By Megan Warren-Henderson

We were a straight up butter family until our second child was born. Sometime around the age of 4 months, she began having a wicked gastrointestinal response to my milk. If I ate even the tiniest amount of dairy, it would cause major discomfort in her belly and it would take a full week for her to recover. I gave up dairy so that she could continue to nurse. And then, we discovered ghee.

What began as a dairy free endeavor unraveled into a profound understanding of food as medicine, along with the belief that subtle changes in production may have an esoteric impact on the energy of the finished product.

The quality of the cream used for ghee is important because milk is the essence of all plants. Grass fed butter is essential because it is much higher in Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin K2, compared to butter from grain-fed cows. There seems to be only one main ghee that you see in the grocery store. It is more expensive than butter and is probably made from butter that has been extracted from the cream, rather than churned slowly as our ancestors enjoyed. I began making our own ghee by experimenting with every grass fed butter I could find.

Then one day, along it came, the single most delicious ghee I have yet to pass between my lips. Bliss Alchemy’s ghee is divine. It was like no ghee I had every had before! It has a consistency that is delicate and smooth, an evolved form of its original state as cream. Radha Schwaller, the creator of Bliss Alchemy, has a process that is conscientious and thorough, transforming the cream into butter and the butter into ghee with an integrity that I have not witnessed before.

Radha begins with the finest cream that she can find. Then she waits until the moon is waxing or full. She then cultures it with probiotics. From there it is churned into butter, and separated from the buttermilk.

Radha then begins to chant or play the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, which is one of the most potent of the ancient Sanskrit chants. Because Sanskrit is a vibrational language, the chant can help you tune into the healing force that is always at work within you, supporting your growth, lifting you up in times of trouble, and reminding you of the higher aim of life. Radha chants or plays the mantra while she heats the butter to a specific temperature and simmers it until the perfect and precise moment when the curds become honey colored on the bottom of the pan. The ghee is then filtered four times to ensure that all of the milk has been removed.

Ghrta is the Sanskrit word for ghee. It means “to anoint” (bless, protect, empower). In India, the prosperity of a household can be measured in liters of ghee.

The many benefits of ghee include, (but are not limited to as the list is seemingly endless!):

Ghee nourishes the brain and the nervous system by providing a healthy and intelligent fat substance to assist the healthy maintenance and development of the myelin sheath on the nerves and cells. This myelin sheath allows us to feel grounded and assists in a calm and healthy functioning nervous system.
Ghee carries the healing qualities of herbs, spices and vitamins and minerals from foods we eat deep into the system to be absorbed and used more optimally than without ghee.
Ghee increases joint health and flexibility.
Ghee nourishes the reproductive system including hormone balance and enhancement of fertility.
It reduces inflammation and dryness of skin thus increasing luster of hair, skin, nails and eye health.

“Ghee is sweet in taste and cooling in energy, rejuvenating, good for the eyes and vision, kindles digestion, bestows lustre and beauty, enhances memory and stamina, increases intellect, promotes longevity, is an aphrodisiac and protects the body from various diseases.” (Bhavaprakasha 6.18.1)

If you are going to splurge on something, this is one of those times that your purchase would be worth every penny, Bliss Alchemy’s ghee. Radha’s awesome mentor and Ayurvedic Dr. Marianne Titlebaum shared the below message about ghee:

"Everyone should be eating ghee. The butyric acid in the ghee prevents any plaque from building up in the arteries, it heals the lining of the gut so the friendly bacteria can grow, the conjugated linoleic acid in ghee promotes weight loss and increases muscle mass, it provides nourishment for the brain thus preventing dementia (statin drugs promote dementia by starving the brain of much needed cholesterol). It provides the raw materials (cholesterol) for us to make the hormones that keep us young (estrogen, testosterone), it gives the skin a beautiful luster, and it is one of less than a handful of foods that provide Vitamin K2, which keeps calcium out of your arteries, organs and joints, and directs it to the bones and teeth. It is a much better source of omega-3's than flax seeds or flax oil, which heats the liver and spleen and is never recommended in Ayurveda. It also keeps the joints lubricated preventing osteoarthritis. I think of it as a medicine that I want to incorporate into my diet everyday."

Bliss alchemy is more than ghee! Check out Radha’s fabulous website www.blissalchemy.net for recipes, ideas, and other unique and creative products and offerings!