Celebrating protein week: Trading meat protein for plant protein

With increasing vegetarian and vegan diets, proper protein consumption has been denied due to lack of awareness

 

To increase protein awareness amongst Indians and bring in light alternatives, Protein week was celebrated from July 24 to 30, when a webinar on “Powering with Plant Protein” was conducted by Health Foods and Dietary Supplements Association (HADSA) on July 28, 2021.

Some of the speakers included, Vaibhav Kulkarni, Hon. Secretary, HADSA; Sheryl Salis, Founder & Director, Nurture Health Solutions, Pritee Chaudhary, IRS, Regional Director- West, FSSAI (Guest of Honour), Dr Manjari Chandra, Consultant- Functional Nutrition, Max Healthcare, etc. It also saw the participation of a few startups namely Esperer Onconutrition and Vegolution.

Why are Indians deficient of protein?

Giving a fact check on protein intake status in India, Vaibhav Kulkarni, said, “As recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India’s protein consumption is much lower than the 48 gms/day. The recommended daily allowance of protein for an individual on an average is 0.8 to 1 gm per kg body weight, whereas, the average intake is about 0.6 gm per kg body weight.”

Emphasising on the deficiency of protein intake in Indians Vaibhav said, “India has the lowest average protein rate as compared to any other Asian countries. A study conducted among 8 Indian cities in India found that 71 per cent of individuals between the age group 30-55 years suffered from muscle health. Data indicates variations between the states as well as cities for instance, Lucknow at 81 per cent has highest percentage of individuals with poor muscle mass whereas Delhi at 65 per cent has a much lesser rate.”

Sheryl Salis pointed out intake of protein by Indian in terms of regions:

• Intake of protein from pulses and legumes is highest in north east, lowest in east and central parts of India.
• Intake of protein from cereals is highest in central and lowest in south parts of India.

With increasing vegetarian and vegan diets, proper protein consumption has been denied due to lack of awareness. Because vegetarian diets exclude animal flesh, and sometimes all other animal-based foods that are rich in protein, the question of whether vegetarian diets can meet protein requirements has long been a controversial topic in the field of nutrition.

To review this, few studies have showed that individuals receiving a plant protein-based diet of mixed origin or an animal protein-based diet have postprandial anabolism. Most of the data have been obtained on isolated proteins, such as wheat and soy. Another study showed that the utilisation of a single isolated plant protein for whole-body protein anabolism during the postprandial period is better than what can be predicted from their amino acid composition, which is proportionally low in one amino acid.

Are plant-based proteins inferior in quality?

Pritee Chaudhary, IRS, Regional Director, FSSAI, Mumbai, commented, “Out of 10 people in India 9 are protein deficient. 93 per cent of Indian population is protein deficient where 30 per cent are vegetarian and 70 per cent are non-vegetarian. Biggest paradox is that plant proteins are inferior in quality. By saying so we stop ourselves from going for better protein diet. Those who are vegetarian or vegan, they are deprived of their own thinking. Hence, out of this 93 per cent, 40 per cent are straight away deprived of protein of because of lack of general understanding of protein and its consumption.”

Accelerating smart protein

In another webinar conducted by Protein Foods & Nutrition Development Association of India (PFNDAI) in collaboration with Samyog Health Foods on July 30, 2021, more thoughts were shared on the concept of plant protein.

Speakers of the webinar included Devendra Chawla, Founder Samyog Health Foods; Dr Jagmeet Madan, National President-IDA; Varun Deshpande, Managing Director, The Good Food Institute India.

During the session a panel discussion also took place where Dr B Sesikeran, Chairman – Scientific Advisory Committee, PFNDAI, was the moderator. The panellists included Naaznin Husein, Founder-Director Freedom Wellness Management; Dr Shobha Udipi, Research Director & Head, Kasturba Health Society’s Medical Research Centre; Dr KSMS Raghavarao, Prof Chemical Eng. IIT Tirupati.

Talking about innovation in plant-based proteins in India, Varun Deshpande said, “We can create meat, eggs, and dairy more sustainably and efficiently by making them from plants, cultivating them directly from cells or producing them by fermentation. Instead of asking consumers to give up foods they love, GFI is accelerating the transition to alternative or smart proteins by helping companies make products that are delicious, affordable and accessible.”

The demand for plant-based protein products is high and expected to grow considerably in the next decade. The trend towards increasing plant protein intake is likely to continue as consumers expand their knowledge of the nutritional benefits of protein and sustainability concerns.