Video Vaidya Mishra: Mum's Ghee is the Ghee of All Mothers!

Ghee balances the hormones, this implies that it also increases ojas, the finest bi-product of perfect digestion that only results when all our bodily tissues are operating in perfect coordination. Our mental, emotional, and physical health depend on ojas. It is true that ghee can be imbalancing to kapha dosha, specifically to the fat tissue if/when used in excess, or when used in its cold, unheated/unmelted form. Otherwise, ghee not only pacifies the vata and pitta doshas, but also helps in  detoxing the body by supporting the safe elimination of toxins; it also grounds and calms the mind; nurtures the whole body; and addresses a-laxmi: a state of mental and physical scarcity. Ghee can also address fevers that are brought about due to malnourishment and weakness. 

In the ensuing verse, we read that ghee is the best fat for all: sarva snehottamam! 

But the greatest benefit of ghee could yet be the fact that it enhances the delivery and effectiveness of herbal preparations: when medicinal herbal synergies are prepared in a base of ghee, the potency, or virya, as well as the action of those herbs gets multiplied a thousand folds: karmasahasrakrt - bringing greater relief faster and more effectively. 

Ghee is thus the greatest yogvahi: carrier, for medicinal herbs, even greater than water! It is a common and delicious ayurvedic custom to add 1/8th of a tsp of ghee to a cup of herbal tea, to activate the potency of the herbs further. 

And yet, despite its tested health-endowing properties, ghee is often portrayed as threatening for health. A few decades ago, when science was still not clear about the benefits of short chain saturated fats for health, ghee and butter were demonized, assumed to be the reason for the epidemic increase of cardiovascular disease. Now we know otherwise, and yet many new diet regimens have yet to acknowledge and understand the key role of ghee for overall health, and specifically weight loss, hormonal balance, mental health, and so many other aspects of our health, such as digestion, assimilation, etc. The point, of course, is to make sure, we are consuming the traditional ghee made from fresh yoghurt butter, and not butter directly derived from milk and cream. Skipping that one step, completely changes the properties of the ghee, and can actually trigger imbalances, weight gain, and clogging.