Mumbai: The typical Indian meal, whether served in a home in Mumbai or Delhi, is woefully deficient on proteins, said a survey released on Monday.
The Protein Consumption in the Diet of Adult Indians Survey, a multi-city survey, which was conducted by IMRB interviewing 1,260 Indians, said nine out of 10 Indians consumed less than adequate proteins daily. It added 91% of the vegetarians and 85% of the non-vegetarians were deficient.
“A quick check on the sample population showed the protein intake of 88% people was less than the ideal amount of consumption, indicating there is a huge gap in the protein requirements and protein consumption for each individual,” said the survey. However, the survey added that Mumbai had the lowest protein gap of 68%, which was in contrast to Delhi’s high gap of 99%.
Proteins, considered the body’s building block and repair agent, should be consumed at about 1 gram per kg of the person’s body weight. “One of the key symptoms of lack of proteins is weakness and fatigue. The epidemic of lifestyle diseases – central adposity or belly fat, diabetes and high triglyceride levels – in urban India can also be addressed if we increase our dietary protein intake,” said nutritionist Niti Desai from Cumbala Hill Hospital, near Kemps Corner in south Mumbai.
Endocrinologist Dr Shashank Joshi said India is known to be a protein-deficient state. “One of my studies published in BMJ Open journal recently showed that India is a nation that consumes excess starch and fat but inadequate proteins. Protein deficiency is the reason that we Indians have poor muscle mass,” he said.
Nutritionist Shilpa Joshi said a part of the problem is the fact that Indian is mainly a vegetarian state. “It is not as if vegetarian food doesn’t have proteins, but the protein in a fruit for instance is not as easily bio-available for digestion as the protein in eggs are,” she explained. In effect, vegetarians need to increase their intake of protein-rich foods.
“The question to ask yourself before you take a spoonful from you plate is: where is the protein here? Until you can locate the protein, don’t eat,” said Shilpa Joshi. For instance, take two almonds along with a fruit to increase your protein intake or have idlis with sambhar instead of chutney.
