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GLP-1 Medications and the Question Nobody’s Asking: What Are You Actually Losing?

Weight loss has become one of the biggest health goals today. And with medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound becoming more common, many people are losing weight faster than ever before.   It’s not surprising that the numbers on the scale are going down. But there is a question worth asking.   What exactly are you losing?   Imagine if I were to remove five kilos from your body today. What would you choose to lose? Five kilos of muscle? fat? bone?   The answer is obvious. Nobody wants to lose muscle, water, or bone. Everyone wants to lose excess body fat.   The problem is that your weighing scale cannot tell the difference. It cannot tell you whether the weight you lost came from fat, muscle, or something else. It simply tells you that your weight has changed. It doesn’t tell you what your body had to give up to make that happen.   This is why we need to focus on something much more important.   Losing weight is not always the same as becoming healthier.   When most people say they want to lose weight, what they actually mean is that they want to lose excess fat, feel healthier, have more energy, and reduce their long-term health risks.   The problem is that the weighing scale never tells the whole story.   The goal was never really about losing weight. The goal has always been about improving health.   That distinction matters because not all weight loss improves health in the same way.   How do GLP-1 medications work?   Medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound belong to a group of medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists.   These medications work by mimicking the action of a hormone that our body naturally produces after eating. This hormone helps you feel full, slows down how quickly food leaves your stomach, and reduces appetite.   As a result, many people naturally eat less without constantly feeling hungry.   This reduced food intake is one of the main reasons these medications lead to weight loss.   They are being widely prescribed because studies have shown impressive results for people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes. For many individuals, they genuinely improve blood sugar control, reduce body weight, and lower the risk of several obesity-related complications.   But there is another part of the story that deserves equal attention.   Weight loss doesn’t always mean fat loss alone   When people lose weight quickly, the body doesn’t burn only fat.   It also loses some muscle.   This is not unique to GLP-1 medications. It happens with almost every form of weight loss, including calorie restriction, fasting, bariatric surgery, and normal dieting.   However, studies on GLP-1 medications have shown that a meaningful portion of the weight people lose comes from lean mass, which includes muscle.   The exact amount varies between studies, but researchers have reported that anywhere from around one quarter to nearly half of the total weight lost may come from lean tissue, depending on the medication, the amount of weight lost, and the individual.   That is an important fact to understand because weight loss without a plan can cost you muscle as well as fat.   Why does muscle matter so much?   Muscle is one of the most important organs for your long-term health.   It supports healthy metabolism, helps regulate blood sugar, improves physical strength, protects your bones, supports healthy ageing, and allows you to stay active and independent.   When you lose muscle, your body’s energy needs gradually become lower.   Over time, your metabolism slows down, making it easier to regain weight if the medication is reduced or stopped without a long-term strategy in place.   In other words, you may become lighter, but your body may also become less resilient.   That is not the outcome most people are hoping for.   Thin does not always mean healthy   One of the biggest misconceptions in modern health is that a lean or thin body is automatically a healthy one.   It isn’t.   Health is not defined by the number on the scale.   Someone can lose significant weight while also losing strength, muscle, and metabolic health. At the same time, another person may lose less weight overall but preserve muscle, improve fitness, and achieve much better long-term health outcomes.   This is why body composition matters far more than body weight alone.   The goal should never be to become the lightest version of yourself. The goal should be to become the healthiest version of yourself.   Protecting muscle should be part of the plan   If you are taking a GLP-1 medication, losing weight should not be the only goal.   Protecting your muscle should be part of the plan from the very beginning.   Because these medications reduce appetite so effectively, many people struggle to eat enough each day. Their overall food intake drops significantly, and with it, the amount of   nutrients the body needs to maintain muscle.   Without enough building blocks, the body finds it much harder to preserve lean tissue during weight loss.   This is where nutrition becomes essential.   Eating healthy food and meeting your nutritional needs gives your body the raw materials it needs to maintain muscle while losing fat.   The second part is just as important.   Strength training sends the right message   One of the most effective ways to preserve muscle during weight loss is strength training.   When you regularly challenge your muscles through resistance exercises, your body receives a clear message that those muscles are still needed.   When muscles are being used consistently, the body is much more likely to preserve them, even while losing weight.   Without that stimulus, the body has little reason to hold on to muscle tissue during a calorie deficit.   Weight loss should support long-term health   GLP-1 medications can be powerful. For many people, they… Continue reading GLP-1 Medications and the Question Nobody’s Asking: What Are You Actually Losing?

Agni: Why the Same Food Affects Everyone Differently

Ayurveda says that your body’s ability to digest and transform food into nutrients differs from person to person.   Modern nutrition has also come to a similar understanding: everybody’s body is different. But let us look at this a little deeper.   Imagine two people having the same meal, in the same quantity, at the same time. But one might feel energetic and satisfied after eating, while the other might feel bloated, heavy, or dizzy.   So, how is that possible?   This is because of what Ayurveda describes as Agni, or digestive fire.   The strength and quality of your Agni determine how well your body digests food, absorbs nutrients, eliminates waste, and produces energy.   In other words, it is not just what you eat that matters; how your body processes the food you eat matters just as much.   And Agni is more than digestion.   In Ayurveda, Agni is more than just digestive enzymes or stomach acid. It represents the entire process of transformation happening inside your body, from breaking down food to supplying energy, nourishing the tissues, and supporting immunity.   Ayurveda describes 13 different types of Agni, with the most important one being Jatharagni, the main digestive fire located in our digestive tract.   When we talk about the overall state of digestion, Ayurveda mainly focuses on four different types of Agni. Each one reflects a different pattern of digestion and relationship with food.   Let’s look at them in detail.   Sama Agni: Balanced Digestion   Sama Agni is considered the ideal state of digestion, where your Agni is balanced, your food gets processed efficiently, and you get hungry at regular intervals of time.   Your appetite is steady. Your energy remains stable throughout the day, and you feel satisfied after eating your meals.   So, someone with Sama Agni has a healthy ability to digest and process food efficiently.   That does not mean they can eat unhealthy food all the time.   It simply means that their digestion is functioning the way it should.   The goal is not to have a digestion that allows you to eat anything without consequences. The goal is to have an Agni that is balanced enough to digest, transform, nourish, and eliminate efficiently.   Vishama Agni: Irregular Digestion   The second type is Vishama Agni.   Vishama means irregular, and it describes digestion that is irregular or unpredictable.   Some days you may have a good appetite, while on other days, you may not feel like eating at all. Some days you may feel bloated after eating or sluggish after your meals.   You may also experience irregular bowel movements.   This pattern is mostly associated with aggravated Vata, which is linked with movement and irregularity within the body.   When Vata becomes irregular, digestion can also become irregular.   People with Vishama Agni may find that their hunger, digestion, bowel movements, and even their response to food can change from day to day.   So, how do you overcome this?   It can be as simple as maintaining consistent meal times, eating warm, home-cooked meals, and following a steady daily routine, or Dinacharya.   Because Vata is a quality that drives irregularity, it can be calmed by consistency.   Sometimes, the answer is not another supplement or another complicated diet. It is simply giving your body a predictable rhythm.   Tikshna Agni: Sharp or Intense Digestion   The third is Tikshna Agni, which means sharp or intense digestion.   This is when your digestion becomes strong and fast, and sometimes, too strong.   People with Tikshna Agni may experience intense or frequent hunger. They might get hungry very quickly, digest food very quickly, and may be able to tolerate spicy or heavy meals.   At first, this might sound like something good.   But Tikshna Agni is often linked with aggravated Pitta, which is associated with heat and intensity.   If it is not managed well, you may experience acidity, heartburn, excessive heat, or inflammatory-type conditions.   The goal here is not to suppress digestion, but to balance its intensity.   It is suggested to take moderately cooling foods in nature and avoid excessive spice or very hot, acidic foods.   Instead of skipping meals, maintain a regular Dinacharya, eat at consistent times, and stay adequately hydrated.   When Agni is too sharp, giving it more stimulation is not necessarily the answer. Sometimes, it needs moderation.   Mandagni: Slow or Weak Digestion   The fourth type is Mandagni.   Manda means slow or weak.   Mandagni is characterised by a low appetite and slow digestion. After eating your meals, you may feel sluggish, heavy, or lethargic.   You might also experience mental fog after eating.   Over time, this heaviness may also affect how you feel mentally as well.   Mandagni is associated with aggravated Kapha.   This is also the condition most directly linked with Ama accumulation in Ayurveda.   Ama is often described as a form of accumulation that can occur when food and metabolic processes are not properly processed.   Because the digestive fire is slow, food is not processed efficiently. This can lead to partially digested material accumulating in the system, which Ayurveda describes in terms of Ama.   This is why Ayurveda does not look at digestion simply as whether you are eating the “right” food. The same food can affect two people differently because their Agni may be different.   One person may eat a meal and feel energetic, satisfied, and comfortable. Another person may eat the exact same meal and feel heavy, bloated, sluggish, or uncomfortable.   The food is the same. But the person processing the food is not.   And this is one of the reasons Ayurveda places so much importance on Agni.   It is not simply about what enters the body. It is also about the body’s ability to transform what enters it.   Understanding your Agni gives you a different way… Continue reading Agni: Why the Same Food Affects Everyone Differently

Fasting in Ayurveda: Beyond Intermittent Fasting and Weight Loss

Fasting has become one of the biggest health trends in recent years. You have probably heard of intermittent fasting, time-restricted eating, or 16:8 fasting.   Researchers have spent years studying these patterns, and studies suggest that giving your body regular breaks from food can improve metabolism and support overall health.   But before fasting even became popular, Ayurveda had already recognized its value. More than 2,000 years ago, Ayurveda described this approach as Langhana. Rather than viewing fasting simply as a way to lose weight, Ayurveda viewed it as a method to help the digestive system recover and function better.   In the Charaka Samhita, one of Ayurveda’s oldest and most fundamental texts, there are two approaches to treatment. One is Brimhana, which means nourishing and strengthening the body. The other is Langhana, which is to make the body lighter.   Langhana includes fasting, eating less, or taking lighter meals over a period of time to give your digestive system a chance to improve.   Both approaches are used for different situations. Someone who is weak and recovering from illness may need Brimhana to rebuild their strength, while someone who feels sluggish, heavy, and has poor digestion will benefit from Langhana.   There’s one important distinction we need to understand here. Langhana and fasting are not the same thing.   In Ayurveda, Langhana is the broader therapeutic principle of lightening the body and reducing the burden on digestion and metabolism. It is one of the two fundamental approaches to Chikitsa.   Fasting, or Upavasa, is simply one of the methods used to achieve Langhana.   In the Charaka Samhita, Langhana is described through Dashavidha Langhana, or ten methods of producing the lightening effect in the body. Upavasa (fasting) is one of them. Others include Atapa Sevana, therapeutic exposure to sunlight; Pipasa, controlled restriction of water intake in carefully selected situations; Vyayama, exercise; and Deepana-Pachana, therapies that stimulate digestion and help clear accumulated Ama.   The approach always depends on the person’s Agni, strength, disease, and overall constitution.   This is an important difference in how fasting should be discussed today. Ayurveda never treated fasting as something everyone should be doing. It was only recommended when the body needed it.   Digestion Comes First   In Ayurveda, digestion is the centre of health.   When Agni works well, food is broken down properly, nutrients are absorbed, and waste is eliminated. That is when the body stays healthy.   But if digestion is weak, it may result in the formation of Ama, leaving you with signs like bloating, sluggishness, and heaviness.   The underlying problem is very simple. A digestive system that is constantly overloaded with food might not work efficiently. Sometimes, instead of adding more food, you can benefit by consuming less or having less to process.   That is why the approach of Langhana exists. It gives the digestive system time to soothe, recover, and catch up, because your body also needs rest.   Where Modern Science Meets Ayurveda   While modern science and Ayurveda explain the body differently, they have arrived at similar conclusions about fasting.   In 2016, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Yoshinori Ohsumi for his work on the mechanisms of autophagy.   Autophagy is the process where cells internally break down and recycle damaged components. His subsequent research showed that fasting can activate autophagy, essentially giving cells the chance to clear out accumulated waste that has been building up from continuous eating.   This is the cell’s self-cleaning process. At a conceptual level, this may appear similar to the Ayurvedic idea of clearing Ama, although the two come from very different frameworks.   There was also research led by neuroscientist Mark Mattson, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which described what is now called the metabolic switch.   You might have heard of this phrase. It is the shift that occurs roughly 12 hours or more into a fast, when your body moves from burning readily available glucose to burning stored fat and producing ketones.   This switch has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammatory markers, and improve stress resistance at the cellular level.   Separately, there was also research led by biologist Satchin Panda, who focused on time-restricted eating.   His studies commonly examined eating within an 8 to 12 hour window rather than eating across 14 to 16 hours. Trials in this area have linked consistent eating windows with improvements in blood sugar regulation, blood pressure, and body composition.   He also proposed that the digestive system and metabolic organs like the liver, pancreas, and gut all operate on their own daily rhythms. Giving them a predictable time to rest each day allows them to function more efficiently rather than processing food unpredictably around the clock.   This is interesting when viewed alongside the Ayurvedic concept of Dinacharya, which has long emphasized regularity and consistent meal timings. The emphasis Ayurveda has always placed on regular timing and regular intervals of food, combined with Langhana.   Ayurveda has never separated these pieces of advice. They were always treated as part of the same principle for supporting the digestive system.   The Real Takeaway   The point I’m trying to make is not that Ayurveda has been proven right by science.   No.   The more accurate and useful point is that two very different systems, despite being separated by thousands of years and built on completely different ways of understanding the body, have independently arrived at the same core insight. Our digestive system needs structured, deliberate breaks to recover and function well.   And this is not the same thing as simply eating less overall.   These few simple principles behind Langhana are worth holding on to.   Consistent meal timings matter just as much as what your meal contains. Leaving real gaps between meals is important because it gives the digestive system a chance to do its job.   Not everyone needs the same… Continue reading Fasting in Ayurveda: Beyond Intermittent Fasting and Weight Loss

What Ayurveda Can Actually Offer Autistic Children and What It Can’t

Parents of autistic children usually hear one of two things.   Either that nothing can be done, and they should simply learn to live with it. Or that someone, somewhere, has a cure.   Both of these are failures of honesty.   Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference. I cannot remove it, and I will never tell a parent otherwise. What I can say, based on years of clinical experience, is that many children show meaningful improvements in cognition, regulation, sleep, and digestion with individualized Ayurvedic care.   Where I Actually See the Pattern   Many of the autistic children I’ve worked with come in with gastrointestinal symptoms alongside everything else, constipation, restless sleep, real difficulty winding down at night.   Classically, this combination has a name: disturbed Vata and weak Agni, presenting together. In this framework, the digestive and nervous systems are not viewed as separate problems.   They’re two expressions of the same underlying imbalance.   That’s the starting point for how treatment gets built and here is what I actually do.   Dinacharya (Daily Routine and Rhythm)   Meals at the same time, every day. Sleep at the same time, every day.   This is, without question, the intervention parents underestimate the most.   Vata, the quality most associated with restlessness, irregularity, and difficulty settling, responds to consistency more than to almost anything else I can prescribe. A predictable rhythm to the day is not a minor lifestyle suggestion here.   Ahara (Food)   Warm. Cooked. Simple. Unhurried. And no restriction.   Most autistic children are already working with a narrow range of accepted foods. Taking things away tends to make that narrower still, not better. So, the approach isn’t to remove foods, it’s to change how the accepted foods are prepared, before changing what they are.   Same ingredients a child already trusts and eats, prepared in a way that’s easier on digestion.   Deepana and Pachana (Kindling Digestion, Clearing Ama)   This is the direct work of strengthening digestive fire and addressing Ama, the accumulation of incompletely digested material as described in Ayurveda. Everything here is gentle, matched to the child’s age and constitution, and prescribed individually, in person. There’s no standard protocol handed out uniformly, the dose and approach are unique to the child.   Medhya Medicines   This is a classical category of Ayurvedic preparations traditionally used to support memory, learning, and cognitive function. Many are prepared as medicated ghrita, with the specific preparation chosen according to the child’s constitution and clinical presentation.   That property is what allows herbs like Brahmi and Centella asiatica (Gotu Kola) to actually reach the brain and act on cognitive function, rather than being absorbed elsewhere in the body and doing little for the nervous system directly.   In my experience treating many autistic children, these preparations help. But there is no single herb you simply take and get uniform benefit from.   The combination, the dose, the vehicle, and the child’s own constitution all have to be individualized. What works well for one child can be entirely wrong for another.   Abhyanga (Daily Warm Oil Massage)   A daily practice, and one I’ve written about extensively. As a consistent, long-term habit, it supports overall well-being in a way that compounds over time rather than producing an immediate, isolated effect.   I’ve written a detailed guide on how to practice Abhyanga correctly, the oils to use, and its benefits. You can read it here.   What I Do Not Do   Boundaries matter as much as the treatment itself, so here they are, stated plainly.   I do not perform Panchakarma on young children. In my clinical practice, children under seven are not considered candidates for classical Panchakarma procedures such as Nasya, Vamana, or Virechana, or any of the other classical cleansing procedures.   If anyone tells you otherwise, don’t do it.   I do not put autistic children on restrictive diets. Many of them are already eating a very limited set of foods. Removing items from an already-narrow list isn’t a viable strategy. The work happens around preparation and ingredients, not elimination.   What Actually Happens   Every child is different. Some respond well. Some change slowly. Some continue to struggle with the same challenges despite consistent treatment. There are no guarantees here, and I won’t pretend otherwise.   What I can say, based on what I’ve seen across many cases, is this: a child receiving genuinely individualized Ayurvedic treatment will often be doing noticeably better over time.   If you’d like a deeper understanding of autism and how it’s approached through our Agni Awakening Programs, send a WhatsApp message to +91 99011 26331. Our team will guide you through the next steps.  

Why Two Healthy Foods Don’t Always Belong Together?

Sometimes I believe we look at food in a very simple way, in the sense that we don’t question it. We look at two foods that are healthy, like for example, a fruit is healthy, milk is healthy, and yogurt is healthy. Then we think, okay, if we mix these two healthy foods, the result will also be healthy.   But that is not always true.   More than 2,000 years ago, the Charaka Samhita introduced a concept called Viruddha Ahara, which means incompatible food combinations.   The idea behind this is that a food is not only judged by what it is, but also by how it is eaten, how it is prepared, what it is eaten with, and who is eating it.   Taking all these factors into account is important because two foods can be good on their own, but when combined, may not result in a good combination when eaten together.   This is a very different way of thinking about food and nutrition.   Normally, the questions that pop into our mind when we think about food are: Is it high in protein? Does it contain any vitamins? Is it low in sugar? Or is it natural or processed?   But we should ask different questions. What is this food being combined with? How is it being prepared? Is the right amount being consumed? Is it the right season to eat it? Can my digestion handle it?   Now, instead of looking at foods one by one, Ayurveda looks at the relationship between foods.   According to the Charaka Samhita, there’s not just one kind of food incompatibility. There are 18 different ways in which food can become unsuitable when combined. Keep in mind that food is affected by where, when, how, how much, and with what it is eaten.   Let us look into some of the most important types of Viruddha Ahara.   First is Desha Viruddha, which means some foods are better suited to certain climates than others. A food that might work well in a cold region might not be the best choice to be eaten in a hot or humid place.   Kala Viruddha refers to, as the name signifies, the season and time of the day. Eating heavy and oily foods during summer, or eating meals that are difficult to digest at night, might not suit the body and is not suggested.   Agni Viruddha means digestive strength. Not everyone can digest food in the same way. A meal that might feel light for one person may feel heavy and uncomfortable for someone with weaker digestion.   Matra Viruddha means quantity. Even healthy food becomes unhealthy when taken in excess amount. It is important to keep in mind that the right amount of food is as important as the right food.   Then there is Samskara Viruddha. The way food is cooked, stored, and processed also changes how it affects the body. The same ingredients may have different effects depending on how they are prepared.   Virya Viruddha refers to the inherent qualities of food. Some foods have warming qualities, while others have cooling qualities. Combining foods with opposite properties might not always be a good choice.   Samyoga Viruddha refers to foods that do not work well together, even when each of them is healthy on its own.   One of the best-known examples of Samyoga Viruddha is milk with sour fruits.   According to Ayurveda, milk has a cooling nature, while sour fruits are heating and acidic. The classical texts explain that this combination can disturb digestion, increase heaviness, and create discomfort.   Many people may have experienced this without realizing, like after consuming certain fruit-and-milk combinations, such as a smoothie or milkshake, they may feel bloated, heavy, or simply feel that the meal “didn’t sit well.”   Now, Viruddha Ahara is not just a small idea presented in Ayurveda. It is an important concept because it is considered one of the major causes of disease.   In the Charaka Samhita, incompatible food combinations are described as a major reason for several health problems, especially those related to the skin. They are also linked with inflammation, poor digestion, and, in some cases, even disturbances of the mind.   Vagbhata has also described incompatible food combinations as being poison-like. This doesn’t mean they act like a poison after every single meal. It means that when these combinations are consumed repeatedly over months, they might gradually affect your health. The effects may show up as bloating, discomfort, inflammation, and other digestive issues.   So, the next time you are trying to consume something healthy, ask yourself if that combination of foods or ingredients is actually healthy for your body.   Did this article change the way you think about food? Share it with someone who might find it interesting, and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever noticed certain food combinations affecting your digestion or how you feel. As next, we’ll explore some of the most well-known incompatible food combinations described in Ayurveda.  

The Protein Obsession – You Are Not What You Eat

I want to talk about protein. Not because it doesn’t matter, because it does. But because we are being sold a deficiency most of us don’t have, and you deserve to know who is selling it, and why.   Walk through any store now and protein is everywhere. Protein water. Protein coffee. Bread, cereal, chips, yoghurt, all wearing the number on the front of the pack. It feels like science. It feels like progress. It is neither. It is marketing, and it has a history most people have never been told.   In 1974, a paper in The Lancet took apart the idea of a global “protein gap,” the belief, pushed for two decades by international agencies, that the world was starving for protein and needed industrial protein products to fix it. The scientist who had led that entire field admitted, the very next year, that the gap had never existed.   The recommended protein for infants was quietly revised down, again and again. One of the men involved later called it one of the greatest errors ever made in the name of nutrition science.   Fifty years later, the same myth is back. Bigger, and far more profitable. It is a thirty-billion-dollar industry now, doubling. And this time it has reached your morning coffee.   Here in India, the campaign working hardest to convince you that you are protein deficient is funded by an American soybean export council. That is not a conspiracy; it is stated openly on their own website. And the figure you have seen everywhere that seventy-three percent of Indians are protein deficient, comes from a 2017 market research survey of 1,800 people.   Not a health study. A marketing study.   The government’s own survey, of more than two hundred thousand households, tells a different story. On average, we already eat enough protein. What we are actually short on is not quantity. It is quality, diversity, and the part nobody is selling: digestion.   Because this is what the grams will never tell you.   You are not what you eat. You are what you digest and absorb.   In my tradition, this is not a metaphor. Digestion is agni, your metabolic fire. And there is a line I return to again and again: rogah sarve’pi mande’gnau. Nearly all disease begins in weak digestion.   You can drink three protein shakes a day. But if your agni is weak, that protein does not become muscle. It becomes ama, undigested, sticky residue that clogs your channels and quietly inflames you. More fuel on a low fire does not make a bigger flame. It makes smoke.   And here is the part I find most beautiful. My tradition knew, thousands of years ago, that food becomes flesh. The Chandogya Upanishad says it plainly: the coarsest part of food becomes waste, the middle part becomes flesh, and the subtlest part becomes the mind.   Read that again.   They knew food builds muscle. They simply refused to make muscle the goal. Flesh was the middle outcome, above waste, below mind.   The finest yield of what you eat was never meant to be a bigger body. It was meant to be a clearer one.   In Ayurveda, muscle, Mamsa, is the third transformation of your food, not the first. Food becomes plasma, then blood, then muscle, each step depending on a fire of its own. You cannot shortcut that by scooping more powder into the top. There is no supplement for a broken fire.   Now let me be honest, because I am a physician and not a contrarian.   There are people who genuinely need more protein. Women in perimenopause and beyond. Anyone over sixty losing muscle to age. People on the new weight-loss injections. Those recovering from illness, surgery, childbirth. Serious athletes in real training.   If you are one of them, this is not permission to eat less. But for most others, sitting at a desk, reaching for a third shake out of anxiety, it is the opposite.   So, before you count another gram, do this instead.   Rebuild the fire first. Warm, freshly cooked food, at regular hours. Fewer cold shakes. Your dal with rice and a spoon of ghee is a complete protein and an easily digested one, the combination our grandmothers understood long before it had a name.   And that fruit-and-milk smoothie you feel so virtuous about? Milk and fruit are two different digestions fighting in one glass. My texts call that combination harmful, and they are right. It is one of the most common causes of the bloating and congestion I see every single day.   Strength was never a number on a package. It is what your body can actually transform.   That is the real question. Not how much protein you can swallow, but how much of it you can become.

The “73% of Indians Are Protein Deficient” Claim Deserves a Closer Look

In a study conducted by IIMRB titled Understanding Protein Myths and Gaps Among Indians, about 1,800 Indian residents across four different regions of the country were surveyed.   It reported that up to 73% of Indians had protein-deficient diets. Among these people, 84% were vegetarians, while 65% were non-vegetarians.   93% of Indians did not know their daily protein requirements.   This statistic has since been recycled into academic papers, cited in brand campaigns, and repeated so often that you have almost certainly come across the phrase, “73% of Indians are protein deficient,” if you have spent any time reading health and wellness content over the last few years.   Since then, this number has been amplified through a campaign called Right to Protein, which has been running in India since 2020, with Protein Day celebrated every year on February 27.   The campaign has also expanded to several other countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.   In 2025, a conference was co-hosted in Indore titled Farm to Fork: Bridging the Protein Gap in India through Sustainable Soy Foods. It featured the CEO of one of India’s largest soy producers, and the USSEC regional director stated that India needs to meet its protein requirements.   Since then, there has been a phrase thrown around repeatedly: the protein gap.   This term, the protein gap, was the exact phrase used by UN-led campaigns during the 1950s to 1970s, when it was declared that the world was suffering from a global protein deficiency.   That claim was later publicly discredited by the scientist who had originally led the research in 1974, and the entire episode came to be known as the Great Protein Fiasco.   Why am I mentioning this?   Because 50 years later, in a different country, the same phrase appears to be doing the same marketing work.   None of this means that everything about protein marketing, promotion, or these campaigns is false.   It simply means that you need to understand that this statistic has been funded and amplified by organizations that are trying to promote their own products.   For that reason, we should not automatically treat it as a science-grounded framework.   We should also keep in mind that the survey included about 1,800 residents, while India consists of about 1.3 billion people. That is a very small sample relative to the country’s population, and it deserves to be interpreted with that context in mind.   Now Let’s Look at Something Larger   The The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) conducted a Household Consumption Expenditure Survey in 2023-24 and covered about 261,953 households, of which 154,357 were rural and 107,596 were urban.   This dataset is much larger than the IIMRB sample. More importantly, the figures came from a government-run household consumption survey rather than a market research survey.   The survey was analysed in December 2025 by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).  According to this analysis, the conclusions were very different.   First, the average protein intake in India is actually adequate, not deficient. Around 55.6 grams of protein per person per day is consumed on average. Per capita intake was estimated at 61.8 grams in rural regions and 63.4 grams in urban areas.   What the researchers observed was that the real problem lies in the composition of protein intake, not the quantity.   About 50% of India’s dietary protein comes from cereals such as rice, wheat, and refined flour, whereas the recommended proportion is 32%. Pulses contribute only about 11%, despite a recommended share of 19%.   The real problem, therefore, is distribution of protein sources within the diet.   Separately, many independent researchers from organisations such as the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation have also estimated that average protein intake in India is generally adequate. However, they point out that a specific amino acid, lysine, is often the limiting factor.   If we put aside all these numbers and statistics, the summary is actually quite simple.   India does not have a nationwide protein crisis. What India has is a dietary diversity crisis, and in many places, an inadequate food access, of which protein is only one constraint rather than the entire problem.   The people most affected are households living in rural and economically disadvantaged regions. Now, selling protein powders to urban consumers, many of whom are already meeting their protein requirements, is not the solution.   In fact, the solution, on the other hand, is also much simpler.   Improving access to pulses, dairy, and other naturally protein-rich foods that are already part of traditional diets would do far more than encouraging already well-fed consumers to buy another protein product.   Perhaps the bigger question is not whether you’re eating enough protein, but whether your body is capable of using the protein you’re already eating. I also wrote about how Ayurveda looks at protein very differently, focusing on digestion before nutrients. You can read that here.

Why “More Nutrition” Isn’t Always Better

Overnutrition has become a distinctly modern problem due to the abundance and easy availability of convenient foods. The belief that “more nutrition is always good” has also become increasingly widespread.   Now, let us talk about this according to Ayurveda.   More than 2,000 years ago, one of Ayurveda’s fundamental texts, the Charaka Samhita, dedicated an entire chapter to diseases caused by overeating and overnourishment. It is called the Santarpaniya Adhyaya (Sutrasthana 23).   The Charaka Samhita did not describe the foods that we eat today. Instead, it described an entire pattern of eating. It observed the pattern and the diseases that arose because of it.   In the text, Charaka states that not everyone needs more nourishment. He describes two broad causes of disease.   One is Santarpana, where disease is caused by overnourishment.   The other is Atarpana, where disease is caused due to undernourishment.   When we look at today’s medical advice, the focus is mostly on deficiency. If someone is not getting enough protein, they are advised to increase protein intake. If they are low in iron, they are told to take more iron. If they have low energy, they are encouraged to build it up through supplements.   Ayurveda always had a broader view.   It recognized that too much can be just as harmful as too little. The goal has always been to maintain balance.   When we look at what causes overnourishment, Charaka lists several foods, patterns, and habits that contribute to disease when taken in excess.   These include foods that are Madhura (sweet), Snigdha (oily), Guru (heavy in constitution), and Picchila (slimy), along with new grains, milk and milk-based foods such as Payasam, and various meats, particularly from aquatic animals.   All of these, when consumed in excess (Atimatrasaha) and combined with a sedentary lifestyle and excessive daytime sleeping, may contribute to disease.   When you read that paragraph again, many modern foods might come to mind. But Charaka was not describing any of them. He was describing a pattern of eating that looks remarkably similar.   According to Ayurveda, repeatedly eating this way and living such a lifestyle can disturb Kapha and Meda Dhatu (the fat tissue), eventually leading to Srotorodha, or blockage of the body’s channels.   Ayurveda does not simply advocate eating less. It has always been about choosing the right approach.   The chapter immediately before this one, Sutrasthana 22, explains how to manage nutrition properly. It is the Langhana Brimhana Adhyaya, which describes two complementary therapeutic approaches.   One is Langhana, which means lightening the body through fasting or reducing food.   The other is Brimhana, which nourishes and rebuilds the body.   The right approach depends on the individual and their internal constitution. Someone recovering from an illness may need nourishment, while someone who is overloaded or overnourished may benefit from reduction.   These approaches should always be assessed by a qualified Ayurvedic doctor.   The answer does not always have to be another medicine, another supplement, or eating more. Sometimes, doing less is exactly what the body needs.   Interestingly, a research study published in Nature Metabolism in 2024 found that consuming more than about 25 grams of protein in a single meal may reduce a process called autophagy, the body’s natural way of clearing damaged cells.   The idea that the quantity consumed in a single meal matters sounds remarkably similar to Charaka’s emphasis on Matra, or eating the right quantity of food.   Nutrition was never simply about eating more. It was always about eating the right amount, for the right person, at the right time.   Over the years, if you look at the conversations around food, they have almost always been about one nutrient at a time. First it was carbs, then it was sugar, and now it’s protein.   Each time, the same pattern repeats: one nutrient is singled out while everything else in the meal is ignored.   You cannot isolate a single nutrient and consume it in excessive amounts.   Santarpana was never about one nutrient going wrong. It was always about your entire way of living and eating going out of balance.   That is probably the most significant shift for us to make today.   Instead of asking whether I am eating a certain amount of protein or a certain amount of carbs, or simply trying to make it a balanced diet, we need to ask whether this food is suited for me in this season, at this stage of my life, and in the living conditions I am going through.   Because what nourishes your body depends as much on you as it does on the food itself. Only when both are in sync can your body stay healthy.   When we look at Santarpana and Atarpana, they are simply two ends of the same imbalance.   Too much and too little may sound like one is good and the other is bad, but they are just two different problems arising from the same root.   That is where the idea of Agni, the digestive fire, becomes important again. A person with weak Agni can develop Santarpana-type diseases even while eating a completely normal diet.   Because it has never been solely about the quantity of food; it has always been about how much the body can process. Two people can eat the exact same meal and have completely different outcomes because their Agni is different.   So, it is never about following the same routine for everyone. You should understand your relationship with food.   If you would like to understand more about Ayurvedic concepts that are relevant to today’s modern health problems, you can explore our 3-Month Agni Awakening Program, where we help you understand your relationship with food, digestion, and your own body more deeply.

Protein vs Digestion: What Ayurveda Teaches About Building Muscle

If you are hitting the gym today, or even just opening a health app on your phone, there’s probably one thing you’ll notice immediately: protein intake.   Thirty grams for breakfast, twenty-five grams for lunch and even a protein shake after your workout to hit your daily target.   Protein has become so ingrained in modern nutrition that we rarely stop to question it.   But here’s something interesting. Ayurveda, one of the world’s oldest continuously practised systems of medicine, never counted protein at all.   Why?   Let’s understand protein in a simple way.   Protein helps build muscle and supports strength. Many people assume that the more protein we eat, the stronger we become.   But the amount of protein you eat isn’t necessarily the amount your body digests, absorbs, and uses.   This single difference changes everything.     The World Has Become Obsessed With Protein     Protein is everywhere today.   The global protein supplement industry is now worth over $30 billion, and millions of people are actively trying to increase their daily protein intake.   Protein powders, protein cereals, protein bars, protein water, almost every food category now has a protein version.   The question is not whether we need protein. It has become how can we eat even more of it?   Research suggests that most Americans already meet or exceed the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein. Consuming protein far beyond these requirements doesn’t automatically lead to additional muscle gain or health benefits, particularly for sedentary individuals.   At the same time, many people are actually falling short on nutrients like fiber, calcium, potassium, and several B vitamins.   India has a similar story.   You may have heard the claim that 73% of Indians are protein deficient. But that number comes from a relatively small market survey rather than a nationwide nutritional assessment.   Protein intake varies considerably across India. While many people meet their basic physiological requirements, others, particularly older adults, women, and lower-income populations, may still consume inadequate amounts.   The bigger question isn’t simply how much protein we’re eating, it is whether our body is actually able to absorb and use it properly.     Ayurveda Never Looked at Food This Way     One of the basic principles of Ayurveda is that food is understood by how it behaves inside your body, not by how many grams of protein, carbohydrates, or fat it contains.   In other words, Ayurveda is less interested in the food itself and more interested in what that food does to your body.   Every food is understood through its taste, qualities, energy, and what happens after digestion.   The Chandogya Upanishad describes what happens when food is eaten, it explains that the heaviest part becomes waste, the finer part nourishes the body, while the subtlest portion supports the mind.   The remaining part contributes to building the body’s tissues, including muscle.   So Ayurveda never denied that food builds muscle.   It simply believed that something else comes first. You might have heard of the saying, you are what you eat.   But I believe it extends to you are what you digest.   Every meal you eat has the potential to nourish you but only if your body can properly absorb it.   Food doesn’t become muscle the moment you swallow it.   It first has to be digested, the nutrients must then be absorbed and gradually transformed into the body’s tissues.   Ayurveda describes this as a sequential process of tissue nourishment that eventually supports blood, muscle, fat, bone, marrow, reproductive tissue, and finally Ojas, the body’s deepest reserve of vitality and resilience.   For all of this to happen efficiently, your digestion has to be working well.     Why Ayurveda Focuses on Agni     This is why Ayurveda places so much importance on Agni, the digestive fire.   When your Agni is strong, food is digested efficiently, nutrients are absorbed properly, and the body receives nourishment.   But when Agni becomes weak, the body struggles to digest and process food effectively.   Instead of being completely transformed into nourishment, part of the food remains partially digested.   Ayurveda calls this Ama.   Ama is described as incompletely processed metabolic waste. According to Ayurveda, its accumulation is considered the starting point for many diseases.   This is why simply adding more food or more protein is not always the answer if your digestion is weak. Eating more protein does not automatically mean your body will build more muscle.   The first step is improving digestion.     Modern Science Is Beginning to Ask Similar Questions     Interestingly, modern nutrition is beginning to explore many of these same ideas.   One 2024 study published in Nature Metabolism reported that consuming more than approximately 25 grams of protein in a meal reduced markers associated with autophagy, the body’s natural process for clearing damaged cells.   Researchers are increasingly recognising that digestion, gut health, and nutrient absorption are just as important as nutrient intake itself.   High-protein diets can also unintentionally reduce fiber intake if they replace plant-based foods. This matters because dietary fiber feeds beneficial gut bacteria and plays an important role in long-term digestive and metabolic health.   In some respects, modern nutrition is beginning to explore concepts that echo principles long emphasised in Ayurveda, particularly the importance of digestion, gut health, and nutrient utilisation.   The body is not just a container for nutrients.   It is a living system that must digest, absorb, and transform food before it can become nourishment.     So Should You Stop Eating Protein?     Absolutely not.   Protein is an essential nutrient, it helps build muscle, repair tissues, produce enzymes, hormones, and support numerous physiological functions throughout the body.   I am not asking you to stop eating protein.   I am asking you to stop thinking that more protein automatically means better health.   Instead of asking,… Continue reading Protein vs Digestion: What Ayurveda Teaches About Building Muscle

WHO Recognises Ayurveda. So Why Isn’t It Covered by Insurance?

Biology concept with retro science cartoon icons set vector illustration

Ayurveda has gained global recognition from the World Health Organization. But in most countries, patients still have to pay for treatment entirely out of pocket. Why?   Over the past few years, Ayurveda has reached several important milestones.   The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized Ayurveda as an important part of traditional and integrative healthcare. India has also established the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar, backed by significant government investment, to strengthen research, collaboration, and innovation in traditional medicine.   These achievements are important.   They show that Ayurveda is receiving increasing attention at the global level.   But if someone living in London, New York, or Berlin wants Ayurvedic treatment, they’re probably paying for it themselves.   Even if Ayurveda is recognized, it is still not covered by most health insurance plans.   Recognition and access are not the same thing.   Recognition Is Only the First Step   The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy (2025–2034) encourages countries to strengthen research, improve safety and regulation, and integrate traditional medicine into healthcare systems where appropriate.   This is an important step forward.   It gives traditional medicine, including Ayurveda, greater visibility in global health discussions.   However, recognition by the WHO does not automatically mean that a treatment becomes part of a country’s healthcare system.   Every country has its own rules for licensing practitioners, approving medicines, and deciding what treatments insurance companies will pay for.   That is where Ayurveda still faces significant challenges.   What the Current Situation Looks Like   India’s own report, Strategic Roadmap for Making Ayurveda Global, prepared by NITI Aayog and PwC, highlights this gap.   According to the report:   Ayurveda currently has formal recognition in only a limited number of countries. In many international markets, Ayurvedic products are still classified as dietary supplements rather than medicines. Insurance coverage for Ayurvedic treatment remains very limited outside India.   This means that although awareness of Ayurveda is growing, access to affordable treatment has not kept pace.   For many patients, cost remains a major barrier.   India Has Already Shown That Insurance Can Work   Interestingly, this challenge has already been addressed within India.   Health insurance regulations now require insurers to provide coverage for AYUSH treatments, including Ayurveda, under specific conditions.   Many insurance policies now reimburse eligible Ayurvedic treatments in the same way they reimburse conventional medical care.   Hospitals that meet the required standards can offer insured Ayurvedic treatments to patients.   This demonstrates that insurance coverage for Ayurveda is possible.   The systems already exist.   The question is how similar models can be developed internationally.   Why Insurance Matters   Insurance does more than reduce healthcare costs.   It also builds trust.   When an insurance company agrees to cover a treatment, it usually means that the treatment has passed careful reviews related to safety, effectiveness, practitioner qualifications, and clinical evidence.   Without insurance coverage, many patients simply cannot afford long-term care, regardless of how beneficial a treatment may be.   That limits access and slows wider adoption.   Traditional Chinese Medicine Offers an Important Example   Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has made greater progress in this area.   In countries such as Switzerland, certain TCM treatments are included within the national health insurance system when provided by appropriately qualified medical professionals.   This did not happen overnight.   It was the result of years of research, standardized education, practitioner certification, and collaboration with healthcare regulators.   Ayurveda has not yet reached the same stage in most countries.   In many places, it is still classified alongside wellness services rather than integrated into mainstream healthcare.   Why This Gap Still Exists   Insurance providers make decisions based on evidence.   They want answers to questions such as:   Does the treatment improve patient outcomes? Is it safe? Does it reduce long-term healthcare costs? Are practitioners properly trained and regulated?   While research in Ayurveda continues to grow, India’s own policy roadmap acknowledges that larger international clinical studies and stronger evidence are still needed.   This is one of the biggest reasons insurance coverage remains limited.   Recognition creates awareness.   Evidence creates confidence.   Insurance depends on confidence.   What Needs to Happen Next   The good news is that the path forward is becoming clearer.   Several steps could help Ayurveda become more widely accepted by healthcare systems and insurance providers around the world.   These include: Conducting more high-quality clinical research that meets international standards. Generating cost-effectiveness data to demonstrate how Ayurvedic care may reduce long-term healthcare expenses. Creating internationally recognized credentialing systems for qualified Ayurvedic physicians. Expanding the proposed Global Ayurveda Register so practitioner qualifications can be easily verified. Working with governments and insurers to launch pilot insurance programs in countries with growing interest in Ayurveda.   These efforts would provide the evidence and infrastructure that insurers need before expanding coverage.   Recognition Is Important. Access Is the Goal.   The WHO’s recognition of Ayurveda is an important milestone.   It reflects growing international respect for one of the world’s oldest healthcare systems.   But recognition alone does not make treatment affordable.   Patients benefit most when qualified practitioners are accessible, treatments are properly regulated, and insurance makes care financially possible.   India has already shown that this model can work domestically.   The next challenge is building similar systems internationally.   If research, regulation, and professional standards continue to improve, Ayurveda will be in a much stronger position to become part of mainstream healthcare systems around the world.   Recognition opened the door.   The next step is making sure patients can actually walk through it.