The heady essence that wafts through the kitchen just as a spoonful of clarified butter or ghee hits the pan is not just an olfactory delight. The sweet yellow viscous liquid used in many homes today, packs in hundreds of unknown and known science-backed benefits for your hair, skin, and internal organ functions. Most importantly, it is said to boost immunity and vitality. What is it that makes this delicious healthy fat such a popular choice among health freaks? Bonus read-our healthy twist on the trending bulletproof coffee- recipe for making ghee coffee, a morning fuel for people of all ages.

Did you know that, contrary to the popular myth about weight gain propagated by refined oil companies, clarified butter actually aids fat loss? More on that later.

Clarified Butter: Your One-stop Solution

Have problematic bowel movement or excessively dry hair and skin? Worried about your bone health and weak immune system? Clarified butter is your go-to. It is the perfect remedy for all kinds of Vata and Pitta imbalances, caused mostly by lifestyle excesses, with lack of sleep, improper diet, stress, and anxiety leading the way.

Charak Samhita, the authoritative text on Ayurveda, mentions clarified butter as a Sattvic or pure food, with significant nourishing benefits for

• Eye sight
• Physical strength
• Treating diseases of the joints and bones
• Longevity
• Nourishment
• Glow of skin
• Supple skin
• Luster in hair and skin
• Ojas or vitality
• Moisturization and hydration of internal organs
• Healing wounds and injuries
• Digestion

Where can you source high quality clarified butter?

High quality clarified butter or Ghee is available in select stores. But you should be able to do a quality check on your own, for taste and purity. Check if the ghee is made using grass-fed cow’s A2 milk. You will feel a distinct difference in the quality of clarified butter that is made from A2 milk. This milk is better to taste, healthier and much better for digestion.

1. Ideal smoking point

Ghee has a high smoking point, which is the degree of heat beyond which the oil starts burning and putting out smoke. A high smoking point is a good thing, since that gives you many cooking options, without burning the skillet black.

2 Easy to digest

Clarified ghee is unique among the healthy fats in that it is easy to digest. That is the reason why in most of the Indian sub-continent, whenever someone suffers from mild indigestion, loose motions or constipation, they are fed a diet of plain pulses and rice along with a spoon of clarified butter.

3. Detoxifying

According to Ayurveda, the quality and longevity of your life depend on how well one manages the toxins or ama that tend to accumulate in the body from time to time. Clarified butter not only helps digest better but it also detoxifies the body by getting rid of ama or toxins. The presence of aama in the body significantly reduces the metabolism of the body, and leads to more complications and illnesses in the body. This is also the reason why ghee is an indispensable part of Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatments, which are holistic body cleanses including diet regime, warm oil massage therapy, and detox purges.

4. Excellent medium for absorbing nutrients

Ghee is also a source of good cholesterol and soluble fatty acid. Ghee is extremely helpful in absorbing and assimilating fat-soluble vitamins like A, D,E, and K.

Also, the presence of omega 3 fatty acids in clarified butter helps fight skin dryness. Our body cannot make omega 3 fats and it must be consumed through food sources. We need omega 3 fatty acids for the health of cell receptors in the membranes of each cell in the body. Omega 3 fatty acids help make hormones that manage blood clotting, movement of arterial walls, and inflammation. They also work with cell receptors responsible for the genetic function, which is said to help maintain heart health, control lupus, skin diseases, and rheumatoid arthritis, and some types of cancer.

For this reason, consuming ghee in moderate amount is recommended by Ayurveda practitioners today.

5. Beat skin problems

Most skin problems emanate from either excessive drying, or digestive causes and toxic build-up. Clarified butter is used as a powerful detoxifying medium for the toxins to be channeled into the intestinal tracts to be eliminated from the body. Regular digestive detoxes using clarified butter keep the digestive system robust, skin glowing, and your body and mind feeling light and energized.

Rich in antioxidants and micronutrients, Ghee is a fine moisturizer that hydrates the skin, provides nourishment and lends the soft and supple quality to it. It is also anti-bacterial. It can be used for treating dry chapped skin, dark circles, and dull looking skin.

Face pack using clarified butter for winter

Take tablespoon each of ghee and honey.

Add drops of raw milk.

Apply it to your skin.

Let it sit for 15 minutes.

Wash it off with a gentle cleanser.

clarified butter, raw milk

6. Ghee for good hair

Lack of moisture can reflect as dull dry hair that gray or fall easy. Ghee plays a crucial role of hydrating and moisturizing the scalp and fortifies the hair follicles with the nutrition it provides, along with the moisture.

It also lends your hair more shine, smoothness and volume. It also doubles up as a deep conditioning agent, if you apply some warm ghee to the scalp roots and leave it overnight, covered in a shower cap. A warm massage with ghee also stimulates the hair follicles and increases circulation of blood in the region, thus promoting hair growth.

Ghee for hair mask

Blend 2 tbsp of ghee with 1 tbsp of coconut oil.

Warm the blend for 15 seconds, to melt it little.

Add a few drops of essential oil of your choice.

Apply it to the scalp.

Massage your scalp in circular motion from scalp outwards.

Lock your hair in a shower cap.

Let it sit for half an hour.

Rinse it off with shampoo.

7. Ghee coffee

Yet another rage among the keto enthusiasts is the bullet coffee or healthy fat coffee. This comes loaded with the additional nutritional benefits of healthy fat like ghee and additional energy boost, instead of the regular fare. Here’s our much healthier, zingier, and tastier twist on the bullet coffee-the ghee coffee.

Recipe for Ghee Coffee

Ingredients you need

Ghee- 1 teaspoon

Turmeric- 1/2 teaspoon

Coconut sugar or jaggery- 1 chunk

Cold brew- 1 cup

Ground cardamom- 1 pinch

Water and non-dairy milk- half and half.

How to make Herbal Ghee Coffee

• Heat the brew in a pan till the coffee begins to simmer.
• Add to it, ghee, turmeric, jaggery, and cardamom. Cook until the ghee and jaggery dissolves. Make sure you are cooking on low flame.
• Add the coffee with the above ingredients to non-dairy milk and blend it, but not for too long. You don’t want the fat to disintegrate and make a mess.

Benefits of Ghee coffee

1. It can help cut weight gain. The linoleic acid present in ghee actually helps cut fat loss.

2. The coffee helps curb appetite.

3. Good for your gut health, as the ghee neutralizes the increased acidity generated by coffee.

4. Become more energized and driven.