About Karobi
Karobi is passionate about eating and producing good quality food that does not injure our health, or our planet . Karobi supports sustainable organic and fairtrade farming where care is not only put into the crops, animal welfare and produce but more importantly the soil. which underpins everything. This is reflected in her ingredients. Karobi’s ghees are all made by hand with love and care in Karobi’s kitchen at home in the Cotswolds with a 5 star hygiene rating.
Karobi’s glass jars are recyclable and the labels are recycled paper.
Karobi started making ghee for herself due to her own health issues and was astonished at how she was able to improve her own health with small diet changes and there it began. Karobi is now selling her ghees at Farmers’ markets around the Cotswolds, West Midlands and Bristol as well as by mail order.
About Ghee and its health benefits
Aside from its deliciousness, imparting a luscious rich intensely caramelised buttery flavour to everything that it touches, grass-fed ghee is an extremely healthy fat despite what we may have been led to think.
Pasture/grass-fed cows with an organic grass diet year round mean that the milk produced is rich in omega 3 & 9 essential fatty acids, and in fat soluble vitamins, A, D3, E, and K.2 and is one of the highest natural sources of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), a super-antioxidant according to nutritionists, and Butyric acid, also known as butanoic acid or BTA, a saturated short-chain fatty acid found in butter, ghee, raw milk, animal fats, and plant oils. These are found in the fat of the milk, butter.
Butter is composed of butter fat, milk solids and water. The process of making ghee means that the water and milk solids are removed. The difference between clarified butter and ghee is that in ghee, the milk solids are caramelised before removal, producing the distinct flavour.
The health benefits of ghee have been long known about and there have been scientific studies looking into its benefits. See the latest news section for some of these studies.
Butyric acid found in ghee supports the health and healing of cells in the small and large intestines and is in large amounts in grass-fed ghee.
Consuming butyric acid in foods like ghee or in supplement form has been shown to aid digestion, calm inflammation, and improve overall gastrointestinal health.
People who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis have been shown to benefit from butyric acid.
What is CLA?
Conjugated Linoleic Acid ( CLA) refers to a group of chemicals that are found in the unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid known as linoleic acid. CLAs are a family of at least 28 isomers of linoleic acid and as its name suggests, its double bonds are conjugated. CLAs were actually discovered accidentally within beef and researchers then found that when applied to the skin of mice that have been exposed to a strong carcinogen, they would experience 20% fewer tumours. Since then, CLA dietary supplements have been associated with many different health benefits. Not only does it provide support, flexibility and structure to our cell membranes, but it is also best known for its fat-burning and anti-cancer properties.
Our bodies produce CLA from linoleic acid and it is essential for our overall health. However, we must also obtain it from the foods that we eat or through supplement form.
Food products from grass-fed animals are great sources of CLA and contain much higher levels than food sources from grain-fed animals. The type of food that the animals eat is crucial for CLA levels, which is mainly due to the omega-3 levels found in grass that is not present in corn. In fact, meat and dairy products from grass-fed animals can produce 300-500% more CLA than animals on other diets.
One of the richest CLA sources is beef from grass-fed cows which contains around 4.3mg of CLA for every gram of fat. Again, from grass-fed cows, milk contains high amounts of CLA. It is important to note however that the CLA is actually found in the fat of the milk, so non-fat and low-fat milk will contain smaller amounts of CLA than whole milk. CLA can also be found in CLA dietary supplements.
Health benefits of CLA
Even though Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) was discovered by accident, it has proven to be incredibly beneficial and even essential for our general health. Over the past few decades it has been associated with many health benefits such as heart health, cancer prevention and weight loss. Though studies are consistently being carried out to look into the benefits of CLA, existing research is promising and has proved that this trans fatty acid should be consumed daily in some form.
Heart disease prevention:
CLA can assist heart health in 2 different ways: decreasing bad cholesterol and preventing atherosclerosis. Bad cholesterol (LDL) deposits itself in the body’s arteries when there is not enough good cholesterol (HDL) to metabolise and dispose of it. This build-up of LDL results in fatty deposits and plaque in the arteries that leads to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Atherosclerosis can lead to serious medical conditions such as heart attacks, embolisms and strokes.
Improved immunity:
Increasing your intake of CLA could reduce your risk of contracting colds and the flu. It is able to improve immune function by reducing leukotrienes and prostaglandins, which are responsible for suppressing the immune system. It could also benefit the immunity of those who suffer from allergies by triggering a protective mechanism that blocks the release of IgE antibodies, which is a type of immunoglobulin associated with allergies.
Lose fat with the right fat: CLA & weight loss
Fatty acids are essential to our health, and this fatty acid, in particular, can help you to burn fat and lose weight. Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) supplements have become increasingly popular ever since they entered the world of weight loss, thanks to their abilities in reducing body fat mass and improving the fat and muscle ratio. Science and research have recently explored CLA for weight loss and has found that this weight loss wonder does actually have substance.
Ghee is completely free from the harmful trans-fats found in other oils and is one of the most stable cooking oils due to its high smoke point of 250°C and saturated fat content
In fatty acid molecules, the more double bonds between the carbon chain, the more unstable the molecule. This means that the bonds are more likely to break when exposed to heat or pressure, and the fatty acid oxidizes (trans fat) and then becomes toxic to our cells.
Polyunsaturated oils ( plant and seed oils, like sunflower oil and safflower oil) contain many double bonds and are the least stable for cooking. Ghee, however, is a primarily saturated fat and is highly heat-stable for sautéing and baking.
Note that the smoking point of oils does not indicate the stability of the oil. Vegetable oils may have a high smoke point, but they are so delicate they actually rancidify with the heat used during the oil extraction.
In addition, the flavoured varieties of Karobi’s Ghee also have none of the solids of the spices left and can be heated to high temperatures without the risk of burnt spices.
Vitamin Content
The dairy products of grass-fed ruminants (cows, sheep, goats) provide an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins including vitamin A. These vitamins are stored primarily in the fat portion, so the concentration of vitamins in ghee is higher than in milk. Vitamin A plays an essential role in hormone balance, liver health, fertility, and stamina.
There is increasing evidence that vitamin A cannot be obtained from plant sources such as carrots. The conversion of carotenes in vegetables to the useable form of vitamin A is insignificant, and made further negligible by health conditions such as thyroid imbalances. The vitamin A in ghee is both immediately useable by the body, and also contains the fatty acid cofactors required for absorption.
Grass-fed ghee also contains the difficult-to-find nutrient vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 is the factor required to transport calcium into your bones. You can eat as much calcium as you want but it won’t strengthen your bones and teeth unless it is accompanied by vitamin K2. (Source: Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox.) As a fat-soluble vitamin, it requires the fatty acids in ghee for absorption.
Ghee can also be used externally as a treatment for skin and hair and is also used as an external anti-inflammatory and for burns.
Go to Latest News section for more articles and studies.