No study has tested whether ghee does anything special in winter: we found no trial behind the claims that it keeps you warm, raises body heat or protects against winter illness. What is real is that ghee sets solid and often turns paler in cold months, and that ghee-rich winter sweets are a custom. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or are feeding a child, follow your doctor's advice on ghee and fat in any season.
At a glance
- ICMR-NIN's 2024 Dietary Guidelines for Indians say "Limit ghee or butter to just 1 to 2 teaspoons/day or avoid, if possible", with no exception for winter.
- The same guidelines count one teaspoon as 5 g, and USDA FoodData Central lists ghee at 900 kcal per 100 g, so two teaspoons carry 90 kcal.
- A 2024 review in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine says modern scientific literature has "limited studies on functional benefits of ghee"; we found no trial of ghee in winter.
- In a 2020 laboratory scan of cow ghee, the less stable fat crystals melted between 15 and 25 °C and the most stable above 35 °C, which helps explain why ghee sets firm in a cold room.
- A 2021 review in Foods reports Dutch bulk-tank milk carrying 24.5 µg of carotenoids per 100 g after summer and 16.8 µg after winter feeding, which helps explain why winter cow ghee is often paler.
Does ghee keep you warm in winter?
We found no evidence that it does. No study we could find fed people ghee in cold weather and measured warmth, body temperature or energy use. So "ghee keeps you warm" is untested, and we cannot tell you it is true.
The claim usually rests on two things. One is Ayurveda's habit of sorting foods into heating and cooling, which we cover in whether ghee is hot or cold for the body; the texts' label is a traditional classification, not a measurement. The other is that ghee is rich in energy. USDA FoodData Central lists clarified butter (ghee) at 900 kcal, 100 g of fat and 60 g of saturated fat per 100 g. That energy is the same in July and January, and a calorie figure on its own says nothing about feeling warm.
The 2024 review of ghee in Ayurveda and modern science says plainly that "modern scientific literature has limited studies on functional benefits of ghee". We found no mention of winter or cold weather in it.
What about claims that ghee protects you from winter illness?
We found no human trial showing that eating ghee in winter protects against colds, flu or any other illness, and we looked for one. Until a trial in people tests it, it is a belief, and anyone who is unwell, or caring for someone who is, should follow their doctor's advice.
The 2024 review does discuss immunity, and it is worth being exact about what it relies on. The examples it gives include a trial in adults of a conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplement, not of ghee itself, and a rat study of an Ayurvedic preparation. Neither is people eating ghee through a winter. A rat study and a supplement trial are not evidence about ghee on your roti.
Which winter changes in ghee are real?
Two changes are real and easy to see: ghee sets harder and, for cow ghee, often turns paler. Both have plain explanations in dairy science. Neither is a health effect.
It sets solid. Ghee is a mixture of many fats, and they do not melt at one temperature. In a 2020 laboratory study of cow ghee using differential scanning calorimetry, the less stable crystal forms melted between 15 and 25 °C and the most stable above 35 °C. In a cool room, more of those fats stay crystalline, so the jar firms up. The full picture is in our article on the melting point of ghee.
It turns paler. Carotenoids give dairy products their yellow hue, and a 2021 review in Foods calls fresh forage the richest source of carotenoids for cows. The same review reports a study of bulk-tank milk in the Netherlands in which winter feeding cut beta-carotene by 20 per cent, and total carotenoids were 24.5 µg per 100 g after the summer months against 16.8 µg after winter. That is a fall of 7.7 µg, or about 31 per cent (7.7 ÷ 24.5). The review also warns that in most such studies season and diet are tangled together. More on this in why ghee colour changes with the season.
Why do people eat more ghee-rich food in winter?
Because it is a custom, not because a study recommends it. Sweets such as panjiri are recorded as winter food, and in Rajasthan panjiri made with edible gum (gond) is shaped into laddus. The sources we opened describe this as tradition, and we found no trial behind the belief that such sweets guard against cold-weather illness.
The English-language reference entry on panjiri, citing a food guide to India, says panjiri is "eaten during winter to ward off cold weather ills and also given to women who are breastfeeding". It adds that in Rajasthan panjiri "is prepared using edible gum (also known as Gond locally)". That records the belief; it does not test it.
These sweets are also where winter ghee adds up. Our gond ke ladoo recipe uses 150 g of ghee for 15 ladoos. That is 150 ÷ 15 = 10 g of ghee in each ladoo, or two teaspoons at 5 g a teaspoon: the top of ICMR-NIN's daily range for ghee in a single sweet. Enjoy the custom, and count it.
How much ghee is advised in winter?
The same as in any other season. ICMR-NIN's 2024 guidelines advise limiting ghee or butter to 1 to 2 teaspoons a day, or avoiding it if possible, and they give no seasonal exception. They also cap all visible fat at 20 to 50 g a day, depending on how active you are.
The guidelines give that range as 4 to 10 teaspoons, and ghee counts inside it, not on top of it. They also list ghee and butter among saturated fats. Using the guidelines' 5 g teaspoon and USDA's figures, here is what the advised range comes to:
| Amount of ghee | Weight | Energy (USDA, 9 kcal per g) | Saturated fat (USDA, 0.6 g per g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 5 g | 45 kcal | 3 g |
| 2 teaspoons | 10 g | 90 kcal | 6 g |
How these numbers fit a whole day's eating is in how much ghee per day. These are population guidelines; if your doctor or dietitian has set a fat limit for you, theirs is the one to follow.
What does the evidence say about common winter claims?
For each common claim, the sources we opened either describe a physical change in ghee, record a custom, or say nothing at all. None shows ghee doing something for your body in winter that it does not do in summer. The table sets each claim against what we found.
| Common winter claim | What the opened evidence says |
|---|---|
| Ghee keeps you warm | No study found. The 2024 review notes limited modern studies on ghee and does not discuss winter. |
| Ghee raises body heat | No study found. Ayurveda's heating and cooling labels are traditional classifications, not measurements. |
| Ghee protects against winter colds and flu | No human trial found. The review's immunity examples are a fatty-acid supplement trial and a rat study, not ghee in winter. |
| Eat more ghee when it is cold | ICMR-NIN advises 1 to 2 teaspoons a day or avoiding it, with no seasonal exception. |
| Winter sweets made with ghee guard against illness | Recorded as custom; no trial found behind it. |
| Ghee goes hard and pale in winter | True, and explained: fats melting between 15 and above 35 °C, and less beta-carotene in winter milk. |
Winter skin and dry lips are a separate question. We have looked at lips in ghee for lips and make no claim about it here.
How should you use ghee this winter?
As you would in any other month: for flavour, in the amount the guidelines or your doctor suggest, and with an eye on the ghee in seasonal sweets. A few practical points follow from what is real about winter ghee.
- Expect it to set. A firm jar in a cold kitchen is expected. Scoop with a dry spoon, or stand the jar in warm water for a few minutes if you need it pourable.
- Expect cow ghee to look paler. Colour follows the cows' feed.
- Count the sweets. One gond ke ladoo from our recipe carries two teaspoons of ghee.
- Ask your doctor about anything medical. If you have a heart, liver, digestive or metabolic condition, or are pregnant, how much ghee suits you is their call, not a seasonal custom's.
If you want to know what is in a batch, look for a batch-coded laboratory report. Ours are on the lab reports page, published before each batch of Himdhara ghee ships.
The short version
We found no study showing that ghee keeps you warm, raises body heat or protects against winter illness, and a 2024 review notes that modern studies on ghee's functional benefits are limited. What does change in winter is the ghee: it sets firm because its fats melt over a range from about 15 °C to above 35 °C, and cow ghee often turns paler as winter feed carries less beta-carotene. Ghee-rich winter sweets are a custom worth enjoying and counting. ICMR-NIN's advice of 1 to 2 teaspoons a day, or none, holds in every season, and your doctor's advice comes first.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (2024). Dietary Guidelines for Indians. ICMR-NIN, Hyderabad.
- Kataria D, Singh G (2024). Health benefits of ghee: Review of Ayurveda and modern science perspectives. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.
- Lamsal B, Bhandari TR, Panta P, et al. (2020). Preparation and physicochemical characterization of ghee and mūrcchita ghŗ̥ta. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.
- Stephenson RC, Ross RP, Stanton C (2021). Carotenoids in Milk and the Potential for Dairy Based Functional Foods. Foods.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2019). Butter, Clarified butter (ghee). FoodData Central (SR Legacy), record 171314.