Dairy and Ghee in Ayurveda: Current Contexts and a Modern Perspective
So... dairy.
The healthfulness and even basic safety of dairy products as a category is a topic of lots of... let's say, "debate..." in the modern health sphere.
And yet dairy, especially cow dairy - and whole milk and ghee in particular - have been celebrated and used as medicines in Ayurveda for thousands of years. There are a variety of very valid reasons for this:
Dairy cows held (and still hold) an exalted spiritual place in what is now India, particularly over the millennia that the medical art of Ayurveda was in development. And cow dairy, particularly when taken in the respectful manner that it was in those times, was considered a blessing bestowed by the family cow(s).
Cow dairy has the potential to be highly nutritive and nourishing to the tissues of both the developing calf and the human body.
Even though the concept of micronutrients like vitamins and minerals that we have in the modern day did not exist as such thousands of years ago, scholars and physicians recognized that for those who were vegetarian, cow dairy helped maintain metabolic health. At least some of this was likely due to the innate vitamin B12 content of cow milk.
Indian society for millennia has known how to make safe use of cows' milk and optimize its digestibility, largely via boiling (a simple form of pasteurization).
Cows’ milk itself (when optimally harvested from a genuinely healthy, happy, and naturally-fed cow) has a gunik (qualitative) profile that is highly balancing to both vata and pitta doshas. This makes it highly medicinal for many individuals under optimal conditions.
Various traditionally-made products from cow milk sources, including ghee - clarified butter - also have a great many medicinal applications in small quantities.
This is likely not a complete list, but at the least it helps to lay out historical background.
And if that was the only pertinent background, that would be the end of this conversation! Alas, it is not the only pertinent background. Because of course, factory farming, mass production, and chemical contamination among other issues have become... let's call them, "complications..." over the past several decades.
Dairy just isn't what it used to be. The vast majority of farm dairy animals, cows included, are fed diets that are much higher in simple, sometimes highly-processed carbohydrates and excess fats; get many times less exercise (and in some cases no movement at all) than they need for health; are treated harshly and have their calves taken, contributing to extremely high stress levels (translating into high levels of stress-related hormones and neurochemicals in their milk and meat); are exposed to mass amounts of antibiotics; and are given large volumes of synthetic hormones to force their bodies to produce more milk, among other issues.
Even "pasture-raised,” “free range," “yada-yada-whatever-other-meaningless-buzzwords-you-can-think-of” cows consume large amounts of pesticides like Round Up, tons of microplastics, and who knows what other toxic chemicals. These chemicals are ubiquitous in our environment thanks to modern day industrial practices. And pesticides, microplastics, and all of these other chemicals get stored in animal fats for dozens of years if not longer, meaning they accumulate in the fats cows (and other animals) put into their milk. This is true even when they accidentally make their way into animals' bodies in small amounts.
In other words, organic milk from pasture-raised cows has more pesticides, microplastics, and other kinds of toxic chemicals in it than even the most heavily-sprayed conventional produce you can find. (This is, of course, true of meat, too).
But wait! We haven't even discussed milk and dairy processing yet! Because milks typically undergo homogenization, a process that causes changes to the structure of proteins and fats in them that makes them more likely to cause atherosclerosis, which is responsible for vascular heart disease, stroke, erectile dysfunction, and a ton of other health issues. And don't get me started on what the industry has done to butter, yogurt, and cheese. This could be a very depressing 5-part blog series, but frankly, that info can be found elsewhere, and it isn't the ultimate point we're trying to make here.
The point is, in an ideal world, we would have access to the kind of medicinal milk (and therefore, ghee) in the United States that is hard to come by even in India these days. But the reality is: we don't. We don't have that, and it will take decades if not hundreds of years for us to rehabilitate the environment and our production practices to the point where we can.
Which means we need alternatives. We need plant-based alternatives, in particular, to avoid (or at least limit the impacts of) all of the pitfalls noted above (and more that I'm sure I've missed). And because Ayurvedic practice is all about universal principles and concepts rather than specific, individual substances and food stuffs, finding alternatives is entirely possible!
Plant-Based Cow's Milk Alternatives
There are lots of milk alternatives for practical day-to-day use out there, but rather than detail every possible one I can think of, I'll focus on a small handful that best approximate the medicinal qualities of cow dairy. Bear in mind that while there are variants of these available for purchase in stores, store-bought plant-based milks tend to have issues of their own, including copious added sugars and oils. So I recommend making these at home. This will also save you money! A dedicated plant milk maker can be super helpful for these purposes, especially one that does not heat the milk as it is blended.
First choice: oat milk made from steel cut or whole oats with a touch each of flaxseed and hemp seed. Homemade oat milk is money. Whole oats, especially when combined with clean water, have a nearly-identical gunik (qualitative, medicinal) profile to cow's milk, and with much less downside, especially when well-prepared. The addition of flaxseed and hemp seed brings omega-3 content to the table. And for those with sensitive digestive systems, oats are gluten free! This is the plant-based milk I prepare for my family at home.
Second choice: rice milk, ideally made from a super-easily digestible variety like sona masoori. Some of the qualities of homemade rice milk align with those of cow's milk, though not as fully as with oat milk. Flaxseed and hemp seed can similarly be added in small quantities for omega-3 content.
Third choice: almond milk (assuming no nut allergy, of course). The source almonds will need to be raw, and they will need to be soaked overnight and peeled before the milk is made. There is some crossover in gunik profile with cow's milk here, too, though not as thoroughly as with oat milk or rice milk.
Honorable mention: coconut milk. Coconut milk certainly has some similar qualities to cow's milk, but it is much, much heavier in saturated fat content, and therefore has a tendency to be harder to digest and more likely to increase blood viscosity temporarily (meaning it thickens the blood as the body is processing it), and also more likely to occlude both larger and smaller channels (srotamsi). This is an okay choice in modest amounts for those with very robust digestive fire, but otherwise is probably best used sparingly.
Plant-Based Ghee Alternatives
Ghee is a different story when it comes to plant-based alternatives for medicinal use. There are fewer healthful, digestible options out there. We'll cover what viable options there are, though, and also what... let's say "less desirable..." options are available.
Ghee has a unique gunik profile, because in small, medicinal doses, well-made ghee from actual quality dairy - almost certainly not a thing that exists in the USA for the reasons outlined above - is cooling, stabilizing, unctuating (lubricating), and at the same time enkindling to agni (meaning it sparks and fuels digestive/metabolic fire). There are no other known single substances from the classical period of Ayurveda that do all of those things together. This means that there is no single ingredient alternative that exerts all of these effects simultaneously. That said, here are the single-ingredient alternatives and the niches they fit into.
Extra virgin olive oil: this is a pretty safe option health-wise as a vehicle for medicinal herbs and spices. It is also modestly agneya (enkindling to agni). The caveats of extra virgin olive oil are that 1) it has a low smoke point, meaning that it does not tolerate medium-to-high heat, and thus is not a safe choice for much cooking, 2) a great many extra virgin olive oils on shelves are adulterated with cheaper, unhealthful oils (e.g. seed oils), and 3) they also are frequently partially rancid at the time of purchase off-the-shelf at the store. To avoid these caveats, I recommend sourcing your oil from a small producer that does not manufacture through a middle man. (Here is an example local to me!) I do not have any financial or business relationship to these folks; my family does consistently source this oil for our own use at home, though, and I use this oil in some of my medicinal preparations.
Avocado oil (refined): this is a solid option for cooking, since the smoke point is very high. It is relatively taste-neutral, and it has a good deal of overlap in its qualities with ghee (cooling, stabilizing, unctuating). The caveats of avocado oil are that
1) it makes foods heavier/harder to digest in moderate-to-high amounts (though, really, only small/modest amounts of oil should be used in cooking anyway);
2) it is also prone to being adulterated by middle manufacturers with cheaper, unhealthful oils (e.g. seed oils); and
3) many avocado oils on shelves are partially rancid at the time of purchase off the shelf. For more guidance, here is a study from 2020 that reviews the safest available avocado oils in stores.
Coconut oil (virgin or refined): this is not an excellent option for cooking or internal use beyond very small amounts, because it is basically all saturated fat. Although the saturated fat type that is most prominent in coconut oil (lauric acid) is safer than the types found in palm oil and animal fats, it is still net-inflammatory and has a tendency to increase the viscosity of blood. Coconut oil also does not have a particularly high smoke point, so it's not great for cooking. That said, in very small amounts (like a fraction of a teaspoon taken no more than once or twice per week), it is a source of MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides). Where coconut oil really shines is in topical use, either on its own or as a vehicle for medicinal herbs and spices to help absorb them through the skin. Topically, it is anti-inflammatory, anti-viral/anti-bacterial/anti-fungal, and hydrating.
Vegan butter: these are all coconut oil-based (see caveats above), or palm oil-based (substantially worse for health overall than coconut oil, because of the less favorable saturated fatty acid profiles), and processed on top of that. So the short version of my input here is: avoid these entirely, or at least greatly minimize the use of them.
The right combination of these can potentially replace ghee entirely - for example, extra virgin olive oil mixed with avocado oil in the optimal proportions. As of the time of writing, this is something I'm actively experimenting with in different contexts (cooking, medicinal, etc). So more on that to come soon!
We haven't even discussed other dairy products like yogurts and so forth, and this post is already bordering on too-long. So perhaps more on that in a later installment!
Ultimately, safe, sustainable plant-based alternatives to dairy products are essential to practicing Ayurveda healthfully in our modern world. This is true from a health standpoint, an environmental standpoint, an animal rights standpoint, and a personal choice standpoint. My hope is that some day soon, we work together at the local, state, and national levels to thoroughly reform our farming practices, ban toxic chemicals like synthetic pesticides and leachable plastics, dramatically change the way we treat dairy animals, and once more make actual, quality dairy available to those who wish to consume it.
Until that time comes, exercise extreme caution. And if you're looking to find health and balance safely and sustainably - including if you are dairy-free or fully plant-based - schedule a cost-free discovery call with me here, and let's chat.
If you're interested in exploring how an Ayurvedic plant-based approach might benefit you, I invite you to book a cost-free, 15 minute Consultation to see if we’re a good fit. Together, we can create a personalized plan that aligns with your health goals and honors the wisdom of both modern nutrition science and the long-living legacy of Ayurvedic medicine.
If you have questions about how we can help care for any health concerns and/or conditions not found on this list, please contact us.
Professional disclaimer: please do not initiate any herbal or other medicinal interventions without the guidance of a knowledgeable provider.
Dr. Matt Van Auken, MD, MPH
Dr. Matt is an Ayurveda-trained, triple board-certified physician.
