What is Ghee?

Ghee is actually just a version of clarified butter. It’s been a staple in Indian cuisine for many, many years. Ghee actually was originally created to have a stable shelf life and not spoil in warm weather.

Have you ever noticed if you melt butter, it separates into a clear yellow liquid and then some whitish solids that sink to the bottom? The whitish solids are milk solids. Ghee is actually the clear yellow liquid with all the milk solids and a small amount of water removed.

Ghee is also used in ancient Ayurveda medicine as a yogavahi—a catalytic agent that carries medicinal properties of herbs into the seven areas or tissues of the body.

Once the milk solids and water are removed from the butter, the ghee does not require refrigeration, and can be kept at room temperature for weeks without spoiling. Like coconut oil, another healthy saturated fat, it becomes solid when temperatures are cool.

How is Ghee made?

Butter is heated to separate the liquid and solids. Then the butter is cooked a bit longer to evaporate off the water, while the milk solids settle to the bottom and turn brown. Next, the remaining oil is allowed to cool and is strained to just retain the golden liquid oil.

How does Ghee compare to butter?

Obviously, ghee contains much of the same nutrients as butter, but which is better? Because the water is cooked off, ghee contains slightly more fat grams and a few more calories.

The biggest difference between butter and ghee is that the dairy protein, casein, as well as the lactose are removed from ghee. If you have any dairy allergies, the casein is most likely the offending agent. Many people are also lactose intolerant, making ghee a great choice instead of butter. People can get the health benefits of butter without reacting to the presence of milk.

Both butter and ghee contain the healthy fat called butyric acid, an anti-inflammatory fatty acid that helps keep your gut lining healthy. Both butter and ghee contain conjugated linoleic acid, (CLA), a healthy polyunsaturated fat that helps increase fat loss and lowers inflammation.

Butyric acid is an incredible anti-inflammatory agent that improves the beneficial bacteria in the gut, suppresses the growth of harmful bacteria, and prevents electrolyte loss during periods of diarrhea. Butyric acid is a valuable treatment for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease–and even helps prevent colorectal cancer.

Butyric acid is also effective in fighting obesity and insulin resistance, and may help to promote the release of hormones that suppress appetite.

There seems to be some conflicting information out there on whether or not ghee contains more or less butyrate, but the consensus is that butter may edge ahead with its butyric acid over ghee. But, no worries, if you want to increase your butyrate consumption, simply include more resistant starch in your diet or use both butter and ghee in your diet.

Butter and ghee contain small amounts of important fat-soluble nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, K, and beta-carotene. Grass fed butter and ghee contain the highest amounts of these awesome nutrients.

Butter vs Ghee for Cooking

While saturated fats like butter make great oils for cooking, the lactose and milk solids in butter can often burn and smoke easily. Ghee, however, can handle higher cooking temperatures without burning or becoming damaged.

Ghee has a higher smoke point and is a very stable cooking fat. The smoke point is the temperature at which fats become volatile and begin to smoke. Ghee’s smoke point is 485°F (250°C), which is quite a bit higher than butter’s smoke point of 350°F (175°C), due to ghee’s lack of milk solids and lactose. So, when cooking at very high temperatures, ghee has a distinct advantage over butter. Heating ghee also produces much less of the toxic compound acrylamide that any vegetable oils.

What about Flavor?

Ghee has a delicious nutty flavor and holds up well to strong flavors, like turmeric , cayenne, and curry spices, making it great component of spicy Indian and Thai cooking. Ghee also helps to bring out the fat-soluble flavors, antioxidants, and other nutrients that spices contain, when cooking. It’s perfect for curries, sauces, and slow-cooked or simmered dishes. Butter, on the other hand offers a sweeter, smoother flavor due to its dairy content and is great added to vegetables, or other dishes after cooking.

Which is Healthier?

Both are healthy, but there are a few points to consider. Both butter and ghee contain high amounts of saturated fat, which—for the most part—we have determined is GOOD for you. However, for some people, LDL cholesterol levels tend to increase more in response to eating a higher saturated fat intake, although higher LDL levels tend to result from diets that are high in carbohydrates and sugars. If cholesterol is a big concern, limit sugars and starches, and hold the ghee or butter intake to 1-2 tablespoons a day.

One other concern is that because ghee is heated in its processing, the cholesterol it contains may oxidize. Oxidized cholesterol has been linked to some increased risk of heart disease. Ghee contains some oxidized cholesterol, but butter does not.

Bottom Line—Which is Better, Butter or Ghee?

• Ghee contains many of the nutrients that butter does and is considered a ‘natural’ healthy fat.
• Ghee does not contain any dairy solids or lactose, that may make some dairy-sensitive people react.
• Ghee is better for cooking since it has a higher smoke point and can be used at higher temperatures.
• Ghee may not have as much butyric acid in it as butter.
• Ghee may contain some oxidized cholesterol due to the heating process it undergoes.

Both Ghee and Butter are great healthy fats and deserve a place on your table and in your recipes. Keep ghee around as a healthy cooking fat and keep the butter as a flavorful addition to recipes. Enjoy both in good health!

How to make your own ghee:

Add 1 lb of grass fed butter to a medium-sized pan. Melt the butter over medium heat but don’t burn it. Turn the heat down until the butter is just boiling and cook at this heat—DO NOT cover the pan, as you want the water to evaporate off. The butter will foam and sputter a bit as it cooks. You will begin to see whitish curds forming on the bottom of the pan. This is the milk solids sinking to the bottom. The butter will start to smell a bit like popcorn and turn a lovely golden color. Keep an eye on it so it does not burn.

Once you see it turn to a clear golden color, it’s done. When the butter is clear and has stopped sputtering, it’s time to remove it from the heat. That means the water has been cooked off. Let it cool until just warm, but still liquid. Pour melted butter through a sieve or cheesecloth into a clean, dry container with a lid. Discard the curds at the bottom of the pan.

Ghee can be kept on the kitchen shelf and does not need refrigeration. Always be sure to use a dry spoon or utensil to ladle it out, because any water introduced into the ghee may cause it to spoil. Happy Cooking!

References
https://www.bulletproof.com/diet/healthy-eating/ghee-vs-butter-which-is-best/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ghee?slot_pos=article_1&utm_source=Sailthru%20Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=authoritynutrition&utm_content=2019-10-21&apid=
https://www.foundationalmedicinereview.com/blog/exploring-potential-health-benefits-butyric-acid/
https://www.ayurveda.com/recipes/ghee

The post Butter vs Ghee appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling 
Co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Garlic—it’s been around forever,  and quite frankly, kind of taken for granted. We know it’s good for us, but it has a bad reputation for giving everyone stinky breath, so many avoid it. Whether you love garlic or avoid it like the plague, it is the heart of many cuisines all over the world, and many dishes would actually taste quite strange without it. But, besides its unique taste, garlic has amazing medicinal qualities that support your health—and your lovelife!

Garlic’s pungent odor and sharp taste comes from the sulfur-containing compounds, primarily a substance called allicin. Allicin is known for its antibacterial, antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties and is a  powerful component of garlic! Allicin has to be ‘activated’ in garlic in order to have the strongest effect. In fact, allicin is produced only when the garlic clove is crushed or chopped—a long-standing defense mechanism of the plant. Once you crush or mince the garlic, it has to sit for a minute, as the enzymes activate the powerful phytochemicals in the garlic and produce the allicin.

Let’s take a look at some of the amazing ways that garlic can improve your health:

1. Garlic is a Natural Antibiotic

Antibiotic resistance is becoming a serious worldwide concern, as the overuse of antibiotics in large scale meat production has created a whole new group of antibiotic-resistant super bacteria. This makes even minor bacterial infections in humans a serious health issue, if there are no medical antibiotics that can kill the bacteria. Garlic has been shown in scientific studies to kill a variety of common and dangerous bacteria including: campylobacter jejuni (responsible for food poisoning, pseudomonas aeruginoasa (pneumonia, and urinary infections), E.coli (food poisoning) staphylococcus aureus, klebsiella pneumonia (pneumonia, meningitis), shigella sonnei (diarrhea, dysentery), salmonella typhi (typhoid fever), as well as helicobacter pylori responsible for stomach ulcers and cancer.

One scientist wrote, “Crude garlic extract…was superior to that of all conventional antibiotics used, except streptomycin… garlic may also possess immune-stimulatory effects in addition to its antibacterial effect.”

Vancomycin is currently one of the powerful last-resort antibiotic medications that has dozens of serious side effects. However, even vancomycin now cannot kill some resistant strains of enterococcal bacteria (VRE). Garlic has been shown to have inhibitory effects on this superbug as well as anthrax, a killer bacterium.

While there are still some remaining conventional antibiotics that work on superbugs, they kill all beneficial bacteria as well as the harmful bacteria. As we now know, beneficial bacteria are extremely important to our physical, emotional and mental health, and killing them with powerful antibiotics actually weakens our immune systems. Fortunately, garlic knows the difference between good bacteria and bad bacteria, and–better yet, garlic contains prebiotic oligosaccharides, which are non-digestible carbohydrates that feed our healthy bacteria.

2. Kills Candida Safely

Candida albicans is a fungus that can live in the digestive tract. Usually our beneficial bacteria can keep it under control, but candida is an opportunistic fungal infection that thrives off of glucose and starchy foods. If our diet is off, or our immune system compromised by allergies or other illnesses, it can grow out of control. For many women, this can be a problem, as candida can become an uncomfortable vaginal infection as well. For many people, candida can be chronic and cause brain fog, allergies, digestive issues, bloating, weight gain and more. Prescription anti-fungals are available, but they are harsh to our systems and hard on the liver. Garlic can’t be beat! Research shows Allicin is as good as, or more effective than common pharmaceuticals to suppress growth and kill off excess candida.

3. Stabilizes Blood Sugar

Obesity and diabetes have become an overwhelming epidemic worldwide. Refined sugars in most all of our food supply, coupled with sugary soft drinks and fruit drinks have created havoc in our bodies with chronically high blood sugar, weight gain, heart disease, infections, kidney and eye disease and more. Raw garlic has actually been shown to modulate blood sugar, reduce the damage it has on our bodies, and reverse the inflammation and oxidative stress. Garlic improves insulin sensitivity so that blood sugar stays in check better.

4. Prevents Heart Disease and Blood Clots

Many physicians still prescribe dangerous statins to reduce cholesterol, unfortunately, statins have had some pretty awful side effects like increasing your chances of getting type 2 diabetes, liver damage, cancer, neurodegeneration, and weakening your muscles (including your heart). If you can take a natural approach to lowering your LDL cholesterol, you should be way better off. LDL numbers can improve with a combination of lower carb/low sugar diet, exercise and garlic. Garlic can regulate cholesterol, lower blood pressure, lower inflammation levels, and prevent arterial plaque buildup, and help prevent heart disease.

One of the biggest contributing factors to heart disease is blood clots. Blood clots move along arteries until there is a narrow spot, and then get stuck, blocking off blood flow and oxygen—this creates either a heart attack, or stroke.  Certain people, based on a variety of factors, including diet, are more likely to have blood clots, but garlic helps to thin the blood in a healthy way. Aspirin has been recommended by the medical establishment as a preventative measure against blood clots, but has recently been rescinded by the Food and Drug Administration. When it comes to anticoagulants, allicin from garlic tops the list.

Another risk factor in heart attacks and strokes is high blood pressure. Often the drugs used to control blood pressure have many adverse side effects, including impotency, making them undesirable. In the Journal of Pharmaceutical Science, study results showed garlic to work better than atenolol, a popular beta-blocker hypertension medication.

5. Prevents Lung Cancer

Garlic breath may be tough to tolerate, but that is one of the ways it supports your lung tissue. The powerful compounds in garlic are very valuable for lung health. This study showed that eating raw garlic twice a week or more, reduces the risk of lung cancer by a whopping 44% ! Allicin also helps ease congestion and irritation in the lungs and helps fight pneumonia.

6. Supports Healthy Pancreas and Insulin Production

Our pancreas helps to produce insulin, which in turn lowers blood sugar. However, in light of the sugar and carb-heavy diets that most people eat today, the pancreas is working overtime to produce insulin in high enough amounts to counteract glucose levels. Over time, the pancrease can become exhausted and quit functioning properly or producing insulin. This is diabetes. Allicin from garlic actually helps to repair the pancreas and allow it to better produce necessary insulin. It works for type 1 as well as type 2 diabetes.

7. Garlic Attracts Women!

While scientists have observed that many animals are more attracted to males who eat a high nutrient, high antioxidant diet—for example blue footed boobys (a bird in the Galapagos) attract mates by the bright blue of their feet—which comes from the antioxidants in their diet. A similar thing may be true in humans, although we don’t look for blue feet, we look for scents and skin colors.

In a series of experiments published in 2016 in Appetite, 42 men snacked on raw garlic or swallowed garlic capsules, then wore cotton pads under their armpits for 12 hours. The pungent samples were later evaluated by 14 women, who collectively rated the body odor of garlic eaters as more pleasant, attractive and masculine compared with that of men who did not ingest any garlic. Because garlic enhances levels of antioxidants in the body and kills harmful bacteria, it could change the way our sweat smells, signaling healthiness to potential mates, the researchers hypothesize. So, while garlic breath on the first date may not score you points, apparently garlic-enhanced body odor will! Garlic is not the only food that might boost a man’s sex appeal. Previous studies have found that carotenoid-induced golden-colored skin is more attractive to potential partners—at least among Caucasians.

Bottom Line

Many, pharmaceuticals are based on naturally-occurring substances—the laboratory tries to imitate nature, but concentrates and isolates active ingredients so that when synthesized into a medicine, they have side effects—in many cases dangerous side effects.

Rather than popping a synthetic version of a natural product, it makes sense to use the natural substance in its whole form. Your body is better able to use the beneficial ingredients, along with all the other natural substances, and use them to actually heal and promote wellness.

Here are a couple other good articles about garlic and the benefits:

Garlic:  the ultimate detoxifier and lots more (by TheAlternativeDaily)

4 reasons to eat MORE garlic (by Danette May)

And here’s an amazing garlic sauce recipe:

Delicious creamy garlic-avocado sauce (can be served with any noodles or meats)

References

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/eating-these-foods-makes-men-more-attractive-to-women/?WT.mc_id=SA_FB_MB_OSNP

https://dailyhealthpost.com/garlic-benefits/?awt_l=GdZ5Kg&awt_m=3XqN1tqww_t9YeN

The post 7 More Reasons to Love Garlic appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.