MENU

It's easy to get answers about health and nutrition! Just send your question by email to [email protected] and Dr. Harlan will respond to selected questions of general interest. Answers will be posted in the Ask Dr. Gourmet newsletter (sign up now!) and archived in the Ask Dr. Gourmet section of the website.

Please note that the Ask Dr. Gourmet feature is restricted to questions regarding food and nutrition. Due to the many questions we receive, not all questions may be answered. For more specific questions about your individual health, please contact your doctor. About Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Just Tell Me What to Eat!

The Delicious 6-Week Weight Loss Plan for the Real World

Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP has counseled thousands of his patients on healthy, sustainable weight loss. Now he's compiled his best tips and recipes into a six-week plan for you to learn how to eat great food that just happens to be great for you.

Get the prescription for better health as well as healthy weight loss, including:

What to eat
How to cook it
When to eat it
What to eat at a restaurant
What to eat if you're in a hurry
and best of all....
Why eating great food is the best health decision you'll ever make.

Just $15.00 +s/h!

Ask Dr. Gourmet

Does ghee (clarified butter) contain lactose?

I have a friend that is lactose intolerant and she says she has discovered that Indian Ghee has no lactose because the milk solids have been removed. Is this true?

Dr. Gourmet Says...

Butter

This is for the most part true. Butter contains very little, if any, lactose to begin with, and only those who are very sensitive would likely react to small amounts of butter.

The milk solids that do remain in butter are removed when the butter is clarified (what the Indians call ghee). There might be minute amounts of lactose in ghee, but it is unlikely to be enough to have an effect on those who are lactose intolerant.

Here are our resources for those who are lactose intolerant, along with recipes that are lactose-free.

Thanks for writing,

Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS
Dr. Gourmet