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We kind of assumed that no celebrity could outdo Gisele Bündchen and her war on nightshades when it comes to adopting bizarre habits in the name of “healthy eating.” But then we read Kourtney Kardashian’s website today and learned that the reality star drinks clarified butter for breakfast—so now there’s a tie, obviously. Gwyneth is probably sitting at home wondering why she didn’t think of saying it first.
Apparently Kardashian, 36, melts and then eats a teaspoon of ghee, a type of clarified butter that originated in India, every morning before breakfast, and then fasts for another 20 minutes, presumably to let the butter work its magic. “Ghee is the first thing I put in my body every morning,” she wrote. “I take one big teaspoon of ghee every morning and melt it on the stove in a pan and drink it out of a cute little ceramic white cup. After I take it, I don’t eat anything for 20 minutes, and then I drink a glass of water before eating food.”
Kourtney added that in her kitchen, only ghee and coconut oil are allowed: “I only cook with ghee and coconut oil and try to incorporate it into my meals as much as possible. We make French toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, basically anything we can with ghee.”
While the reality star writes that her preferred substitute can help support weight loss and is “rich in oil-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, as well as K2 and CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) antioxidants,” there are still some things to consider before you rush to Whole Foods and start throwing ghee into your eco-friendly shopping bag—like the fact is does have more saturated fat than regular butter.
“Butter typically has about 51 percent saturated fat, whereas ghee has around 72 percent saturated fat,” dietitian Marie Spano, MS, RD, CSCS, CSSD, told us, adding that eating too much saturated fat can elevate your cholesterol, and overeating the high-calorie food can lead to weight gain (a teaspoon’s safe though).
And if the whole drinking-butter-for-breakfast thing reminds you of the bulletproof coffee craze that hit last year, that’s because both operate under the idea that certain fats are good for your health—and some experts do agree that there are also benefits to eating small amounts of ghee.
Holistic nutritionist Joy McCarthy, RNCP, CNP, explained that small amounts of ghee—as part of a healthy diet—can be great for your bone, skin, digestive, and cardiovascular health: “Ghee is a golden superfood. It is nutrient-dense and rich in fat-soluble nutrients like A, D, E, and K, which help your bone, skin, and cardiovascular health. It is a digestive healing food because it’s an amazing source of butyric acid, which supports the integrity of the intestinal wall.”
