Ghee

Ghee, or clarified butter, is a type of butter where the proteins and the water have been removed. Ghee is an ingredient of traditional Indian cuisine and is used in place of butter and oil for cooking and frying because it is characterized by a high smoke point, comparable with that of olive oil, it doesn’t burn and resists at high temperatures. But ghee has also an interesting therapeutic use thanks to the revitalizing and digestive properties, in addition to this is considered to act against aging processes and free radicals. Moreover, ghee, according to Ayurveda, is also able to support the immune system, improves memory and the brain capacity and helps carry the nutrients and the healthful substances of herbs and spices in the body by overcoming the barrier of stomach. In fact, according to the original recipe, golden milk is prepared by adding also a teaspoon of ghee in order to get the maximum benefits from turmeric and to make the nutrients be absorbed. Clarified butter contains mainly fats, but these are fats useful to the body such as medium chain fats that are used immediately by the liver and converted into energy without becoming adipose tissue and without causing weight gain. Among the fats in ghee we can find omega 3 fatty acids, linoleic acid and butyric acid, very useful to counteract inflammations especially that of the intestinal tract, according to scientific studies (Van Immerseel et al, J Med Microbiol, 2010). Moreover, butyric acid is also able to support the immune system (Kurita-Ochiai et al, Infect Immun, 1997). Ghee contains also vitamins A, E and D. Thanks to these properties ghee can be really helpful for sporty people or for those who have very busy and stressing days but also for students. It is a lactose free food and can be eaten by those people who are lactose intolerant. You can buy the ghee in specialized shops or you can prepare it by yourself. Take a stick of butter, no salted, and melt it in a little pot. As soon as foam forms remove it with a spoon. Let the butter simmer for a couple of minutes and keep on removing the forming foam. Let’s strain the liquid with a gauze and pour in cleaned jars, the ghee, that should be limpid and light like honey, can be kept at room temperature. Don’t eat too much ghee because it is constituted mainly by fats and should be inserted in a balanced diet. Finally, ghee is also beneficial if used for external applications. It results indeed a powerful remedy with nourishing and healing properties and can be applied on dry and cracked skin, for example on elbows and heels or on wounds in order to speed up the healing process.