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Ghee: Better than Butter
By
Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa
Why cook with plain butter when you can reap the health benefits of
its clarified form?
Your yoga teacher says a little ghee will help loosen up tight
hamstrings, and your Ayurvedic physician recommends ghee for a host
of ailments ranging from poor digestion to memory loss. But what is
this liquid gold and how does it differ from regular butter?
Ayurveda places ghee, or clarified butter, at the top of the oily
foods list, as it has the healing benefits of butter without the
impurities (saturated fat, milk solids). The Susruta Samhita, an
Ayurvedic classic, claims ghee is beneficial for the whole body, and
recommends it as the ultimate remedy for problems stemming from the
pitta dosha, such as inflammation.
Long a favorite of yoga practitioners, ghee lubricates the
connective tissues and promotes flexibility, says Dr. Vasant Lad,
director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Traditionally, the preparation has been used to promote memory,
intelligence, quantity and quality of semen, and to enhance
digestion. Modern science tells us that ghee also harbors phenolic
antioxidants, which bolster the immune system.
Even better than ghee is aged ghee—up to 100 years—which treats
alcoholism, epilepsy, fever, and vaginal pain, according to
Ayurvedic physician Robert Svoboda. Medicated ghee (ghrita in
Sanskrit), meanwhile, combines clarified butter with healing herbs.
Ghee's benefits extend to topical use as well.
Ayurvedic beauty expert Pratima Raichur suggests it as a massage
base to calm sensitive pitta-type skin. The Indian Materia Medica, a
widely respected source book for Ayurvedic remedies, recommends
ghee, sometimes mixed with honey, as an application for wounds,
inflammation, and blisters.
You'll find ghee at the health food store, but it's easy to make.
Place 1 to 2 pounds of butter in a saucepan on low heat. Melt until
white curds separate and sink to the bottom. When a drop of water
flicked into the pan boils immediately, the ghee is done. Discarding
the curds and store in a jar. If kept out of contact with water,
ghee needs no refrigeration. Take 2 teaspoons per day as a
supplement, or simply use ghee in your cooking. Just remember that
ghee is fat, and only a certain amount of total fat is necessary in
the diet. If you use ghee, reduce your total fat intake
proportionately.
Mar/Apr 00
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