Sunday Health Hack No. 13 – Put a tablespoon of GHEE in all your soups or even pasta water
Let’s start with – What is Ghee? Ghee is clarified butter, with one (important) difference – unlike in the eg. French technique using high heat, ghee is made by gently simmering cow’s-milk butter until its water content evaporates and its milk solids can be skimmed and strained away, leaving behind only the liquid fat, browning the milk solids and adding a slightly nutty flavour to the finished product.
While ghee takes longer to make than clarified butter, it retains more vitamins and nutrients thanks to its low-heat preparation.
Aside from being one of the highest sources of butyric acid, ghee also contains a full spectrum of short, medium, and long chain fatty acids, essential Omega-3 fatty acids, Omega-9 fatty acids, vitamins A, D, E, and K, many minerals and multiple antioxidants.
Though ghee is not totally dairy-free, it is a good choice for people who are lactose-intolerant because after the simmering and skimming process it contains extremely low levels of lactose and casein (the milk protein).
Ghee is a healthy saturated fat. I know “fat” still has a bad rep for our diets. Fat is a calorie-dense macronutrient, so eating all types of fatty foods was thought to promote weight gain and obesity, or was even associated with heart disease.
But the thinking on fat has shifted. Many forms of dietary fat—foods like olive oil, coconut oil or avocado—are now considered beneficial additions to a healthy diet.
Again, quality matters – and quantity of course. Too much “good” can be “bad”, as everyone knows.
Still, modern science shows that eating fat-rich foods like ghee increases the “bioavailability” and absorption of healthy vitamins and minerals. By cooking or eating vegetables or other healthy foods along with ghee, your body has access to more of their nutrients.
In India’s ancient Ayurvedic medicine the special healing benefits of ghee have been used for thousand of years to purify the body and promote longevity. It is among the gentlest of medicines.
Ghee heals wounds and rashes, draws out toxins from the body, strengthens the effect of herbal medicines, and soothes the young and aging. It is also a beauty product, used to nourish the skin.
Perhaps the most significant of ghee’s medicinal healing benefits, which has been confirmed by Western scientists, is its high concentration of the short-chain fatty acid known as butyric acid.
Butyric acid, or butyrate, is the preferred food for the “good bacteria” which live in your gut. And we already talked many times before in former Sunday Health Hacks about the importance and scientifically established close link between a “healthy gut” and your overall health.
But Butyrate also helps to reduce inflammation in the body, which has been associated to many chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, arthritis, or allergies.
So, the Sunday Health Hack of today is, put a tablespoon of ghee in all your soups, sauces or even in your pasta/rice/quinoa water (while boiling).
And when you then also add some additional turmeric (and black pepper) ghee will, as mentioned above, further enhance all the health benefits of these herbs and spices.
But ghee also performs better than butter or oils in high-heat cooking, eg. pan-frying, since it has a higher smoke point of 250 Celsius (compared to 150 Celsius for ordinary butter).
Ghee can work as a (healthy) butter or oil replacements in most recipes, no matter the origin. Ghee can be swapped for vegetable oil in baked goods or used for sautéing and deep-frying.
Still, ghee is a calorie-dense “fat”. So don’t overuse it, despite its immense health benefits.
Fun Cosmetic Hack – In Ayurveda ghee is also used as a body moisturizer but especially for “face/eye” wrinkles (because of its high butyrate and linoleic acid content reducing the oxidative stress which causes your skin to look dull, lose and lifeless).
So just put a little bit of ghee in the morning, while you drink your first morning coffee, under and even on your “puffy” eyes. Again, it’s the long-term effect which smooths out your skin, not because you do it once.
And don’t worry if then some ghee gets into your eyes, as its good for your retina (and eyesight) too.
Extra Healing Hack – Ghee is also antiseptic, and has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for millennia, applied topically, to heal wounds, cuts, burns, rashes and even eczemas.
Let ghee be with you, Yours Andreas
Sunday Health Hack Quote
A lot of personal challenges can be easily solved just by adding some beneficial habits, more good foods, and many kind people into your life.
Sunday Health Hack Music
Talking about (not existing) “wrinkles”, may an homage for Monica Bellucci please your Sunday –