'The sugar content in most Indian foods is ridiculous, It will slowly kill us', says Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath

Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath, who is also recognized as a billionaire by Forbes, in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), raised concerns over the high sugar content and adulterations in most Indian foods.

"We Indians need to question what goes into the food we consume. The more we ask, the better choices we will have," wrote Nithin.

He highlighted that the sugar content in "most of our food is ridiculous" and pointed out the presence of adulteration in food items like masalas, milk, and protein.

"Additionally, substandard chemicals are used in food colouring and preservatives in fruits and vegetables," he stated.

He warned that such food items are harmful to health and noted that this issue extends to both packaged foods and meals from restaurants.

"They are all slowly killing us. This applies to both packaged foods and food from many restaurants," Nithin added.

We Indians need to question what goes into the food we consume. The more we ask, the better choices we will have. The sugar content in most of our food is ridiculous. Adulteration in food items like masalas, milk and protein. And then there are substandard chemicals used in food… pic.twitter.com/rJet0s14PG

— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) May 28, 2024

Kamath wrote this in response to the National Institute of Nutrition's (NIN) recommendations on sugar content in packaged foods and beverages.

NIN, which collaborates with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has recently defined the maximum sugar content that foods like soda, cereals, health drinks, cookies, and ice creams can contain, potentially impacting the brand markets of packaged foods.

Netizens reaction

Kamath shared this on May 28th, and since then, it has garnered over 84,000 views and nearly 1,000 likes. Many people took to the comment section to share their viewpoints on Indian food and its effects on health.

"That's for sure. It's like the baby getting milk only when it cries, can't expect otherwise in due time. Most of the diseases are gotten from what we eat, be it deficiency or excess," a user wrote. 

Food has become poison ☹️

— SanthanamVaidya (@sanvai) May 28, 2024

"Absolutely right! It is very important for us to be aware of the food and beverages we consume. 👏👏," another said.

First we need to educate ourselves about food and nutrition. Then we can question.

We are daily consuming street food which is deep fried, no exercise and consuming poisons like alcohol.

The only solution is to make schools teach basics like
- reading nutrition labels
- What…

— Anshul Sadhale || Shredded Coach (@AnshulGains) May 28, 2024

"Excessive consumption of anything which is white in colour is not good for health. For example : Milk, Paneer, Sugar, Salt, Maida etc. Incidentally, There is lot of adulteration majorly in these products," a third shared. 

"Have a regulatory body and enforce things rigorously. We have few, ask ourselves do we enforce?" fourth asked.