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Nutritive Value of Ghee and Butter Oil

Ghee and butter oil, being pure butterfat, are concentrated source of energy, supplying nine calories per gram as against four calories supplied by one gram each of pure source of either protein or carbohydrate.

Ghee particularly that prepared by traditional milk fermentation route, has good medicinal value. Ghee is a carrier of fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K, which our body needs in very small quantities but cannot make for itself. These vitamins perform many essential functions. Similarly, the essential fatty acids, which cannot be synthesized in our body are also supplied by ghee. Ghee has been recognized as Indian medicine in Ayurveda. It is used in various disorders both externally as well as internally. There are about 55-60 medicated ghee types reported in Ayurvedic literature and they are used for treatment of various diseases. Medicated ghee is always prepared with selective fortification with herbs, so as to acquire all the required fat-soluble therapeutical components of the herbs. Some of the examples of medicated ghee are: Arjima ghrit, Ashok ghrit, Dhanvantar ghrit, Amruta ghrit, etc. Emerging scientific findings indicate that ghee contains several components such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), sphingomylein, butyric acid, myristic acid and vitamin A, which have potential to inhibit the development of cancer. In fact,ghee is the richest natural dietary source of CLA, which has shown to inhibit carcinogenesis of colour, mammary tissue, skin and fore stomach. CLA present in ghee is also known to have serum cholesterol lowering properties. Compared to Ghee, Butter Oil and Low Fat Spreads other fats and oils, milk fat (ghee) is easily digestible. The digestibility of ghee and butter oil is 99% while that of natural palm oil is 91%. Also ghee is rich in short and medium chain fatty acids, which are more easily absorbed than long chain fatty acids

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