Butter vs. Ghee

[Guest guest]

Hi GB

 

Dr. Weil is seriously misinformed here:

 

> Ghee is convenient because it can be kept unrefrigerated, but I do not

> consider it a healthy fat and don't recommend it. In fact, studies in

> south Asia and England have implicated ghee in rising rates of

> coronary

> heart disease among Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis. A study

> published in the July 24, 1999, issue of the British Medical

> Journal found

> that South Asians living in England have more coronary heart disease

> than Europeans despite apparently fewer risk factors. Of course,

> the use

> of ghee in cooking isn't solely responsible for increased rates of

> heart disease among south Asians in England and their home

> countries, but

> it clearly is a factor that researchers have singled out.

 

the fact is that most indians, esp. those living in the west do not

cook with pure ghee

they use 'cooking ghee', which is an atrocious ghee-substitute made

from hydrogenated fat

also, indians tend to eat lots of high carb foods, and generally

don't get enough exercise, esp. women

 

a casual survey of indians in my neighborhood, which are mostly

punjabi, shows that most are suffering from metabolic syndrome X

given the fashion of tight, midrift bearing outfits, its easy to see

that even young women under thirty often have large "love" handles,

when in health they should have none, even after childbirth - btw,

NONE of these people actually cook with ghee because of the old adage

"cheap is best", and ghee is simply too expensive to justify

 

nope, dr. weil is generalizing, and basing his assumptions on the

mistaken assumptions of the researchers

he is a low fat, pro-soy kind of guy, and if one looks closely at dr.

weil, you too can see his big belly which is indicative of the

syndrome X pattern

 

>

> Are there any chemical breakdowns of ghee vs. butter with the

> amounts of cholesterol, saturated fats and other compounds? I was

> of the assumption that most of the fats and cholesterol and

> virtually all of the toxins are removed when making ghee. Would

> someone please tell me where I can get this information?

 

weil's issue isn't with contaminants, such as xenoestrogens, which is

an important concern - he takes issue with the very notion of

saturated fat and cholesterol - in this respect he is VERY

mainstream, and pretty much tows the line of the american heart

association, whose influence upon public health policy has made heart

disease the number one killer of americans

 

the simple fact is that fats rich in saturated fatty acids such as

ghee and coconut have been an important stable in indian cuisine for

THOUSANDS of years - if they were sooooo bad for you, i would have

expected that india wouldn't have existed, and for researchers, this

apparent truth doesn't either

 

best... todd

Caldecott

todd (AT) toddcaldecott (DOT) com

www.toddcaldecott.com