Food Confusion Carries On …

Food has become strangely complicated these days. I wrote about it some months back (The Great Food Confusion), but there are some more things that need an honourable mention so I am at this topic again.

There is a dichotomy in diets that I fail to understand. People discuss exotic fermented probiotic foods like kimchi with great seriousness, yet quietly ignore simple traditional foods like curd or kanji which have been part of Indian kitchens for generations. Consuming curd, especially in evenings is looked at like a sin being commited, yet kimchi goes well at any time of the day. Though, one of my dear friends also doesn’t eat curd but his reason is more to do with taste.

Then there is sourdough bread, now treated almost like a symbol of superior living. Many people believe it is filled with healthy bacteria, forgetting that the baking process kills them long before the bread reaches the table. The real advantage of good sourdough comes from the slow fermentation and maturation of the dough before baking, which can make the bread easier to digest and richer in flavour. Unfortunately, much of the so-called sourdough sold in shops today is simply ordinary bread made intentionally sour. True sourdough takes patience and time, two things modern commercial baking often avoids. Even the hardness found in many sourdough loaves is usually less a sign of authenticity and more a sign that shortcuts were taken somewhere.

But even genuine home-made sourdough loses its meaning when the rest of the diet is excessively filled with packaged snacks, chips, sugary drinks, alcohol, and processed foods.

Another modern favourite is detox water. People happily consume alcohol every other day and then try to balance things by sipping water filled with floating lemon and cucumber slices. Personally, I feel it would do more good to simply eat fresh fruits and vegetables properly and drink ordinary water in peace.

Then comes the obsession with protein. Protein is essential for the body, certainly. But excess, like excess of anything else, is rarely beneficial. For some people it may actually be harmful. Modern food marketing has turned protein into a fashionable slogan rather than a nutritional requirement. True that most people around me eat a protein deficient diet but going overboard with protein also doesn’t make sense, especially if one is not building muscles and doing some kind of physical activity.

Gluten has become another misunderstood subject. Many people avoid it almost automatically because they have been told it is unhealthy. In reality, most people digest gluten perfectly well. Genuine gluten intolerance and coeliac disease certainly exist, but they are far less common than current trends would suggest. Ironically, gluten itself is a protein and is largely responsible for giving bread its texture and structure, including sourdough bread.

Now, I have come to an interesting realization. I always find it funny when a dietician or a nutritionist (whatever that means) says these – Avoid Gluten, Eat Protein, Avoid Sugar but Jaggery is fine, Detox-Water instead of regular water ! The more vehemently they say it, the more I loose my trust in the advice given by the person. And suppressing my smirk becomes a task.

Only recently, I overheard a young couple discussing calorie counting, balanced diets, and disciplined eating, while enjoying early morning gin-tonics and munching on potato chips, stopping only to smoke in between. The contrast was difficult to miss.

Lactose has followed a similar path. Nowadays, almost every digestive discomfort is casually labelled lactose intolerance. True lactose intolerance does exist, and for those affected it is real and troublesome. But modern society often seems eager to convert ordinary preferences or temporary discomforts into permanent medical identities. Something on the lines of ‘Harley Street Doctor Syndrome’.

I remember speaking to a guest from France who said something rather sensible. He observed that earlier generations across India, China, CIS countries, Mexico, and elsewhere managed to eat a wide variety of foods without constantly worrying about intolerances, sensitivities, and restrictions. People simply ate what was available, stayed active, and remained reasonably healthy. Of course, genuine food-related illnesses and allergies have always existed, but they did not dominate everyday conversation the way they do now.

Still, I must admit that appearances matter. If I want my homestay to look modern and sophisticated, it takes very little effort. Serve sourdough bread with granola at breakfast. Mention whole grains and millets. Add kimchi or colourful salads to the table. Place a large glass jar of water with floating lemon and cucumber slices nearby. Use words like yogurt instead of curd, cookies instead of biscuits, or cold-pressed juice instead of simple orange juice. Guests immediately feel they are experiencing something refined and worldly. That’s how the modern hospitality works. However, I do try to honour their preferences and beliefs. I also ensure that the food is wholesome and tasty.

As for me, I remain fairly simple in my habits. I feel grateful to have good food on my plate. Anyone who knows me, knows how I enjoy everything (and unfortunately that causes obesity). I enjoy eating almost everything and try to stay active and fit rather than endlessly analysing every ingredient. The only thing I naturally avoid is heavily packaged food. To my village taste buds, most of it tastes strangely artificial, as though it belongs more to a factory than a kitchen.

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