Celebrity diet | Should you eat ghee or not? Ghee coffee, energy metabolism & health considerations

Ayurveda remedy: While ghee made its way to the West only recently, it has been a part of Indian culture since Vedic times. (Photo credit: Silar via Wikimedia Commons 4.0)

Ghee or clarified butter has been at the centre of many a debate for many years. Lately, celebrities from Aditi Rao Hydari to Shilpa Shetty Kundra have talked about the reasons why they include ghee in their diet. In a post on how to make Rava Uttapam on her Instagram, @theshilpashetty, for example, Shetty writes: "Ghee is one of the purest age old remedies for digestion and maintaining a healthy gut."

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A post shared by Shilpa Shetty Kundra (@theshilpashetty)

One dietician who has extolled its benefits recently is Rujuta Diwekar - nutritionist to celebrities like Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan. “Finish your lunch with one spoon of jaggery and ghee. It makes your digestion smooth; your body gets good fats and jaggery helps curb your sugar cravings and provides nutrients,” Diwekar told Entertainment Times.

Late last year, Bollywood actors Rakul Preet Singh, Bhumi Pednekar and Jacqueline Fernandez also revealed on social media and through entertainment news outlets that they begin their day with ghee coffee - replacing dairy creamer or milk with good fats like ghee or coconut oil (for bulletproof coffee) for better metabolism and other health benefits. Shetty and Aditi Rao Hydari, too, have sworn by the health benefits of ghee - with Shetty, a known practitioner of yoga, starting her day with a spoonful of desi ghee.

Health benefits of ghee

If you rewind to your childhood, you will remember your grandmother would have spoken of the many virtues of ghee. As Indian cuisine requires cooking with fat, for tempering and frying, we need a source of fat with a high smoking point. Ghee does work well for tempering of spices and seeds, because it has a high smoking point.

While ghee made its way to the West only recently, it has been a part of Indian culture since Vedic times. “In India, this golden, fragrant, and flavourful substance holds a special place in Ayurveda and is used for culinary, religious, cultural, cosmetic, and even medicinal purposes,” says Pooja Sachin Duggal, Founder, HealthHunt. Gita Ramesh, J T Managing director, Kairali Ayurvedic Group, avers, "Ghee is one product which is purely Indian and proven almost 5000 years back that it’s one of the best foods for the body and used in many Ayurvedic preparations."

Who should eat ghee, and who should avoid it? And how much ghee should you eat in a day?

While everyone can have ghee, the amount of ghee consumed matters the recommended quantity of ghee for everyday intake is 10-15 grams per day. But those suffering from any kind of cardiac problems or high cholesterol should strictly refrain from over-consumption of ghee. If a person has jaundice and other liver disorders, cold, cough and fever, ghee can be avoided. Ghee must be avoided by people who are obese or are suffering from any heart or kidney ailments, or stomach related problems.

Scientific evidence indicates that various bioactive compounds, such as Milk Fat Globule Membranes (MFGM), CLA, Short Chain Fatty Acids, and Medium Chain Fatty Acids, in ghee provide beneficial effects on various human diseases. Ghee is an important source of Butyric acid, which is a short-chain fatty acid that plays a central role in gut health. Ghee has Omega 3 which is a necessity for you. It helps you increase your HDL or good cholesterol. The best way to consume ghee is to add it on top of your bread or rice and eat it cold. It is also an excellent moisturizer. Eat ghee in moderation and see the changes for yourself.