Is Ghee Good For Keto?

With a new year just around the corner, no doubt thoughts are starting to turn to new year’ resolutions… and, of course, making dietary changes in a bid to prioritise health and wellbeing will come top of the list for many.

While a new diet should never be jumped into without doing proper reading and research, as well as potentially talking to your GP about it, the concept of ‘going keto’ has been growing in popularity over the years - and it could well be the right way to go for you.

This particular diet is a very strict low-carb one, with the aim being to send your body into ketosis, which is when your body burns fats instead of carbs as its main source of energy. Usually, your body would use the glucose taken from carby foods for fuel, but with carbs restricted your liver will break down your fat stores instead.

Cutting back on carbs will mean you’ll have to steer clear of pasta, bread and rice, as well as conventional baked goods, but you may also have to cut out starchy vegetables, most fruit, root vegetables and legumes… so it’s certainly not a diet for the faint of heart.

Because you’re reducing your carb intake so severely, your diet will be low in dietary fibre and this can potentially have a big impact on gut health. As such, prioritising gut-friendly produce like fermented vegetables, leafy greens and fats like ghee can help ensure you’re not doing yourself any harm.

For a keto diet, ghee is a potentially good choice as it has more fat than butter and more butyric acid (also found in animal fats and plant oils). It’s a short-chain fatty acid and it’s thought it can support digestive health and reduce inflammation, while potentially reducing the risk of disease and helping to promote overall health and wellbeing.