I am obsessed with ghee! This very neglected substance is actually liquid gold.
Ghee is clarified butter that’s been cooked slowly until the liquids have dissipated, and the milk solids (which are what make butter burn) have settled in the bottom of the pan. When these are removed, it constitutes the basic difference between ghee and butter — the preparation process for superior purity. You can keep ghee on your counter for weeks and it will be fine. In cooler weather, it solidifies much like coconut oil. Just like butter, you can spread ghee on bread, crackers or toast, but you can also sauté broccoli with it with far less chance of it burning.
Ketones, Carbon Chains and Why They’re Important
Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), such as those contained in ghee, are named for their chemical structure: fats containing chains of carbon molecules connected to hydrogen atoms. Generally, the shorter the carbon chain, the quicker MCTs turn into ketones, which are a healthy fuel source for your body.
When you keep net carbs (total carbohydrates minus fiber) low, your body switches to burning fat for fuel and your liver begins to convert some of that fat into energy molecules called ketone bodies. In short, ketones kick off a metabolic process called ketosis, in which you burn fat, not carbs, as your primary fuel.
Ketones made by your body are called endogenous. But you can also supply your body with exogenous ketones from supplements, such as MCT oil and, to some extent, from foods rich in MCTs, like ghee.
The Magic is in The CLA
If you haven’t heard of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) yet, it’s a powerful polyunsaturated fatty acid we must obtain from our diets that’s been shown to help fight cancer, discourage weight gain and build muscle, and high-quality grass-fed beef and ghee from healthy, grass-fed cows or other animals are the top sources of CLA.
CLA Benefits are Far and Wide
A host of research has been conducted on animals, under microscopes, and with humans to determine the impact of CLA on disease. Results have shown CLA to be a potent ally for combating:
- Cancer
Animal studies show that as little as 0.5 percent CLA in your diet could reduce tumors by over 50 percent, including the following types of cancer:- Breast
- Colorectal
- Lung
- Skin
- Stomach
- Asthma
Individuals get asthma when they produce much higher levels of leukotrienes, which are fatty molecules of the immune system and at least 1000 times more potent than histamine at causing bronchial constriction. These highly inflammatory leukotrienes are produced when an enzyme known as 5-lipoxygenase (5-lipox) acts on a particular fat called arachidonic acid (AA).CLA helps fight 5-lipox and AA inflammation without harming your arteries. CLA does this by converting inside your body to both DHA and EPA, both of which have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. - Cardiovascular disease
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol and triglycerides
- Osteoporosis
- Insulin resistance
CLA’s actions actually mimic the effect of synthetic diabetic drugs. Testing on mice with type 2 diabetes has shown CLA to improve insulin action and reduce circulating glucose. Even better, the early results from human trials are just as positive when consuming CLA for longer than eight weeks. - Inflammation
- Immune system invaders
- Food-induced allergic reactions
- Body Composition: Exciting research on humansiihas shown that CLA has been beneficial in lowering body fat, with even greater improvement in those who combine exercise with regular dietary intake of CLA. Animal research has been even more promising,iii with significant improvements seen in both reducing body fat and increasing lean body mass.Previous studies have shown that CLA reduces body fat while preserving muscle tissue, and may also increase your metabolic rate. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that individuals who took 3.2 grams of CLA per day had a drop in fat mass of about 0.2 pounds each week (that’s about one pound a month) compared to those given a placebo.
Since CLA cannot be manufactured in the human body, you must get it from your diet by consuming high-quality GHEE.
CLA and Your Mitochondria
Do you want to anti-age? We all do and we look for the solution in beauty and cosmetics products. WRONG AGAIN! You can anti-age your whole body by anti-aging from the cell up. This is achieved by constantly replacing your current (old) mitochondria with new mitochondria and by increasing your mitochondria content.
This study proves that CLA treatment significantly increase mitochondrial content.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) play wide-ranging roles in cell metabolism, signaling, and inflammation. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are found primarily in fish and have key roles in metabolism and inflammation. EPA reduced triacylglyceride formation and improves blood lipid profiles. DHA enhances lipid oxidation and insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle. Combinations of omega-3 are commonly consumed and shown to increase fat oxidation, reduce body weight, and prevent weight gain.
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a PUFA found in grass-fed beef among other sources also plays a role in lipid metabolism. CLA is purported to suppress appetite, increase fat mobilization, and increase fatty acid oxidation. In addition, CLA is purported to reduce fatty acid synthesis in adipocytes, suggesting that CLA discourages fat deposition directly contributing to body composition.
Clinically, mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with reduced capacity for fatty acid oxidation and inversely related to the incidence of type II diabetes and obesity.
The role of PUFAs such as omega-3 and CLA in glucose metabolism and cellular uptake is not well understood. Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) is an insulin-dependent glucose transporter found almost exclusively in skeletal muscle and adipocytes. Enhanced GLUT4 expression is evident of increased glucose uptake and glycolytic reliance. There is limited evidence investigating the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and CLA on human skeletal muscle cell metabolism.
The Research
Muscle cell metabolism can also play a significant role in body composition. Recently, a study was undertaken to investigate the effects of a combination of DHA and EPA (combination omega-3) and CLA on oxidative and glycolytic capacities and related gene expression, as well as mitochondrial biosynthesis. This study was conducted on human muscle cells.
The Results
Omega 3 significantly encouraged metabolic genes as well as oxidative metabolism (oxygen consumption), glycolytic capacity, and metabolic rate compared with control. Both treatments (omega-3 and CLA) significantly increased mitochondrial content.
Important Points
This work identified several effects that omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, as well as CLA, have on metabolism and mitochondrial characteristics in human muscle cells.
Omega-3 treatment significantly increased basal oxidative metabolism as well as basal and peak glycolytic metabolism. This likely results in greater glucose uptake which is supported by up-regulation of the GLUT4 transporter.
All Fats Are Not Bad Fats
Healthy saturated fats in raw animal products like butter, cheese and whole raw milk are crucial for good health.
For decades, saturated fats were treated like the enemy, which is why “low-fat” and “zero-fat” foods started showing up on store shelves everywhere. Unfortunately, most are still there (although many consumers are getting wise).
The problem is that scientists lumped all fats together and called virtually all of them unhealthy, when it’s the artificial fats, like synthetic trans fats, that are harmful and can cause heart disease and diabetes. In fact, what consumers have been told about saturated fats is the opposite of the truth.
In addition, grass-fed dairy introduces more beneficial omega-3s into your system to balance omega-6s compared to grain-fed dairy.
So, How to Include Ghee into Your Daily Routine?
I add ghee to almost everything. I use ghee if I need to sauté veggies, add some into my protein shakes and even bake with it. Fat bombs made with ghee are my favourite snack when I am doing a phase of ketosis. I have reduced my use of hydrogenated vegetable oil as much as I can.
Sourcing the Best Ghee
You want to look for smell and taste of the product. Pure ghee has a strong creamy taste. Even after cooking the taste will be there. As for smell, I don’t want to say nutty because I don’t think it smells like nuts at all. But the smell is beautiful and creamy ! As your seller how they make ghee. Ghee sometimes has bits of solids at the bottom and that is absolutely ok.
Storing
I keep mine on the counter without spoiling. It stays fine and solidifies if winter is too cold.
Looking for Delicious Recipes to Include Ghee?
Here my favourite recipes I include ghee. You can swap the measurements for butter or oil and replace with same amount of ghee.
Marina Farook 