carb meal (many fats will do this) and that some of its component fats, including conjugated linoleic acids and short chain fatty acids, have been proven beneficial in other foods. In Ayurvedic medicine, ghee is espoused to support general health, gastrointestinal, immune, and cognitive functions.
I am not here to dispel the above arguments or piece apart studies in favor of ghee (but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there are very limited human studies on ghee and those I did find were small and studied limited populations), but I will tell you why I do not recommend feeding ghee to babies and why I recommend against it in general:
South Asians are losing the cardiovascular lottery. Indian people and others of South Asian descent have many genetic factors playing against them: smaller coronary arteries, higher risk of metabolic diseases, and higher rates of cardiovascular disease when living in Western countries. While overlooked in the United States (none of my doctors have ever told me that being Indian puts me at a higher cardiovascular risk– I tell them!), the UK actually stratifies South Asians in a higher risk category.
There are fats we know are good for heart health. Fatty acids are essential and, yes, ghee does provide some. For those who come to me for advice, I prefer healthy fats that have some science holding them up: nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocados. For infants eating solid foods, start them on these healthy fats early. Use first cold pressed olive oil instead of ghee.
Ghee is a processed food. Ghee is no longer simmered on low heat until all the water slowly boils off. Twenty percent of India’s dairy is made into ghee. This is not happening in small batches. It is made in large factories. The processing, done at ultra-high temperatures to improve shelf life, does not impact the fatty acids but can result in oxidation of cholesterol molecules. Oxidized cholesterol is pro-atherogenic (bad for arteries).
Bottom Line
Once in a while, ghee is fine, but I do not recommend it as a daily routine for adults or kids. If you are looking for healthy fats, choose low-processed, known anti-inflammatory options like olive oil, nuts, and avocados, especially if you are of South Asian descent.
Thank you for reading my human-generated articles! If you found this helpful or educational, please share, follow on your preferred platform, or subscribe below. For coaching or consultations, please contact me at www.DrAngel.com.
References:
Kataria, Deepshikha, and Gurmeet Singh. “Health benefits of ghee: Review of Ayurveda and modern science perspectives.” Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine vol. 15,1 (2024): 100819. doi:10.1016/j.jaim.2023.100819
Hosseini, Mohsen, and Sedigheh Asgary. “Effects of dietary supplementation with ghee, hydrogenated oil, or olive oil on lipid profile and fatty streak formation in rabbits.” ARYA atherosclerosis vol. 8,3 (2012): 119-24.
Mohammadi Hosseinabadi, Susan, and Javad Nasrollahzadeh. “Effects of diets rich in ghee or olive oil on cardiometabolic risk factors in healthy adults: a two-period, crossover, randomised trial.” The British journal of nutrition vol. 128,9 (2022): 1720-1729. doi:10.1017/S0007114521004645
Goyal, Shiwali, and Dharambir K Sanghera. “Genetic and Non-genetic Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease in South Asians.” Current diabetes reviews vol. 17,9 (2021): e011721190373. doi:10.2174/1573399817666210118103022
Jacobson, M S. “Cholesterol oxides in Indian ghee: possible cause of unexplained high risk of atherosclerosis in Indian immigrant populations.” Lancet (London, England) vol. 2,8560 (1987): 656-8. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(87)92443-3
Ubhayasekera, Sarojini J K A et al. “Lipids and lipid oxidation with emphasis on cholesterol oxides in some Indian sweets available in London.” International journal of food sciences and nutrition vol. 57,7-8 (2006): 451-8. doi:10.1080/09637480600888834
