While ghee remains a cherished part of Indian culinary tradition and daily rituals, pouring it without a second thought can backfire on health because 100 grams of it delivers nearly 883 kilocalories and is comprised of roughly 62 percent saturated fat, meaning that adding multiple unmeasured spoons to tadkas, rice, and rotis throughout the week creates a massive surplus of saturated fat that impairs the liver’s cholesterol-clearing functions and slowly clogs artery walls, a risk that multiplies for South Asians who store internal fat differently and face an adjusted BMI threshold of 23 for being overweight; consequently, healthy adults should comfortably restrict their daily ghee consumption to 1 to 2 teaspoons as part of a 20 to 50 gram total fat range while keeping saturated fat under 7 percent of daily energy, whereas people with pre-existing heart disease, diabetes, or high cholesterol must cap their daily intake at a single teaspoon and switch their primary cooking fats to heart-compatible alternatives like mustard, groundnut, or sesame oil.
