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Q.
I have been told that ghee is an inert fat; is it therefore safe to
use in cooking?
A.
No. Ghee is a form of butter and is the chief form of cooking fat
used in India. In the West, ghee is variously known as ‘clarified
butter’, ‘butter oil’, ‘butterfat’ or ‘milk oil’.
Making
Ghee
In addition to fat, ordinary butter contains about 20% water plus some
protein and minerals. Ghee is made by gently heating butter so that the
fat separates out from the water (and other ingredients). The fat (ghee)
rises to the surface and is skimmed off.
Indian
Paradox
In other words, ghee is a concentrated form of butter -- and is
therefore even more dangerous. The common use of ghee in India has led
to what Indian researcher Dr. Ram Singh[i]
calls the ‘Indian Paradox’ -- skinny, underfed, people who
nevertheless get artery and heart disease.
Fulani
The nomadic Fulani cattle herders of West Africa are also great
consumers of butterfat (ghee). The American researcher, Richard Glew,
observed similar artery hardening in these tribesmen. In addition, they
suffer deficiencies of essential fatty acids[ii]
(in which ghee is deficient).
Artery
Disease
Ghee is heavily loaded with the artery-clogging and artery rotting
saturated fats, myristic and palmitic acid. It strongly raises ‘bad’
cholesterol levels.
Fat
Composition
Ghee’s fat composition compared to butter (in brackets) is: saturated
fat 62% (50%), palmitic acid 27% (22%), and myristic acid 10% (8%). Ghee
on all these counts is significantly worse than even that arch-demon,
butter.
Oxidation
Your misconception probably arose because these bad, saturated, fats do
not oxidize easily -- and oxidized fats are, of course, also to be
avoided.
Sources
of Ghee
Most people have never heard of ghee and think that they are safe.
However its alias, ‘butterfat’, is present in a great many processed
foods, notably ice cream. Read the labels!
Our
View
The real message is that all fat consumption should be kept to a
minimum, avoid oxidizing it (by heating) and focus on the omega‑3
rich types. If you have to cook, use olive oil which resists heat well.
[i]
Singh et al; J. Am. Coll. Nutr.; vol 17; no 4; 1998.
[ii]
Glew et al; J. Food Comp.
Anal.; 12; 1999; p 235.
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