India needs a real Protein Revolution - are we there yet?
Suppose you are a vegetarian or eggetarian and an Indian man weighing about 75 kgs, what do you think your protein intake would be in your daily diet? Here are some examples of the protein intake in some common foods.
Unless you really load up on paneer and eggs on a regular basis, it’s safe to say that you will not be consuming more than 35g of protein in your daily diet. It might be even lower if you do not consume too much of dairy or if you consume excess rice.
Apart from the protein intake, it also matters what quality of protein you consume which is called bioavailability (how easily it can get absorbed by your body) and a measure of that is DIAAS % or Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score. The table below speaks for itself in terms of quality of protein that we consume.
An average not-so-active man needs to consume at least about 55-60g of protein daily. So how do vegetarians in India get their protein? The short answer to that is that they simply do not.
Indians on an average, and I include even meat eaters, are deficient in protein.
Just like how India has largely managed to live with a common deficiency of Vitamin B12 (that are mainly found in meats and none in vegetables), Indians, especially vegetarians, have largely been protein deficient for probably all of it’s existence. This might be one of the reasons why Indians, on an average, don’t age well in terms of health with increase in diseases, loss of muscle mass/bone health, increase in body pains and a decrease in organ health.
I know that it has other key reasons for this, but it’s almost certain that that the number 1 reason why India does not produce enough world class athletes/sportsmen is also because India is a nutritionally deficient country and a lack of regular consumption of protein is one of the key reasons why.
I am also sure you have come across India’s pathetic rankings in the World Hunger Index where are ranked even lower than some sub-Saharan countries. At first thought, I could not believe this. Sure, India is far from perfect but haven’t we come a long way in eradicating hunger?
On digging deeper, you will see that the index punishes undernourishment (i.e. - deficiency in key nutrients such as protein, vitamins etc heavily) as seen below. Refer to this episode of Cut the Clutter by Shekhar Gupta for more on this index.
The next step in India’s social progress has to be a revolution in nutrition and the most important component of that is a protein revolution.
What are Proteins?
Proteins are essentially building blocks of your body and largely consist of 20 amino acids of which 9 are not produced inside your body and are hence termed as "essential amino acids". The cells in our bodies essentially decodes DNA instructions with help of ribosomes. From supporting muscle development and immune function to regulating hormone production and aiding in tissue repair, protein is indispensable for maintaining bodily functions. Inadequate protein intake can compromise muscle mass, impair recovery from exercise and hinder overall health, underscoring the significance of meeting daily protein requirements.
Having said that, the cells needs these "amino acids" to be able to make those proteins which means that we need to ensure we are consuming enough amino acids from our foods cells. But do we? As mentioned earlier, if you are a not-so-active man weighing about 75kgs, you need to consumer at least 60g of protein per day.
Explaining India’s protein deficiency
While the lack of meat or eggs in the average Indian diet is definitely a reason behind the protein deficiency, there are plenty of socio-cultural reasons why as well.
The most important of these is that Indians especially Indian mothers, on an average simply do not understand the importance of protein. This holds true even in my own house which always stressed in fruits and green vegetables but never really stressed on “protein” when I grew up
We have been commonly bombarded with misleading advertisements by all FMCG companies about “glucose shakti” and “nutrition” and “immunity” with sugar loaded products like biscuits and bournvita so much so that many people (including me when I was a kid) believed that eating these products would make kids strong and cover all important nutrients.
Indians are also extremely misinformed about protein. I am sure you would have heard about myths that Protein, especially supplements, lead to weight gain, bulkiness (especially amongst women).
I’ve also read myths like excess protein intake leads to issues in the kidney and hair loss in men.
There are also display of idiocy by people in power who take the country a step backward by actions like this
Improving protein intake
The most important things that needs to happen for this are-
Better education about protein especially amongst mothers and in school
Easier accessibility of proteins via foods or health supplements
Destigmatisation of eggs or protein supplements
Making companies, especially FMCG companies more accountable for their shitshow (more power to people like Foodpharmer!). You can also do your little part it in this in so many ways!
Vegetarians can also consume a good amount of protein by varying their sources of protein and increasing consumption of dairy, nuts, select legumes/grains, tofu etc. However, please consider using vegan or whey protein as well. I am biased when I say this but Peanut Butters are a great source of healthy fats and protein and I strongly recommend MyFitness Peanut Butter for this. :)
A boom in protein rich products:
There has been a massive boom in high protein products in India with companies like Amul being smart and moving fast
There are dozens of brands that have recognized this and have “enhanced” daily products with more protein - some of which might be gimmicky but hey, it’s the step in the right direction.
Cautions while selecting your protein
My employer runs and sells the market leading MyFitness brand (again, I strongly recommend trying the Chocolate Peanut Butter) and we have just launched a top-notch whey protein product. I was never a proponent of whey protein earlier and out of curiosity, read a little more about this industry and came across this study by Dr Abby Phillips aka Liverdoc on Twitter where his lab analysed 36 different supplements in the industry for safety and real nutrition value. A snapshot of the same can be seen below.
Like any other food industry in India, a load of crap gets launched that aims to undercut competition and make the maximum possible short-term gain. Be wary of such products - do your research and understand how to read labels.
Just like how you would not want to believe an investment product that is too good to be true, be sceptic of any protein supplement that sells at a price that is too good to be true.
The Green Revolution and the White revolution were both key stepping stones in their times to improve India’s food safety and nutritional needs. India’s protein revolution is the next big revolution whose time has come. It might be at a nascent stage, but I hope becomes as big as its predecessors.
Notes:
https://righttoprotein.com/assets/pdf/Indias-Protein-Paradox-Study.pdf
https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/125994349.pdf
https://x.com/theliverdr/status/1629670100595888128?lang=en