5 Wellness Trends From India

2. GHEE A staple in any South Asian pantry, ghee is made from boiling butter at low heat until the water evaporates and the milk solids separate and are removed. You’re left with a

shelf-stable, dense butterfat whose rich flavor makes it a favorite addition to rice or roti in South Asian households, while its high smoke point makes it good for frying. Because it comes

from the milk of cows, considered sacred in India, it also carries sentimental value, Sharma says. Ghee delivers all of the benefits of cows’ milk but in concentrated form, says Madhushree

Ghosh, a scientist and food writer whose memoir, _Khabaar: An Immigrant Journey_, will be published next spring. Ghee is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, says Uday Jani, M.D., who runs an

integrative concierge medicine practice, Shore View Personalized Medical Care, in Milton, Delaware. If the milk is from grass-fed cows, then using it in small quantities is good for brain

health, he says. “You need fat for brain health, but you want to make sure it comes from a good source,” he says. While some medical doctors like Jani warn against consuming too much ghee

because it’s high in saturated fats, ghee is recognized in Ayurveda for its health benefits, including being a good source of gut-beneficial butyric acid, Sharma says. 3. AYURVEDA More than

5,000 years old and written in the ancient Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas, Ayurveda is an ancient health science that recognizes three doshas, known as vata, pitta and kapha, that

govern each individual’s body and mind. Ayurveda treats the whole body to prevent disease, rather than each symptom, unlike much of Western medicine, Jani says. “Ayurveda is the whole

medicine approach,” Jani says. Ayurveda also relies on plants and other natural sources to treat diseases, Sharma says.