India witnesses an upsurge in drinkable meals and complete nutrition powders
The Indian consumers are becoming health conscious even though the cities they live in have become uninhabitable due to rising air and water pollution levels. Gyms are opening up around every neighbourhood to support this trend; diets such as keto are making newspaper headlines for the dramatic weight loss stories that they have helped instigate; intermittent fasting proponents are challenging the wisdom of breakfast being the healthiest meal of the day; and even though a big portion of India’s population is vegetarian, there is a growing niche who are going vegan by cutting out all forms of animal derived products, especially milk.
Is India becoming a country which understands nutrition inside out? While we are inching closer, the shifting mindset does suggest that Indians are starting to read nutrition labels, question ingredient lists and Google for health answers. Tasty and healthy is now starting to become a serious market with a growing challenge to the status quo of traditional food and unhealthy products. Even the biggest beverage brands in the world are investing on healthier portfolios with zero calorie drinks which are becoming more and more prominent on shelves across the country.
Health has often been associated with boring. “Eat your vegetables and fruits” is a common dictat that has been drilled into our minds since we were young. However, health has always been inconvenient as well. There are no magic workouts to give us the ideal body in no time. Similarly there are no magic pills to shed all the fat. Every part of being healthy is inconvenient and requires work.
The default to not exercise and eat what your mood demands is actually easier. Some people have found a hack. Realising they cannot create a shortcut to an active lifestyle, they have hacked the nutrition aspect of health by leaning on scientifically created complete nutrition blends which come in powder form.
These powders are free of preservatives, have additional benefits like being gluten free and sugar free, and are incredibly easy to prepare. All one needs to do is mix the powder with water or milk, in a blender or shaker to replace a meal. The three-step process takes five minutes compared to the hours needed to buy, prepare and eat a home-cooked meal. Nutrition in a glass is ticking both the tasty and healthy boxes.
Food has always been at the core of how you look, feel and perform. With a vast array of choices, today our physiological dependence on food is in fact an obsessive attachment which is mainly driven by mindless habits.
If you look beyond the role of food in culture and entertainment, at its most basic level, food is fuel that is required to run your body and mind. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), you should be eating 30+ nutrients every day. That is the fuel that your body requires. Most people are unaware of this daily health requirement and the ones that are aware find it unrealistic and impractical to eat in a manner that allows them to get 100% nutrition. The result?
Suboptimal work performance, health issues, a bulging belly and poor quality of life. In order to reverse the trend of India being the diabetes capital of the world and having 48.3 million obese people by 2025, even the government is launching mass educational initiatives such as the Eat Right India campaign.
As nutrition becomes more fashionable, there will be an upsurge of drinkable meals and complete nutrition powders in Indian households. The health and taste they provide is convenient, in a way that no other form of home cooked meal or delivery service can be.
*Disclaimer: The article has been contributed by Harsh Batra, Founder, Happy Ratio. The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and views appearing in this article do not reflect the views of Deccan Chronicle and Deccan Chronicle does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.
