Pure Ghee
Pure Ghee comes from Butter Fat and Lowers Cholesterol!
It is knowledge and application which can render a bad thing as beneficial, just as ignorance can convert an excellent item to an inferior one.
GHEE – Intelligence,
Memory and Digestion
In Ayurveda, Vedic knowledge handed down from the Aptas (Vedic authorities) is accepted as conclusive knowledge. Whereas, modern science accepts only direct perception as the pramana (proven knowledge). An example is our father is missing, we do not know who he is, so we travel the world to ask every male, ‘Are you my father’. Direct perception can be inconclusive and laborious, the Vedic way, is go ask your mother.
Ayurvedic health science has respected Ghee for its digestive qualities and mind nurturing (anti-dementia) energies. Thus in ancient Ayurveda, Ghee was accepted as having a special power for enhancing intelligence and memory described as prabhav. Ghee is the supreme fat being agreeable with body tissue because of being similar in nature and also a source of butyric acid. Amazingly ghee, being a source of liver energy via butyric acid does not tax the liver like other oils thus ghee is accepted as a digestive aid. Ghee is therefore converted to energy easily because of being the prime source of short chain fatty acids (butyric acid). Also Ghee decreases cholesterol by two mechanisms, firstly by increasing the percentage of cholesterol in bile, and
by increasing the amount of bile simultaneously. Thus the body consumes more cholesterol with ghee intake thus decreasing unwanted high serum levels.
Both cow’s milk and its ghee are viewed as “best among wholesome articles” by Charaka (Ch. Su 27/9). The answer lies in the fact that the composition of ghee is very similar to that of ojas, the body’s essential life force, which is the underlying basis of immunity. Ojas is the refined essence of the body, just as sap keeps a tree alive so ojas is considered the very ‘life liquid of the body’. And Ojas is enhanced by ghee and milk.
Ghee’s sweet nature is responsible for it increasing all body tissues, Ojas, semen, breast milk, promoting strength, normalising the blood and lymph, as well as being beneficial for the eyes, hair and skin. The sweet taste also produces satisfaction and contentment in both body and mind, ensuring a feeling of satisfaction after completion of a meal.
Charaka’s first rule for eating is that food should be warm. His second guiding principle is that food must be unctuous (or oily) so that it is not only delicious but also provokes agni (digestive fire), thus food eaten gets digested nicely, ghee also helps the downward movement of Vata dosha. Such unctuous foods also benefit sense faculties, promoting strength and brightening the complexion (Ch Vi 1/25). It also makes the skin soft and the voice melodious. In contrast to ghee, foods such as rice, vegetables and pulses are not at all oily and only considered to nourish the body and mind in combination with ghee. Without ghee, pulses are likely to cause flatulence and aggravate Vata dosha.
Ayurvedic wisdom is unequivocal that cow ghee is an important part of a healthy diet. With the understanding that the body and mind are simply made of food, and this food is the five elements, and that ghee compliments these elements giving the qualities balance. A daily dose of ghee confers many benefits in regards to nourishment, promoting sattva (calm and peaceful mind), digestion, assimilation and elimination.
QUALITIES OF GHEE – Adult usage is up to 50 grams per Day.
- Ghee has a high smoke point (250°C / 480°F) You can cook and fry with ghee and it will not break down into free radicals like many other oils. You have to be a fairly awful chef to scorch ghee and bring it to the point of smoking.
- Pure Ghee has a sweet flavor and does not spoil easily. Ghee does not need refrigeration and lasts without cold storage for years. The secret is to never contaminate the ghee with any mold or bacteria, therefore always use a sterile spoon.
- Dairy allergy free. Even though Ghee is made from butter, the milk solids and impurities have been removed so most people who are lactose or casein intolerant have no issue with ghee. A buttery sweet flavor is maintained without the allergies.
- Ghee is rich in oil soluble vitamins A D, K2 and E. Vitamin A and D content is higher than vegetable fats.
- Ghee is rich in CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) – an antioxidant with anti-cancer properties according to nutritionists.
- Ghee is rich in medium chain fatty acids, which are absorbed directly to the liver (like carbs) and burnt as energy. Athletes can use ghee as a consistent energy source. Professor Manfred Junius, an accomplished Ayurvedic alchemist would lecture that ghee is the only oil that is a digestive aid and is not taxing to the liver. Actually he stated that ghee bypasses the liver by a special ‘prabhava’ (unexplainable power)
- Weight Loss. The energy from these medium chain fatty acids can be used to burn other fats in the system and reduce weight.
- Healthy Digestive Tract. Research shows that people with unhealthy digestive tracts do not produce butyric acid. Ghee (unlike other oils) is rich in butyric acid (3-4%), a short chain fatty acid. Beneficial intestinal bacteria also convert fiber into butyric acid and then use that for energy and intestinal wall support.
- Healthy Immune System. Research shows that adequate production of butyric acid supports the production of killer T cells in the gut, and thus strong immunity.
- Anti-Inflammatory and therefore a preventative of cancer that is due to underlying chronic inflammation. Researchers are using oral butyrate supplements and butyrate enemas to treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Ayurveda uses enemas with added ghee to decrease inflammation.
- Ghee stimulates the secretion of gastric acid, thus aiding in the digestive process. Also ghee increases the digestion of fat by increasing bile production. Ghee pacifies vata with softness and pitta with sweetness and in small amounts aids digestion in kapha. Also Ghee taken with salt or pippali, ginger and asafetida will further improve digestion.
- Toxic chemicals are stored in fat. Ghee can be used to replace and dislodge those stagnant fats. Thus ghee is part of cleansing therapy in Ayurveda. Ghee causes secretions and liquefaction in the dhatus-bodily tissues that dissolve wastes allowing the functional intelligences of the body-doshas to carry away toxins-Ama. The soothing energetics of ghee are accepted as able to counteract use of alcohol and drying intoxicants. The body is compared to a fatty sponge, in order to wring out that sponge fat saturation is required.
- Positive Food. Within Ayurveda, ghee is considered one of the most sattvic foods which unexplainably (prabhava) promotes expansion of consciousness. After all ghee is refined mothers love in essence and burns a golden clear flame in a ghee lamp. Burning of a ghee lamp eliminates the viruses and bacteria in the house. It may be noted that no Vedic rite or ceremony may be performed without ghee, thus marriages, births and deaths as well as sacrifices to the Lord of the universe can only be complete with the inclusion of ghee. God himself, Sri Krishna. is known as Makhana Chora or ‘butter thief’. Thus ghee and butter are a supreme substance of Vedic (knowledge) civilization being glorified by the Lord of the universe himself.
- Ghee brings out flavor. Many of the medicinal properties of herbs and spices can be absorbed, enhanced and transported to targeted areas of the body with ghee. Herbs in ghee (grhitam) are considered the most profound medicine in Ayurveda. Herbs in ghee penetrate the brain blood barrier.
- Ghee is the Controller of Metabolism, Inflammation and Stress being 3-4% Butyric Acid: Dr. Jianping Ye’s group recently published a paper showing that the harmful metabolic effects of a high-fat diet (lard and soybean oil) on mice can be prevented, and even reversed, using a short-chain saturated fatty acid called butyric acid. The butyrate-fed mice remained lean and avoided metabolic problems. Butyrate increased their energy expenditure by increasing body heat production and modestly increasing physical activity. It also massively increased cellular metabolism. Butyrate lowered their blood cholesterol by approximately 25 percent, and their triglycerides by nearly 50 percent. It lowered their fasting insulin by nearly 50 percent, and increased their insulin sensitivity by nearly 300 percent.
The investigators concluded:
Butyrate and its derivatives may have potential application in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome in humans.
New Research Clears the Air on Saturated Fats
Some poorly informed individuals believe Ghee is unhealthy because it is saturated, but recent sobering research has found no evidence that saturated fat found in meat, butter and cheese is associated with a greater risk of heart disease. ‘Cambridge and Harvard universities in 2014 analysed data from 72 studies with 600,000 participants and found no association between saturated fat consumption and heart attacks’.
Butyrate in Detail
Butyrate Suppresses Inflammation in the Gut and Other Tissues
In most animals, the highest concentration of butyrate is found in the gut. That’s because, Butyrate is produced by intestinal bacteria from carbohydrate that the host cannot digest such as cellulose and pectin (insoluble dietary fiber). The lining of the large intestine consumes butyrate as its primary source of energy. Butyrate feeds the bowel, and has a potent anti-inflammatory effect and therefore prevents the many diseases, which are due to chronic inflammation.
Butyrate supplements and butyrate enemas are used to treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Some investigators are also suggesting that inflammatory bowel disorders may be caused or exacerbated by a deficiency of butyrate.
Butyrate, and other short-chain fatty acids, have a remarkable effect on intestinal permeability. In tissue culture and live rats, short-chain fatty acids cause a large and rapid increase in intestinal integrity of the mucous membranes. Butyrate, or dietary fiber, prevents the loss of intestinal permeability in rat models of ulcerative colitis. This shows that short-chain fatty acids, including butyrate, play an important role in the maintenance of gut barrier integrity. Impaired gut barrier integrity (leaky gut) is associated with many diseases, including fatty liver, heart failure and autoimmune diseases. The integrity of the gut mucosa plays a major part in jatharagni (digestion- metabolism) and the production and absorption of Ama (undigested material) Ama which permeates these damaged mucosa barriers is the underlying cause of most pathologies according to Ayurvedic understanding. In other words impaired gut barrier not only hampers jatharagni but also produces Ama.
Butyric from Butter The name of butyric acid comes from the Latin word for butter, butyrum (or buturum), the substance in which butyric acid was first found.
Butyric acids have been found to;
- Help digestion, maintain the integrity of the gastrointestinal mucosa
- Block the growth of bad bacteria in the gut and interfere with highly toxic bacteria
- Help the growth of beneficial bacteria like Bifidobacterium
- Aids loose bowel function and regulates abnormal bowel movements
- Adjust water and electrolyte concentration in the intestinal tract
- Lowers inflammation in the intestinal tract
- Increases insulin sensitivity
- Increases energy production and efficiency of energy utilization
- Supports healthy levels of both good and bad cholesterol
- Reduction in fatty tissue
- Reduction in hunger levels
- Boosts killer T cell activity
- Increases thermogenesis in the body
The Medha Connection – Fat and Intelligence are Inseparable
As mentioned in Ayurveda, Vedic knowledge handed down from the Aptas (Vedic authorities) is accepted as conclusive knowledge. Also further, knowledge derived from anuman inference with yukti sound reasoning is also accepted as knowledge. Modern science accepts only direct perception as the pramana (proven knowledge) and not Aptas or Anuman.
In Ayurveda medha dhatu refers to fat tissue as one of seven tissues of the body. Medha also refers to finer facilities, like intelligence. In other words, the Vedic word for intelligence and memory is the same word for fat. Also ancient classics eulogise ghee for its memory enhancing and brain feeding qualities. Thus in Ayurveda, fat is understood as the underlying source of nutrition for the intelligence and memory. Dementia is growing at such a rate that Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, was the second leading cause of death in Australian women in 2012, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2104. Dementia remained the third leading cause of death among all Australians, behind heart disease and Cerebrovascular diseases, according to the report. More than 332,000 people have dementia in Australia currently.
A coincidence? In the 1950’s Butter factories close and margarine and hydrogenated oils become the household oil. Butter is considered a killer, as television and newspapers speak of the health qualities of the grey plastic sludge which when artificially coloured and flavoured became glorified as margarine. As the decades roll by dementia has become a pandemic. Is this due to the fat tissue of the body reacting to manmade fats? After all In 2006 it was projected 26.6 million people were afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease worldwide.
