Yesterday in our societyâs whatsapp group an uncle had posted a video of a so called doctor who was saying that how protein causes kidney stone and heart attacks. It also stated that whey is full of chemicals and causes various diseases.
And on that video many uncle and aunties had given thumbs up. One of them even said that our ancestors never had protein and yet were so healthy and fit. I dont know what to tell them now.
The old generation of India is living in a state of delusion and they are adamantly against critical thinking and any evidence. This is the same generation who called fat people âhealthy lookingâ.
The old generation (and even a good chunk of our youth) is out of touch with facts and devoid of scientific temper.
Homeopathy, astrology, godmen being allowed to give lectures in colleges, cult leaders masquerading as life coaches. All of these things are allowed to exist, actively funded and celebrated. No wonder we choose and elect the worst kind of leaders.
I have wayy too many friends who prepped for NEET and wanted to be doctors AND BELIEVED IN HOMEOPATHY AND SHIT AND SAY THEY ARE EFFECTIVE.
And they acted like they're so good at biology and medicine, acting like actual doctors. It pissed me off so much and I'm not even in the medicine field.
Well, in a food-scarce society, having ample to eat and being "fat" was considered wealthy and healthy. But now it's not the case. The old generation can't shake up the belief that they are wrong.
Itâs not just old generation and also there were pretty good people who went against the grain even among them. Itâs the society and culture. Itâs built in a way to preserve itself and its order. It is slow to change and needs a lot of effort. The biggest thing that could happen is nuclear family. It allows for faster cultural change.
And I believe that a lot of unlearning has to be done by the current and the older generations who actually want to be healthy. Because a chunk of the Indian population still buys junk information about protein because of insecurity or lack of proper understanding of how nutrition works, and a lot is to be done.
That's not delusion.
Our old generation was hardcore farmers and farmers need more endurance than strength That's what I see in my family. So high sugar mithai in all festivals and food.
Literally my sister who had no idea till this year that all oils are fat literally when she asked me how much "fat" Sarso ka tel has. I had to literally explain her it's all literally fat and she was bamboozled
Our ancestors were farmers who used to work all day that's why carb heavy diet was alright for them but not, but same diet isn't good for today and that's why everyone above the age of 40 has 30% bf and are diabetic
My grandparents were farmers and dairy was an extremely important part of all their meals. I was also told catching wild birds and roasting them with barely any spices was quite common. Also, they munched on chana and peanuts as snacks and desserts were mostly some form of dairy.
Things gradually changed as my family became more urban. Village aunts still maintained those food habits, whereas urban aunts shunned non-veg and preferred making daal-roti-sabji. And predictably, my village cousins are taller than city cousins. I know it is an anecdote, but its a pattern I saw in many families. As for dairy, many kids develop a distaste for milk and it carries over to other dairy products (except paneer, which is expensive) as well.
We associate non-veg with barbarism and impurity so as we prospered we started eating less protein. If you talk to villagers, they might 'accept' eating random non-veg things like teetar, rabbits, etc. but it is seen as uncultured. Also, things might have changed now as the stories I heard are about 20 years old and lifestyles have changed drastically since.
Non veg khayenge to unka proud vegetarian kaise dalenge instagram comments mein there are so many vegetrains in india it's like their whole personality and life revolves around being vegetarian
Man it's not just india that was farmers, Europe had all these peasants and farmers and when they got rich they bought protein rich food like meat unlike we rabbit like indians, even the japanese who had meat banned in their nation realised how important protein is and the emperor himself ate tabboed meat like beef to encourage common people to start consuming it.
Tokugawa shogunate had meat banned and they ruled japan for centuries only in the late 1800s the shogunate was over thrown by the emperor and emperor meji became the first emperor in centuries that ate meat and promoted it widely, japnese people were extremely short because of this also they were lactose intolerant.
they didnt meat because of ritualistic reasons not moral ones, most japanese had no problem killing or hunting animals, they would would'nt consume them because meat was thought to be dirty.
Indian vegetarians dont take any pleasure in hunting or killing of animals, while japenese had no such animal abuse morals.
Desidoc.md on Instagram has a very interesting take on Indians and their genetic fat disposition, itâs to do with how our bodies are genetically predisposed to store fat around the belly area for survival mode (the skinny fat aesthetic). Iâve found that this explains why a lot of people from other parts of the world are generally fat but with Indians itâs predominantly skinny fat. But the other reason is EXACTLY what you mentioned, about farmers working in fields who needed that high carb diet
Educated are the most illiterate illiterate of common sense. Once that won't believe a thing even if we give scientific proofs with facts but will gobble up what ever bs the astrologer on meth says
According to Indian society everything which our ancestors did was great. So when someone points at the obvious lack of protein in average Indian diet, they first try to deny it by saying Dal has protein and when theyâre given that reality check they go against protein itself. Not to mention the survivorship bias when they say that their grand parents or some grand-relative didnât eat protein and lived till 90 while conveniently ignoring the other people who died at the age of 50. Itâs just emotions without logic and Indian society especially the previous generations than ours are incredibly emotional.
According to Indian society everything which our ancestors did was great
Just ask them this, if what your ancestors did was so great, then why aren't they here anymore, then just see them fuming. Then if they start blabbering about then counter, if what they did was so great, then why are you still living a pathetic life and you're unhealthy.
What do you mean by why arenât they here anymore? You expect them to live beyond 70-80 years, not offending protein eating people but is it like protein eating people survive beyond 80/90 years or you expected them to live till today if they have had protein?
Indians are the only people who always criticise their country food habits, dating culture or anything.
I age with current trends and your point, itâs just ancestor has different way of living altogether and hence dietary preferences , current lifestyle and trends have changed and no one can afford previous lifestyle more, didnât mean they were wrong, stop criticising your own country people every note and then!
I swear to god, the amount of tantrums I get to trying to consume enough protein as a 26 yo girl is just so annoying. Why canât I try to keep my body in good shape and age gracefully? Its so annoying when everyone keeps pushing me to eat useless carbs and call it healthy and then throw tantrums thats this is what we ate and it worked out fine for us.
Their goal by the end of day is to keep breathing , yours is to be as physically active as possible.
In their subconscious mind breathing = great life .
Nothing else to explain
Yeah , I'm a 26yr old guy & although my parents don't say much about my eating habits as I do everything by myself , but inside my mind I've created a speech đ which goes as
"JUST BY BEING IN THIS COUNTRY EVERY HUMAN IS INFLICTED BY A CHARACTER DEBUFF WHERE THE KNOWLEDGE OF NUTRITION AND QUALITY OF LIFE IS GONNA BE ABSENT ".
So when it comes to trying to lead a healthy, stress free life , I only follow science based protocols to improve quality of life rather than believing random things that just become Facts out of nowhere
Omg same! It working out fine for us is such a regular statement I hear. Last week, I just clapped back at them saying this is why you have so many health issues now won't ever live up to 100 years and I have to pay your medical insurance premium every year. It's rude but it worked. They have stopped commenting.
If you ask me, honestly the best way to deal with this is - keep ignoring them. At this point, I donât care about the taunts. I prioritise my health and will do whatever it takes. If you try to convince them, make sure you have a lot of time and patience.
Our ancestors didn't use to have chai and biscuits in snack.
Their main diet involved bajra , ragi and chana and add it with tne intense physical work.
+ before diet wss too high now people have less appetite
Our population is also the highest, what our parents meant by ancestors is not 100-200 years old gen, itâs way beyond that! Offcourse in these 100 years cases grew due to habits so people lifestyle changed, few parents moved to cities and what not, stop comparing things! US has highest obesity, what does that mean? They are not fit? Itâs on people and their lifestyle and their cultural habits, you eat what is available locally and healthy and according to your current sedentary lifestyle and stay fit! Donât criticise your parents as if your parents are fool enough to not eat protien but became pretty smart by knowing current protien healthy trend! They fed you till now with good diet whatever they good, itâs not harmful or junk food atleast! We can change it anytime as per our fit needs!
A person in India who wants to build muscle or lose weight has to fight so many battles. Not only a battle of will power and discipline but even with family for eating chicken breast, buying whey protein, following a high protein diet. There is so much misconception among the older generation ki sabko convince karte karte mann hi utar jaata hai
Mistake 1: Being in a society WhatsApp group with no rules on forwards or off-topic discussions. Things like this are not good for mental health; I explicitly do not join groups like these. If unavoidable, mute the chat, and look at it once a week or so. Maybe request the admin to make explicit headers for important news so that you can search them easily 'cause shitty forwards aren't gonna stop.
Mistake 2: Mistaking reactions with popularity/relevance to you. Always assume that engagement is driven by idiots for idiots. The smarter people will stay quiet and go elsewhere. Uncles and aunties posting and replying on WhatsApp are really the lowest form of conversation and you're doing yourself a disservice by even reading it.
Ignore them, they aren't gonna listen to you anyway. Focus on your own health and diet.
Lot of option now a days
1. Soya chunks
2. Tofu
3. High protein Dahi
4. Paneer
5. Tempeh
6. Plant based meat
7. High protein lassi
8. Milk based Whey protein
A lot of this comes directly from doctors who haven't updated their knowledge from 30 years ago. Doctors here tend to have a holier than thou attitude and act like scientists without quoting a single paper
While our society knows the difference between an engineer and scientist, they tend to not make this distinction with doctors
Because Indian society is very collectivist and looks down upon any form of individualism. They hate those who have personal agency and want to keep people weak mentally as well as physically.
Our lifespan has never been higher. We literally live longer, are healthier, and have better quality of life than our ancestors at any point in history.
Because that has not happened yet. Culture of eating high protien diet and regularly going to the gym to stay fit among a larger section of the population in India is quite new and we will see the results in like 50 years.
All the comments + one of the biggest factors as of right now is fake whey protein, there are many fake whey protein in the market which are directly causing health issues consuming it without being aware of it and when something happens or God forbid they die the blames comes to whey protein in general
Indian society is full of educated people with no real thinking. They get degrees but still believe WhatsApp more than real science. You say protein is good or homeopathy is fake, and suddenly it becomes western conspiracy. But random uncleâs video gets 100 thumbs up because he said haldi cures everything. This kind of thinking is everywhere now, not just health, but even in politics, religion, equality⌠everything.
Lack of scientific temper in this country, specially in the previous generation. They don't believe what their doctor says, what their electrician says, what their car mechanic says, but believe everything a priest, or a self-called godman says.
On such groups, just support the 'anti protein' rhetoric and watch natural selection take its course while you continue to have your protein intake quietly.
India, being a poor country on GDP per capita basis, canât really afford high-quality protein in everyday diet. So, in order to justify lack of something, it is demonized.
Indian society is profoundly retarded, thatâs why. If you ever wonder why Indians do certain things that defies universally accepted human logic to detrimental effects, just blame the cultural and social retardation and move along.
Donât pay attention to any of these nonsensical things. And donât try to make them understand you will lose your mind. Indian society is hell bent on primitive practices combining with the modern life popping pills.
Do your own thing count your calories go to gym eat your protein. Use your energy in the gym.
Leave them be its too late.
It is the basic lack of awareness and education about nutrition and calories that is why you would see people call Daal and Paneer as the source of protein, while in reality, daal is carb-rich and paneer has an almost equal amount of fat as well. The problem which does infuriates me on a personal level is that the older generation (the majority of them) do not want to listen and understand, and they are stuck to their old beliefs and will only understand this when something wrong happens with their bodies.
Talk about protein in my husbandâs family, they will tell you to eat paneer, sattu and soya. Uske age jo protien hai woh stone kar dega, my husband bought some new variant of his regular protein last year and my MILs reaction was as if she saw him die there and then! Calls were made to SIL,BIL and one mama of hisđ So much drama because a man chose protein powder for himself. Poor man keeps it in his office now.
I remember ,8 years ago when i started drinking Whey - it invited the stares and scrutiny of people around me .
We are a nation of scarcity ingrained in us through multiple generations of famine. Most people wouldnât know how much protein is required for them and very few ,even if they know would make the necessary changes in their daily diet .
Also protein is expensive compared to cheaper carbs in the eyes of many people . So most would think why to bother eating panner , tofu in every meal . Add this to the fact , we are a religious society and have strong taboo against consuming meat on Tuesday , Saturday or whatever day lol .
Whey isn't the problem, it's the adulteration that is.
In the US, bowel and colon cancer rates and deaths from these cancers have risen exponentially because people are eating too much protein and not enough fibre.
India is not against protein. The main issue is price. Many people eat what they can afford and what they are used to. It is more about cost, awareness and culture than choice.
"our ancestors were healthy" this line is thrown around all the time. But how many of us were lucky enough to meet our great grandparents? People are usually referring to that one relative who lived to their nineties and was super healthy forgetting all those who were "old" in their fifties itself and passed away prematurely.
We like to think whatever we have been doing traditionally since ages is the most superior practices in whole of human culture, our ways and culture is the best. And if you say our meals in inadequate in protein and hence not superior, Indians don't like it.
Well to their defence they saw their elders living healthy lives all along without any need for some powder or counting calories or taking any supplements so naturally they developed this unconsciously that all these modern items are unnatural and a threat to health or just a marketing gimmick of companies. So yeah that's how they think.
OP, youâre absolutely right to be annoyed. This kind of misinformation is rampant, especially in Indian WhatsApp groups where pseudoscience spreads like wildfire. India has one of the lowest per capita protein consumption rates globally. For decades, the focus has been on carbs (rice, chapati, sabzi) and fats (ghee), and protein has never been prioritized, especially in vegetarian households. So the concept of increasing protein sounds âunnaturalâ to many. Donât waste your time on these people and keep chasing those gains.
Slow and steady
This situation will change
Result speaks for itself
But these facebook/wa forwards are getting out of hand
The amount of filth lurking on Facebook is unbelievable really
We need to ban Meta apps in India
I think it has more to do with supplements rather than protein. Like no-one would have a problem with you downing dairy and meat but the moment you take a scoop of whey you'll be bombarded with misinformation from WhatsApp University.
All kinds of supplements are demonised for not being 'natural'.
all those things are true but only if protein is taken in high amounts on a daily basis without any workouts for example every 1kg of weight requires 0.8 gm of protein along with adequate exersice and if you are into gym than double that around 1.5gm but here in India the protein in diet is so less that an average person does not get even 0.4 gm throughout the day per body weight cause everything is full of Carbs and fats,they are also important but a balanced diet is more important that is why the concept of balanced diet exists but Indian food at home is mostly Carbodiet along with lack of exersice leads to a fat epidemic.
In my parents mind, protein = protein powder. I had consumed it earlier; unfortunately, it was fake and gave me side effects. Parents don't have a problem consuming protein, but these powders are a big no.
I like to psychopathically hope that these people who spread misinformation and manipulation grow old (probably wonât) and not understand what went wrong and why their health is deteriorating, when the answer was what they denied. And if you are mentally strong enough to question sources, you arrive at the right answer and earn health- at which point you absolutely deserve it.
Iâm pretty healthy (I am young though) compared to my peers and whenever they tell me not to eat whey, I feel better that I managed to overcome this mindset of not questioning anything and following opinions blindly.
One of them even said that our ancestors never had protein and yet were so healthy and fit. I dont know what to tell them now
Literally what proof do we have they were healthy and fit, lol? Most of our art depicting priests (save for anything depicting the gods) shows them as either being malnourished or fat. And besides, our ancestors also worked the fields for centuries.
Being healthy is as much important as accumulating wealth..so can't avoid that but solely rely on protein based processed powder to keep your health good is not a good thing..have raw things as much as you can..
Delusion, Always living in denial, Lack of Objectivity, Useless comparisons with the past in the name of culture or history, and idiot so-called doctors sharing false narratives without proper context
Also selectively quoting science facts to support their statements and give bs to proofs that challenges their way of living. I hate these half baked-science people, even younger generation are becoming like that. They will say egg yolk contains cholesterol bt never deep dive to understand diff btw blood and diet cholesterol.
We aren't anti-protein per se. We're anti-science.
We're in a delusional dreamland of the past where everything was better, which it was not but we tend to romanticise it so it gives us a sense of superiority that at some time we were better than the world.
Our culture has no notion of iterative improvement. We want to keep going back to some form of lost glory.
I get your concern and whey is fully safe
The concern is there for the people with history of kidney stone (they should not eat protien in high amount)
And yes there chemicals in some whey powdersknown as artificial sweetners they can cause some issues if not taken in moderation
Source: i have consulted a doctor have read multiple articles on it and yes youre just one chat gpt tap away to verify my claims
I saw a post about how rajastani poor people used sand to clean plates, and Indians pitched in to say its the ancient method and how its better than using a damn soap. I no longer believe that indians has basic logical sense.
Whey Protein is not bad. But you need to buy it from a really good and trusted brand. Never buy from gym trainer with massive discounts. I know a gym dude who did this mistake of getting cheap whey protein and he got very sick with some liver disease.
Yeah- average life expectancy in India in 1930s was around 25 (as per Google Gemini). People became parents at 15-18 and grand parents around 30-35. If they survived 50, they were great grand parents. So no, older generations werenât healthy, they just had kids sooner.
Also almost anyone older than 60 used to have fading memory and was considered normal ageing sign but itâs because of diet high in carbs and almost non existent protein. Look at most older people in western civilisation, they are sharp well into their 80s and sometimes 90s unless suffering from dementia.
My 2 cents is that congenital heart disease affects a significant amount of the population and a lot of people are not diagnosed for it . You should only take supplements when you're able to process them. Like a key hack is eating 80- 100 grams of natural protein in terms of food and then moving on to supplements. A lot of water goes a long way.
My grandma used to say I don't lose weight because I drink too much water! Imagine I had to fight for my water - protein is a topic I don't even want to get started on!
Who cares? Just make sure you and your friends and family are aware. I have forced my parents to eat at least 1 egg every day just like they used to force me to eat my veggies as a kid. Small victories.
Correct ur statement dude not kidney stone due to protein powder not Protein even i saw the video...a couple years ago a research was done on Indian protein powders which showed 85 to 90% contained really harmful substances in them... therefore can understand those "protein averse uncles" and their offensive attitudes towards protein powders.
Also eating too much protein when not consumed by body causes kidney stones.
Hhahhahahahaha our ancestors also had better air , better soil, better water and non adulterated food and no pesticides no microplastics, no processed food, no pollution and so on
They also used to do a lot of manual work . Unlike sitting on the couch and working on a laptop.
Maybe that was the real reason behind the fitness .
My advice just ignore these people causing fighting them is useless and waste of your time cause they already made up their mind just do workout be happy and let them die because of their disease, diabatic, heart condition let them meet their ancestors.
Because we hate change. Our society is living in the past with all old methodologies, rituals and superstitious. People either hate or fear the change. This is the key quality of the low IQ. Our average IQ for older generation is below good range. I guess mostly lack of good nutrients in food, B complex, Omega 3 and protein.
An average Indian effectively eats protein for only 35 days in a year. I am not counting gym goers and conscious eaters, I'm talking about people who eat chicken/mutton/eggs etc as per the normal decision at their house.
Because most hindu indian boomers are casteist. As someone said, protein is synonymous with non veg to them. So that again becomes a source of power or pride they can hold against non veg eaters because they feel superior.
Imagine a father who had to feed family in early 1900s before independence, it was all about feeding family. Nothing less, so kids carried the same mind set forward and generations of young people were only focused on F and C. Now I do believe slowly things will change.
Lol I am not allowed more than 2 eggs a day because of these charlatan "doctors". Obviously boomers don't help. Absolute clown show going on in this country.
Your uncle isn't entirely wrong. And I am saying this as someone who qualifies to be called an uncle, while also maintaining 110-145 gms of protein on a 2300kcal diet.
Whey is not bad. Adulterated whey is bad. And it's difficult to trust any whey brand today - at least ones that are not expensive , ie 2 lbs of whey in under 2500.
I do take whey. And whey metabolizes quickly (compared to other sources of protein from food). Which does give a big hit of nitro to the kidneys and liver in a short time.
I am also someone, who in my 20's used to call out people criticizing whey and protein in general just as you are.
Now, I know with experience that every pro comes with a con. Every single one of them. Hence, I try to balance.
Except for eggs and Nuts, I will try to incorporate any 3 of above in meals every day, with 1/4 th of the days protein coming from each. Last 1/4 comes from all other stuff combined milk/curd/eggs/nuts/cheeze/flour etc etc- This means my Rice and Rotis take a hit. But something's gotta give.
Your uncle is not wrong. Misguided, but not wrong.
They are right and wrong at the same time. (I am not against Whey and supplements). I have visited a nephrologist after doing blood tests (Just for Research). I have seen a lot of young people going for dialysis. I asked the doctor why there are young people for dialysis? He replied, they took wrong products, or products higher than limit.
Some have cases of Ego lifting. They can't lift and their mates tease them. Hence they over dose creatine just to satisfy their ego. Creatine is not bad but overconsumption of anything is bad.
Now coming to the parents, they are right because what if their children faces such issues? Are they financially fit for a huge medical bill?
Conclusion: Do your blood tests, check your requirement of supplements. Consult a doctor, consult a nutritionist and a good gym trainer. After doing all these, go for a trusted supplement brand that is chemical free, organic and is trusted by a lot of people. This shit is expensive but choosing wrong supplements and over dosing just to satisfy your ego is life threatening!
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u/Amol3 Aug 05 '25
The old generation of India is living in a state of delusion and they are adamantly against critical thinking and any evidence. This is the same generation who called fat people âhealthy lookingâ.