Butter that is Good for your Heart? Could be Ghee...

Ghee is a traditional Indian form of clarified butter. It is made by allowing unsalted butter to simmer in a pan at low heat till the water has boiled out of it, and all the proteins have settled to the bottom. The clarified butter can then be collected.

This resulting clarified butter has a higher smoke point, allowing a cook to use it to fry a wide range of foods at very high heat without risk of the fat smoking or burning.

In addition to this culinary benefit, it also appears that Ghee may help our health. A study conducted by nutritional biochemists in India found that rats fed a diet containing Ghee had lower cholesterol levels than rats fed groundnut oil.

The researchers hypothesize that Ghee creates this effect by causing the liver to increase excretion of cholesterol, bile acid, uronic acid, and phospholipids, conferring the advantage of less cholesterol going back into the blood stream where it can clot our veins and arteries.

Despite the promise of this study, it would probably be prudent to wait before adding Ghee to the list of heart-healthy oils. However, if you are someone who must have the taste of butter, you might consider giving Ghee a try.

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