When it comes to using Ghee or even Olive oil people get very passionate (depending on which one they typically use at home). Ghee has been used for thousands of years and is a part of the wisdom of Ayurveda while olive oil has history in middle east that also goes back thousand's of years and is now made more famous by the Mediterranean diet.
Why & How were ghee and olive oil used in ancient times.
In the days gone by both Ghee and Olive oil were not as summarily used as they are now (for the past 100 years or so). Here are some interesting facts about both Ghee and Olive oil.
1. One of the first usages of ghee and olive oil was literally as an energy source i.e. to lit lamps with it. Being close to 100% fat, even a tablespoon of ghee and olive oil could go on for a long time before it was burned off (hope you are catching my drift here).
2. In olden days, people were very active and needed lots of calories to sustain the hard working day. The water had to be fetched and fields need to be tended, cows needs to be fed and so on. Fats in ghee & olive oil gave them the energy source to do just that. In other words, they could easily BURN it off. The only people who were fat during those times were those belonging to royal families because they didn't work or exercised as much as a common man/women. (Isn't it ironic how times have changed).
3. Both ghee and olive oil was also used by ancient medicine men as a transport mechanism in the body. Fats such as ghee, olive oil, coconut oil are easily penetrated/proliferated through the gut wall and into the cells of our body. The medicine men of the past knew this and used these FAT sources to mix certain medicinal herbs in them. This way they were easily absorbed in the body and people felt better from their ailments.
4. Baring few exceptions, food was "traditionally" not cooked in ghee or olive oil. In fact, ghee or olive oil was used as a condiment . Olive oil was not used for cooking by common folks and people use to eat their whole grain sourdough bread by dipping in it. Same was true for ghee, it was used as a topping over whole grains such as rice or eaten with a chapatti. In other words, the traditional Tarka (tampering) with ghee or oil is a pretty recent phenomenon (few hundred years old).
The reason for that was pure economics. Olive oil (in the Mediterranean / middle east) was quite expensive to acquire for common people. similarly, cows in South East Asia were not grain fed and hence didn't give even 1/4 of the milk that today's cows give. In addition, the main purpose of cows were to till the fields for agriculture so the farmer can grow food to sell and feed his family. In short, there was no abundance of dairy (as we see now).
Conclusion:
So what does it all mean for us? First and foremost, please do not give into the every new media hype of "Super Foods". If you observe carefully, these are usually very well coordinated campaigns. One year, you will suddenly find everyone talking about the benefits of the same so called superfoods and then next year something else will come. Few years back it was quinoa followed by chia seeds & flax seeds, than the amazing benefits of coconut oil, and now the resurgence of ghee. By the way, each of these are now multi-million dollar industries. There is no doubt, each of these have some health benefits, but be very careful when and how much you use them as it can easily go out of hand. These are 100% FAT sources (in case of ghee saturated FAT). If not carefully / properly used they can cause very serious health issues.
So what is the KEY to retaining and more importantly "Restoring" health?
If there ever were any super foods that will help one to reach ideal weight or recover health these are your trusted whole foods:
- Fruits (variety)
- Vegetables" (gently cooked)
- Different types of Lentils/Beans
- Grains that suit your body (in limited quantity)
Comments