Ghee from Cow's milk -Supreme Satvik food

Cow's milk Ghee is considered by Ayurveda as the top most Satvik food. In India traditionally it is considered as the purest form of nutrition for infants and kids. It not only has physical, but also spiritual or mental benefits. There is a lot of similarity in the benefits of organic butter made from Cows milk and Ghee from the same milk. It contains high quantities of Bytyric acid as butter but, Ghee is considered far more superior to butter. It is rich in various vitamins like: A,D,K and E, and is an efficient  way of delivering and getting them absorbed into the body. It has CLA (Conjugated linoleic acid), a fatty acid with health benefits to the immune system, various types of cancers, diabetes, arthritis etc. Ghee also contains a good balance of Omega3 and Omega 9 fatty acids. These have a long list of health benefits too. It is good for joint lubrication and organ health. It has a cooling effect on the body and should be consumed in summer along with spicy foods. Recently Indian research team, headed by Dr. Vinod Kansal at National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), has observed that the initiation and progress of mammary cancer decreased in rats which were fed on cow ghee. 

Unlike butter, ghee has a high smoking point and hence is a great choice for deep frying. Heating fats to a high temperature can modify the structure of the fat molecule and it loses its nutritional value.  It can also turn rancid. Compared to a lot of cooking oils, ghee and coconut oil are therefore a good choice for high temperature cooking. One spoon of ghee a day is within healthy limits. Doctors believe that ghee poses no threat to Cardiac health as long as the total fat consumption is in the prescribed limits.

Similar to what I have mentioned in my article about Butter, there are two ways of making ghee. One is made directly from cream. The other one is the Ayurvedic way, which enhances the nutritional value of the Ghee. This ghee is made from curd culture. The normal butter that you buy in the stores, is not made from curd culture and hence should not be used to make Ghee. You need to either buy butter made from culture or Organic Cow's milk ghee can be bought in stores or online. There are couple of brands in the market in India. Originally people used to make their own ghee. It seems tedious in the beginning but, is fairly simple once you get into the habit. And I still make my ghee at home whenever possible. Recipe:

1. We buy raw full fat milk, bring it to a boil and store it for 24 hrs. in the fridge. This separates the cream and it can be skimmed from the top. This process is done for a month until you have a good quantity of cream. We use this cream for the butter making process and the rest of the milk is low fat and used for yogurt or tea.

OR

1. If you cannot find raw milk locally, buy store bought cream, bring that to a boil and use it for making butter. But make sure it is not ultra pasteurized. Bring this cream to room temperature and use.

2. Add the yogurt culture easily available in any dairy in India, or store-bought probiotic yogurt or buttermilk culture(stonyfield Farms and Organic Valley) or store bought probiotic buttermilk. Keep it in a sunlight window/warm place like your oven with the light on for 24 hrs. 

3. Now the cream will turn nice and thick. Leave this cream in the fridge for an hour and you can start using this. If you do not have the time to cool it down, keep a good amount of ice-cold water ready.

4. Throw the cultured cream into a food processor along with some of the cold water and let it churn. You can also use a manual churner(like the one we use to mash dal) After 3-4 min. you will see that the butter separates and hardens slightly.

5. Drain the water without loosing any butter fat. This drained liquid is actually buttermilk.

6. Repeat the above process 3 times, each time adding some ice water. Remove all the excess liquid and you have clean, soft and healthy butter. This is a good quality cultured butter(loni or makkhan) which can be used as is, on parathas.

7. Add a mineral rich salt to it and you can use it like Amul butter, but with much more nutritional value.

8. The unsalted butter is in turn used to make ghee. Take a clean stainless steel pot, place the butter inside and put it on a very low heat. It will start getting frothy and then eventually clear. Once the liquid is clear and the milk solids have settled down, the butter is ready. It is up to you, how nutty you want the flavor. I wait till it has a slight brown color and a toasty smell.

9. At this point it burns quickly, and needs to be guarded closely. So, switch off the burner as soon as it changes from colorless to light brown. It will have some residual heat and cook even after you stop the heat. Let it cool slightly, strain it and store. 

Interesting links: 
http://www.rebeccawood.com/food-as-medicine/ghee-clarified-butter/

Butter is better than you think

Butter can add sparkle to food, just the way, make-up can add to a beautiful face. Most foods can be improvised with the addition of a dash of butter. Butter has always taken a back seat to cheese, but the fact is that butter is much more versatile and adds just as much charm. It can be added to foods of all cuisines. A biryani, or kabob, steak or mashed potatoes, stews or pastas, French sauces, pastries or breads, all baked goods, chocolate sauces or stewed fruits. If you are cooking for a party, finish almost every dish with a dollop of butter and see the difference.

So far, the health food industry has blamed butter for a host of diseases. And all this, without any solid research backing it. Margarine manufacturers pushed it to us as an healthier alternative to butter. And, for a decade we have buttered our toast with margarine. I wonder, if it is even right to call it buttering? Margarine, healthier than butter!This could not be further from the truth. Butter is a natural food, consumed for thousands of years and it is essential to our body. It has Vitamin A,E,K and D, lauric acid, lecithin, essential for cholesterol metabolism, linoelic acid and long list of other goodies. Saturated fats in butter are actually better for you, than the ones in margarine. Butter contains medium and short chained fatty acids like Butyric acid, which are metabolized differently and have various health benefits, like protection from cancer, metabolic disease and gut health. Dr. Aseem Malhotra a cardiology specialist at the Croydon University hospital, London, writes in the British Medical Journal, that trans-fats, and not the naturally found saturated fats, are the culprits. In fact, saturated fats have been found to be protective to our body.

So is it wise to start eating tubs full of butter? Of course not! Every food should be eaten in moderation. Only then can we balance our nutrition. If we start filling ourselves with broccoli alone, however healthy it is, we will not get complete nutrition. A blend of oils and fats when consumed moderately, gives the maximum benefits. The best way of eating butter, is home made from organic milk, by using culture. Butter can be churned from, organic cream alone or by adding culture to the cream, letting it get sour and then churning butter from it. This is a more superior form of butter. This butter when heated on low flame to make Ghee, gives the pure form of ghee, which is recommended for all medicinal purposes in Ayurveda. In my next article I will write about Ghee. Please leave your comments, if you find the article interesting.

Some links:

http://www.sott.net/article/219981-Is-Butter-Healthy

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2274747/At-truth-Butter-GOOD--margarine-chemical-gunk.html

http://authoritynutrition.com/7-reasons-why-butter-is-good-for-you/

Managing Low Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar or hypoglycemia is a condition where the blood sugar of a patient falls below 72 mg/dl. Mg/dl is the measurement of blood sugar, and in simple terms it is the reading that you get in your blood report or on your Glucometer. Hypoglycemia is as much or more serious a condition as compared to high blood sugar. It can be an emergency. Extremely low blood sugars, can lead to seizures, unconsciousness, and (rarely) permanent brain damage or death.

It is most common with diabetic people, with the reason being that they are taking, either higher than required dose of medication or insulin or someday they did not have a regular meal. There can be other reasons for this too, like some kind of infection, organ failure, hormone deficiency, inborn metabolism error etc. Some of the symptoms are: 

• blurry vision
• rapid heartbeat 
• sudden mood changes
• sudden nervousness
• unexplained fatigue
• nausea
• pale skin
• headache
• hunger
• shaking
• sweating
• difficulty sleeping
• skin tingling
• trouble thinking clearly or concentrating
• loss of consciousness

In my experienced, it may be difficult to recognize that your blood sugar is dropping. One of the main symptoms is: trouble thinking clearly, and this makes it difficult for you to analyze your own condition properly and treat it. Sugars can drop so quickly that, you may not experience any warning signals. I have taken insulin in past, and therefore I have figured out that, for me the most common symptoms are nausea, blurred vision and trouble thinking clearly. If I get confused, and start wondering about what is happening to me, then it is clear that my sugars are dipping. It is always advisable for diabetics to maintain slightly higher blood sugar levels and not strive for the non-diabetic levels, as we are manually managing the blood sugars, which can never be as precise as it is in nature. In non-diabetics it is a natural process that is working fine.

If you have a high risk of hypoglycemia due to any of the above mentioned reasons, you need to be alert and always ready to treat it. If you experience it often and suddenly, then carrying a glucagon kit with you may be a good idea. I have added a link below, where it explains about, how you can use a glucagon kit. If it is not a common phenomenon, you can carrying sugar sachets in your purse or wallet. Sugar candies also work well, but there is a chance you will finish them, and will not be left with any, for when you actually need them. A regular cola like, coke or fruit juice also have high sugar content. But the easiest to carry are the sugar sachets.

How to use a glucagon kit: http://www.novonordisk.com/diabetes/public/diabetestools/hypoglycaemia/howtouseaglucagonkit.asp