Ghee is that beautiful golden yellow substance left over after the impurities of butter has been melted away.
Also known as clarified butter or anhydrous milk fat, ghee has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda for cooking and religious ceremonies, as well as therapeutically, both internally and externally.
In traditional Ayurveda, the first step for making ghee starts with a process called "culturing," in which bacterial cultures are added to cow's milk and churned to make the buttercream. The butter then goes through a clarification process that strips away the parts of butter that are the most difficult to digest, such as lactose, casein, whey proteins, and trace minerals.
Ghee is a yogavahi—a catalytic agent that carries the medicinal properties of herbs into the seven dhatus or tissues of the body. Ghee pacifies pitta and vata and is acceptable, in moderation, for Kapha. Persons who already have high cholesterol or suffer from obesity should be cautious in using ghee.
Ghee's Health Benefits
Ghee's unctuous quality increases the juices of the body (rasa), providing ease of movement and transport of nutrients and wastes.
Being a fatty base, ghee increases kapha within the body and therefore increases the most refined byproduct of kapha—ojas (the essence of immunity and life). Because ghee fuels the digestive fire, it facilitates the conversion of raw kapha into ojas.
Likewise, ghee can facilitate the movement of toxins (ama) and other wastes out of the body through the digestive tract.
