Since in the last few years there has been a lot of interest around clarified butter or ghee health benefits, many ask themselves is ghee good for health and why should I use clarified butter? Since butter has been banned from the healthy foods list, people have a lot of confusion on the clarified butter nutritional facts. Is ghee healthier than butter? Is cooking with clarified butter healthy? And what is the advantage of ghee vs. butter, since ghee is also a butter derivative. In order to solve the mystery, in this OneHowTo.com article, we will talk about clarified butter nutritional fact, ghee vs. butter, clarified butter or ghee health benefits, how to use it and store it, and ghee disadvantages, i.e. problems with eating too much clarified butter or ghee. Continue reading to find out if ghee is good for health and why use clarified butter.
Butter vs ghee
In order to find out if clarified butter is healthy for you, we need to first distinguish it from butter. What is ghee definition? Clarified butter and ghee are the same thing. It is the result of milk solids and water being skimmed out of butter, leaving only the butter fat. Therefore, clarified butter or ghee is fatter than butter, if taken in equal quantity. This is certainly one of the ghee disadvantages.
How to make clarified butter? just heat up butter on very low heath and leave it to gently cook for 30 minutes. When it does not bubble anymore, stain it. Here you go!
Clarified butter health benefits
Clarified butter or ghee health benefits include:
- clarified butter smoke point is higher than butter, so it can be heated to 400 degrees F, making it healthier than butter for cooking
- ghee health benefits Ayurveda: it is believed to help with digestion, ageing, and memory
Clarified butter nutritional information:
- it doesn't contain casein, so it is apt for people with milk intolerance or anyone with digestive difficulties
- it contains a lot of vitamin A
- it can also be used to moisturise skin and hair, as it has for hundreds of years in India. Ghee benefits for skin and hair are multiple
How to use and store clarified butter or ghee to get the ghee health benefits
The answer to the question: is ghee good for health also depends on how you use it and store it. In order to preserve clarified butter or ghee health benefits, you need to not overheat it. It means that, if clarified butter has a smoke point of 400 degrees, it would be important not to make it heat over 320 degrees. Timing is also important in the preservation of clarified butter or ghee health benefits: the less time you heat it the better. If you fry onions, the timing is relatively short, as long as you add water after 5 minutes or so and make the temperature go down (as in most curries and dal dishes).
As for storing, that is one of the reasons why clarified butter is healthy for you: it preserves very well. Just keep it away from direct light, no need to refrigerate it.
The main ghee health benefits are:
- thanks to its vitamin K2 content, it could help you give birth to babies who develop healthier teeth later in their lives
- ghee might reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, as it has been observed among the Indian population
- It tastes much better than normal butter, if you need a more intense flavour, and is especially good in Indian dishes.
Ghee vs butter and clarified butter vs olive oil
The advantage of ghee over butter lies in the smoke point and the lack of casein. One of clarified butter health benefit is that it does not burn easily. Moreover, the lack of casein makes it more digestible.
Another healthy fat is olive oil.
The main benefit of olive oil vs ghee is that olive oil contains less saturated fats and cholesterol, which are bad for the heart and for weight gain. Olive oil contains mainly mono-saturated fats, which are very stable for cooking.
Also, olive oil has a burnt point of 410 degrees F, and because it contains lots of antioxidants, it only becomes toxic after a long frying time. Olive oil is also great for your skin.
Now, the downside of olive oil is that, in order to preserve the qualities we mentioned, it needs to be correctly stored. In the dark, no humidity, no excessive heath, and for less than a year.
You might be interested in what is the best fat for deep frying and healthy alternatives to deep frying.
Ghee disadvantages: problems with eating too much clarified butter or ghee
We listed clarified butter or ghee health benefits and we answered the question why use clarified butter. However, in order to understand if ghee is good for health we need to also look at its disadvantages. The main problem is that clarified butter or ghee is high in saturated fats and cholesterol, meaning it shouldn't be consumed in large quantities. Clarified butter nutritional information reveal that it contains more total fats than butter, it is therefore very caloric.
So, is ghee good for health? Ghee health benefits are multiple but again, just be conscious and don't consume large quantities of it.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
If you want to read similar articles to Is Ghee Good for Health and Why Use Clarified Butter, we recommend you visit our Healthy living category.