If milk does not suit you because of lactose intolerance, you may wonder if you can still eat ghee. And when you see words like “A2” on a ghee label, another question often comes up: Is such a marketed ghee lactose-free?

The important thing to understand is that A2 and lactose are two different things. Ghee is naturally very low in lactose, but A2 does not make ghee lactose-free.

What Does A2 Mean?

A2 refers to a form of beta-casein, a protein found in milk. Lactose is something completely different. It is the natural sugar found in milk. So, milk containing A2 beta-casein is not automatically lactose-free.

The very low amount of lactose in ghee mainly comes from the process of making ghee, where most of the water and non-fat milk components are removed.

Read More: Is A2 Ghee Just A Marketing Gimmick?

 

Is Ghee Lactose-Free?

Ghee contains very little lactose. While it is not completely lactose-free, it is very low on lactose. FSSAI's standard requires ghee to contain at least 99.5% milk fat and no more than 0.5% moisture. A study that tested five ghee samples found lactose levels ranging from less than 0.05 to 2.9 mg per 100 g of ghee. For comparison, the same study found around 685–688 mg of lactose per 100 g of butter. This is why ghee is usually much easier to fit into a low-lactose diet than milk or butter.

Can You Eat Ghee If You Are Lactose Intolerant?

Many people with lactose intolerance can tolerate plain ghee because it contains very little lactose. However, tolerance can vary from person to person. If you have severe lactose intolerance or regularly experience symptoms after eating dairy products, check the product details and speak with a doctor or dietitian.

There is also an important difference between lactose intolerance and milk allergy.

Lactose intolerance happens when the body has difficulty digesting lactose, the milk sugar. A milk allergy involves the immune system reacting to milk proteins. Because ghee is made from milk, people with a diagnosed milk allergy should not assume that very low lactose makes it safe for them.

Is Madhuramrat Ghee Lactose-Free?

Madhuramrat Desi Cow Ghee is made from desi cow milk and follows a traditional ghee-making process that concentrates the milk fat. Its laboratory report for Batch No. 00166 shows 99.84% milk fat and 0.16% moisture. While the report does not separately test lactose, the high milk-fat content is consistent with the composition of ghee, which naturally contains very little lactose. Madhuramrat Ghee thus fits into that broader understanding and characteristics of a government mandated good quality ghee, suggestive of being low on lactose. Individual tolerance however can still still vary from person to person.

Our Promise Of Purity: What’s in Madhuramrat Ghee? We Asked a Lab

 

FAQs

Does ghee contain lactose?
Ghee can contain tiny amounts of lactose. One study found less than 0.05 to 2.9 mg per 100 g in five tested samples.

Is ghee good for lactose intolerance?
Many people with lactose intolerance can tolerate plain ghee because it contains very little lactose. Individual tolerance can vary.

Is ghee completely lactose-free?
It is safer to describe ghee as very low in lactose unless the specific product has been tested and verified as lactose-free.

Does A2 mean lactose-free?
No. A2 refers to a milk protein, while lactose is a milk sugar.

Can people with a milk allergy eat ghee?
They should not assume that ghee is safe simply because it contains very little lactose. Ghee is still a milk-derived food.