Ghee

[Kaisersozeh]

I searched the forum for posts on this so apologies if I missed something...

Long time user of coconut oil. For awhile, extra virgin and lately refined...

Curious if ghee is acceptable and if so, preferable to butter? Thanks.

 

[tobieagle]

Ghee is just the purified butterfat.
It is only preferable to butter if you want to heat something in it at high temperatures or for a long time.
But then, coconut oil is even better for that purpose, just that it lacks the butterflavor and the fatsoluable vitamins.

 

[tara]

urious if ghee is acceptable and if so, preferable to butter?

Ghee keeps better if you don't have access to refridgeration.
If you have significant allergy or intolerance to milk proteins, ghee might be preferable to full butter.
I think milk fat is slightly higher in PUFAs than coconut oil, but not far off.
Milk fat has a different mix of fatty acids than coconut oil. Some people may find the higher ratio of short and medium chain FAs in coconut oil particularly beneficial.

But in general, if butter agrees with you and you like it, I see no reason not to eat a little.
I usually have a little of both most days, depending on taste and what I'm having it with.

 

[Philomath]

I searched the forum for posts on this so apologies if I missed something...

Long time user of coconut oil. For awhile, extra virgin and lately refined...

Curious if ghee is acceptable and if so, preferable to butter? Thanks.

I don't understand why ghee isn't used more, or even in place of coconut oil. They're both mostly saturated fats, and as Tara mentioned, similar in their levels of monounsaturated fats.
They're proven to be metabolically beneficial and used extensively in traditional Aryuvedic medicine.
However, Science is beginning to catch on:
The anhydrous milk fat, ghee, lowers serum prostaglandins and secretion of leukotrienes by rat peritoneal macrophages.
Vijaya Kumar M, et al. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 1999.
The anhydrous milk fat, ghee, lowers serum prostaglandins and secretion of leukotrienes by rat peritoneal macrophages. - PubMed - NCBI
Fyi:

 

[tara]

I don't understand why ghee isn't used more, or even in place of coconut oil. They're both mostly saturated fats, and as Tara mentioned, similar in their levels of monounsaturated fats.

Nice chart.
It looks as though milk fat has quite a bit more monounsaturated fat than coconut oil (or cocoa butter or palm kernel oil). I guess that might be a good reason to eat smaller rather than larger amounts.

 

[Philomath]

I was looking at the omega-6, which is similar but you're right, Ghee is higher in mono-unsaturated. Thanks for the catch.

 

[Ras]

I don't understand why ghee isn't used more, or even in place of coconut oil. They're both mostly saturated fats, and as Tara mentioned, similar in their levels of monounsaturated fats.
They're proven to be metabolically beneficial and used extensively in traditional Aryuvedic medicine.
However, Science is beginning to catch on:
The anhydrous milk fat, ghee, lowers serum prostaglandins and secretion of leukotrienes by rat peritoneal macrophages.
Vijaya Kumar M, et al. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 1999.
The anhydrous milk fat, ghee, lowers serum prostaglandins and secretion of leukotrienes by rat peritoneal macrophages. - PubMed - NCBI
Fyi:
View attachment 2343

FTFY

 

[ecstatichamster]

Palmitic acid is higher in coconut oil. Milk fat seems more fattening than coconut. Perhaps for this reason?

 

[chrismeyers]

Ghee is the best. And its the best because its butter with all of the last protein and carbs removed. Its a pure animal fat and easy to digest. There is a reason why ghee is so revered in India and equated with spirituality. Even they knew that the best fats arent PUFA fats, they are milk based. And by the way, I wouldnt give any credence to your chart other than as a general guide. All milk based products like butter and ghee and heavily influenced by what the cows eat. 100% grass fed butter has a completely different profile than butter from cows eating soybeans and grains

 

[Xisca]

Long time user of coconut oil. For awhile, extra virgin and lately refined...

I am not so sure he said refined is best.... but desodorised yes! He talks about alergic posible reaction, and I agree that the "smelly one" is too strong for my taste, as I feel nearly nauseous with it.

I guess that there are naughty ingredients in any refined oil....

I make my own ghee, because any comercial ghee has additives...
The taste is stronger, and I agree totally with what Tara said.

 

[tara]

I guess that there are naughty ingredients in any refined oil....

AFAIK, the refining of CO is all about filtering it to remove anything but the oil itself - shouldn't be anything extra added.
I think deodorised is the same as refined in this case - you can't deodorise it without refining.

 

[schultz]

Ghee is the best. And its the best because its butter with all of the last protein and carbs removed. Its a pure animal fat and easy to digest. There is a reason why ghee is so revered in India and equated with spirituality. Even they knew that the best fats arent PUFA fats, they are milk based. And by the way, I wouldnt give any credence to your chart other than as a general guide. All milk based products like butter and ghee and heavily influenced by what the cows eat. 100% grass fed butter has a completely different profile than butter from cows eating soybeans and grains

I've seen the PUFA range from 2% to 6% in cows milk from the papers I've read (though 1% of that is probably CLA). The PUFA won't change too much, but the MUFA and SFA can fluctuate together up and down by 10-15%. I think the regular milk from the store may be pretty low in PUFA still considering soybean meal is very low in fat as is corn. High fat feeds don't store well.

The lard on that chart is probably not accurate either. More like 20-30% PUFA. So a slice of fried bacon on cronometer is probably not the listed 0.7g, but more like 1g-1.2g

 

[RealNeat]

The only concern Ive had about ghee is the oxidized cholesterol from long cooking times in production. Any input on that?

 

[Borz]

Ghee is the best. And its the best because its butter with all of the last protein and carbs removed. Its a pure animal fat and easy to digest. There is a reason why ghee is so revered in India and equated with spirituality. Even they knew that the best fats arent PUFA fats, they are milk based. And by the way, I wouldnt give any credence to your chart other than as a general guide. All milk based products like butter and ghee and heavily influenced by what the cows eat. 100% grass fed butter has a completely different profile than butter from cows eating soybeans and grains

what about the oxidized cholesterol issue?