Fats: Friend or Foe?

How fat became the villain

In 1977, the US Senate published dietary guidelines recommending that Americans reduce saturated fat to prevent heart disease. This was based on Ancel Keys' Seven Countries Study — which selected seven countries whose data supported a fat-heart disease hypothesis and excluded fourteen others that did not. The guidelines were adopted globally. Food manufacturers responded by replacing fat with sugar and refined carbohydrates to maintain palatability. The result: a 40-year low-fat dietary experiment that coincided with the steepest rise in obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in human history. The hypothesis was wrong. The science has corrected itself — though many nutrition guidelines are still catching up.

Ghee — the science

Ghee is clarified butter: milk solids and water are removed, leaving pure butterfat. Here is what the evidence actually shows:

Smoke point: 250°C

Higher than most cooking oils, including refined sunflower (230°C). Ghee is stable at the temperatures used in Indian tadka and shallow frying.

Butyrate content

Ghee is one of the richest dietary sources of butyrate — a short-chain fatty acid that is the primary fuel for colonocytes (gut lining cells). Butyrate reduces intestinal permeability and is actively anti-inflammatory in the gut.

Fat-soluble vitamin carrier

Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble — they cannot be absorbed without dietary fat. Ghee consumed with vegetables dramatically improves the absorption of these vitamins from the meal.

CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)

Grass-fed ghee contains CLA, which has anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties in the research literature.

Traditional use as a medicine

Ayurvedic medicine has used ghee therapeutically for 3,000 years. The modern science increasingly supports, rather than contradicts, this traditional wisdom.

Appropriate quantity

1–2 tsp per meal — the amount in traditional Indian cooking — is appropriate for most people. It is not a health food to eat in unlimited quantities.

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is primarily lauric acid (C12), which behaves partially like a medium-chain fatty acid. Studies show it raises both HDL ('good') cholesterol and LDL, but the LDL particles raised tend to be the large, buoyant Pattern A type — considered less atherogenic than small, dense Pattern B particles. Best use: South Indian cooking, curries, low-heat cooking. Not ideal for high-volume deep frying at commercial scale.

Cold-pressed vs refined oils

The extraction method matters as much as the oil type.

Cold-pressed (kachi ghani)

Extracted mechanically at temperatures below 60°C. Preserves polyphenols, vitamin E, and other heat-sensitive antioxidants. Traditional Indian kachi ghani mustard oil is extracted this way.

Refined (expelled / solvent-extracted)

Uses high heat and often chemical solvents (hexane). Removes beneficial compounds. May leave solvent residues. The cheaper oils at most kirana stores are refined.

Best choices for Indian cooking

Cold-pressed mustard oil (North Indian cooking, high smoke point ≈250°C) · Cold-pressed groundnut oil (balanced MUFA, stable at heat) · Cold-pressed sesame oil (best for tadka and finishing; high sesamin antioxidant) · Coconut oil (South Indian cooking, medium heat)

The seed oil question

Refined sunflower, canola, corn, and soybean oils dominate India's urban cooking. They are not inherently toxic, but there are legitimate concerns:

Omega-6 overload

These oils are very high in linoleic acid (omega-6). Modern Indian diets have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of approximately 20:1 or higher. The ideal ratio is 4:1 or below. Chronic omega-6 excess promotes systemic inflammation.

Oxidation under heat

Polyunsaturated fatty acids oxidise readily at high temperatures, producing aldehydes and lipid peroxides. Repeated reheating of these oils — standard practice in commercial deep frying and home cooking — significantly increases these toxic byproducts.

What to do

Reduce refined seed oil use. Replace with ghee, cold-pressed mustard oil, or cold-pressed groundnut oil for cooking. Use cold-pressed sesame or flaxseed oil unheated for finishing. Increase dietary omega-3 through flaxseed, walnuts, and fatty fish.

Practical fat hierarchy for an Indian kitchen

• ·Primary cooking fat: ghee or cold-pressed mustard/groundnut oil
• ·South Indian cooking: coconut oil for curries and chutneys
• ·Tadka and finishing: cold-pressed sesame oil or ghee
• ·Salad dressing or cold use: cold-pressed flaxseed oil (do not heat)
• ·Baking: ghee or cold-pressed coconut oil
• ·Avoid for high-heat: refined sunflower, canola, soybean oil repeatedly reheated
• ·Never deep-fry in the same oil more than twice