My Unexpected Guide; learning from cancer: March 2023

One of the areas of nutrition I’ve struggled to understand is ‘fats’. In this blog I want to take a more in depth look at ghee. There is much that contradicts in the world of fats and cancer; do click on the ‘Fats’ tag of this blog to see some of my previous discussions on this issue. In particular one blog in June last year I wrote about dairy (i) and some of the studies that indicate a possible increased risk regarding prostate cancer. In other previous blogs I wrote about Coconut oil (ii), Omega 3 and oily fish (iii) and a recent blog on olive oil (iv).

Saturated fats

Ghee is considered high in saturated fats. I thought it worth revisiting this issue as it is said by some that prostate cancer is driven by fats. There is some evidence to support this (v). However saturated fats are perhaps not as bad as they have been seen by many since the 1950s - indeed since then they have got the blame for a number of cancers - and indeed for heart disease when Ancel Keys argued that saturated fat raised cholesterol levels and this caused heart disease. In fact saturated fat consumption fell during this time just as heart disease and cancers were on the rise. The picture is more complicated.

A great article by Meleni Aldridge that delves more deeply into this topic can be found at the Alliance for Natural Health: https://www.anhinternational.org/news/get-fat-happy/ In that article she exposes the myths that fats make us fat, cause heart disease and more. As we know fats are essential for human health - indeed three quarters of our brain is made up of fats.

In another article, “The Oiling of America” by Sally Fallon (vi), she looks at the history and links the rise in brain diseases, emotional disorders and neurodegenerative disorders to the timeline from when the public was asked to drop animal fats and replace them with vegetable fats. It seems it is more important to be aware of the particular fats you are eating.

Fats and cancer

As I mentioned in a previous blog (vii), Dr Geo Espinosa wrote (viii): “There is no conclusive association between eating fat, including saturated fat and prostate cancer. With two possible exceptions: Too much Omega 6-fatty acids and trans – fatty acids. Omega 6 fats are good for you but only when it is in the balance with omega 3-fats. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in the standard American (heart attack) diet is 20 or 30:1, omega 6 to omega 3. The healthier ratio is 2 or 1:1, respectively.”

Meanwhile in a paper by Stephen Evans, entitled ‘Cancer Control – The New Protocol’ (ix) he concludes: “There is some evidence that diets high in animal fat and saturated fat increase prostate cancer risk. However, some studies have also shown no association, while others have implicated unsaturated fats [Note from Evans – when I looked in depth at the studies, the saturated fats list included, for example, ice cream and cheese spreads – both of which are either high in sugar or nitrates and trans-fats – now known to be cancer instigators. That is, the definition of saturated fats in the prostate research was quite naive.”

Evans goes onto write: “The problem is not saturated fat – which even protects against cancer in certain cases. In fact, even trans fats that occur naturally – in the milk and meat of cows and other grass-fed animals – are known to protect against cancer. The real problem is with artificial trans fats, and other types of artificial foods. What I believe we may conclude is that non-trans-fat is not implicated in cancer.”

Update 28.01.24: I just read an interesting study where they heated a number of common oils including extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to 240°C and then held the oils at 180°C for 6 hours,. The concluded: “EVOO yielded low levels of (unhealthy) polar compounds and oxidative by-products (compared with other oils). EVOO’s fatty acid profile and natural antioxidant content allowed the oil to remain stable when heated (unlike oils with high levels of polyunsaturated fats [PUFAs] which degraded more readily).”

https://actascientific.com/ASNH/pdf/ASNH-02-0083.pdf

Ghee

I mentioned previously that it doesn’t make sense to have lots of butter but it seems it is not as bad as some thought - especially if organic and grass-fed. However it is clear that better still is ghee. The beta-casein is removed, leaving the clarified butter fat with it’s fat-soluble vitamins. In a Western diet we are often deficient in vitamins A, D, and K2 - ghee is a great way to get those vitamins. Ghee has a modest amount of omega 3 and it's ratio of Omega 3 to 6 (roughly 1:3 or 1:2.5) is better than most vegetable oils including olive. It also has a high smoking point - unlike many other oils/fats it doesn’t have low oxidation levels that can create free radicals when heated - it is these free radicals that can lead to disease. So ghee is a great option to use when cooking and baking.

Ayurvedic doctor, Sam Watts sings the wonders of ghee (x). In terms of anti-cancer benefits he writes: “Given the ever-increasing prevalence of cancer around the world, we should all be adopting, as a key self-care priority, daily approaches into our lives that possess proven cancer inhibiting benefits. And ghee fulfils this criteria in a very significant way. For example, clinical research now shows that ghee is able to modify the functioning of our genes in a way that helps to prevent the excessive cell growth that is the root cause of all cancer formation whilst also helping to induce cell death (a process called apoptosis) in pre-cancerous and fully cancerous cells. Furthermore, ghee excels in its ability to detoxify and remove cancer promoting carcinogenic toxins and chemicals from the cells of the body which is a crucial weapon in our cancer preventing arsenal.”

Making ghee

There are a number of recipe variations but this one worked for a friend of mine. So far we have just bought ghee but this has inspired me to try making it….melt at least 250g of butter in a small sturdy saucepan over a low heat. You can use more butter but for the first time start with a smaller amount.

Within five to ten minutes, you start to see the milk solids separate from the melted butterfat and the water will evaporate. At this point you can turn up the heat to a medium so that the milk solids will continue to brown and the water evaporate. A layer of milk solids will form some white foam on the top which some recipes say you can scoop off.

Continue to cook for a further five to ten minutes until the milk solids have all gone brown. There is a great smell of toffee!

Turn the heat off and leave the pan for a few minutes to cool slightly.

Now strain the butter through a muslin (that lies in a metal sieve) into a heatproof bowl. This is now butterfat - the ghee - or ‘liquid gold’ as some have named it. Avoid getting any milk solids mixed in - you can leave some of the browned milk solids in the pan.

Leave for some minutes to get the lasts drip into the bowl, then transfer to a jar.

The water and milk solids have been removed so the ghee should last for three months at room temperature and up to one year refrigerated. In a freezer it will last much longer.

Finally…

In short, in terms of fats, I am left avoiding dairy but occasionally having a small amount of butter - and also an occasional goat or sheep yoghurt or cheese, a small amount of coconut oil, a fair bit of olive oil, some oily fish and an omega 3 supplement - and off course pasture-fed organic ghee.

Like with many approaches to cancer there is a need to continue to review and update as new evidence comes to light or something resonates. As always these blogs are my thoughts - I welcome comments, corrections and more - we still need further research to untangle all this about fats and prostate cancer.

Notes

(i) https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2022/06/scary-dairy.html

(ii) https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-look-at-coconut-oil.html