Ghee (Clarified Butter): Nutrients, What Research Shows and Safety

Ghee is clarified butter: butter is heated until the water cooks off and the milk solids are removed, leaving almost pure milk fat. It is a long-standing cooking fat in South Asian cooking and in Ayurvedic tradition. This page keeps ghee as a food apart from traditional claims, medicated ghee preparations and hype, and says what research shows and does not show.

Read this first

• Ghee is even more concentrated than butter. USDA lists about 7.9 g of saturated fat in 1 tablespoon (12.8 g), which is 40% of the FDA Daily Value of 20 g, and about 112 kcal. [1]
• Evidence for health benefits is thin. A 2025 meta-analysis found no significant effect of ghee on the overall lipid profile and no significant change in coronary heart disease risk (odds ratio 1.15, range 0.71 to 1.59), though the authors called the risk "marginally increased." [3]
• The one small human study we read (60 healthy adults, about 35 g of ghee a day for 6 weeks, no control group) found no harm to cholesterol, but it cannot show that ghee is healthy. [2]
• Milk allergy: ghee is on the list of milk-containing ingredients that people with milk allergy are told to avoid. For trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat, call 911 (or your local emergency number). [6]
• Honest summary: ghee is a traditional, flavorful cooking fat; it has the same saturated-fat concerns as butter, and the claims that it heals or "detoxes" are not supported by the sources we read.

What is in it (USDA values)

USDA has no item named "ghee." The closest is "Butter oil, anhydrous" (FoodData Central item 173412, SR Legacy), which is milk fat with nearly all water removed. [1] We use it as the closest match; real ghee varies with how it is made. The serving column is the USDA household portion of 1 tablespoon, 12.8 g.

% Daily Value uses the FDA 2016 Daily Values; values vary with the milk, the method and the batch. The serving figures are the 100 g values multiplied by 0.128. Compared with butter, ghee has more calories and saturated fat per gram because the water has been removed, and almost no sodium. [1] USDA does not list trans fat for this item. USDA also lists a vitamin D value in the file, but it looks unusually high and we could not re-check it, so we left it out.

What research says

The 2022 study did not report a funding statement in the text we read, and the authors made the ghee themselves. [2] The 2025 meta-analysis did not report a formal certainty rating in its abstract. [3]

Food vs traditional preparations. "Medicated ghee" (ghee infused with herbs) used in Ayurveda is a different product and was not part of the evidence above.

How much is a normal serving

The USDA household portion is 1 tablespoon (12.8 g), about 112 kcal. [1] That is information from USDA, not a prescription. For limits on saturated fat, the NHS gives a maximum of 30 g a day for men and 20 g for women and lists ghee among high-saturated-fat foods. [5] The American Heart Association advises replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat, especially polyunsaturated fat. [7] Press coverage in January 2026 of the 2025-2030 US Dietary Guidelines says the 10%-of-calories limit on saturated fat was kept; we read this only in a news report. [8]

Safety, allergy and medicines

• Saturated fat: one tablespoon is 40% of the saturated fat Daily Value. [1] People with high cholesterol or heart disease should ask their clinician.
• Milk allergy: FARE lists ghee, butter and butter fat as milk-containing ingredients to avoid, and says epinephrine is the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis. [6] Some sellers market ghee as safe for dairy allergy because the milk solids are removed. We read no allergy-authority source supporting that, so people with a diagnosed milk allergy should ask their allergist before eating ghee. See food allergy basics and emergency signs.
• Lactose: we did not read an authoritative source that states how much lactose ghee holds, so we make no claim.
• Pregnancy: the NHS says pregnant people should avoid liver and liver products because of vitamin A. [9] Ghee contains vitamin A (12% of the Daily Value in a tablespoon). [1] A normal use of ghee is far below the 1,500 mcg a day long-term level the NHS names for bone health, but it counts together with other sources. [9] See foods in pregnancy.
• Heating: cholesterol in ghee can oxidize when heated, according to the 2022 paper; whether this matters for health in people was not shown. [2] See smoke points and cooking with oil.
• Children: see foods for babies and toddlers.
• Medicines: we found no source describing a direct interaction between ghee as food and a medicine.

Choosing, storing and food safety

• Ghee has almost no water, so it is less perishable than butter. We did not read an official source with exact storage times, so follow the label.
• Choose ghee made from pasteurized milk butter if you are pregnant or serving young children; the CDC says raw-milk products can carry germs such as Listeria. [10]
• Keep the jar clean and dry when scooping; we did not read a source on home-made ghee safety, so this is general kitchen advice.

Related pages

• Butter
• Saturated, unsaturated and trans fats explained
• Which cooking fat to choose: what health bodies say
• Smoke points and cooking with oil
• Foods for cholesterol and heart health
• Coconut oil