Influencers clash over India’s protein needs

There’s a war underway. No, not the one on your television screens. This one’s playing out on your phones, and the target is, of all things, your protein intake.

For those who don’t live their lives online, here’s the executive summary. On April 1, celebrity health and wellness influencer Rujuta Diwekar posted a reel pegged ostensibly to a common predicament of the older of her 1.8 million Instagram followers: their children were urging them to include more protein in their diet. In a line that evokes the no-uterus-no-opinion stand on abortion adopted by pro-choice advocates, Diwekar said they should ignore their sons’ advice on food, including protein, collagen, creatine, omega-3, and prebiotics, till such time they were cooking meals for multiple people every day. “Bachha hain, bada hone do [He’s a child, let him grow up],” she signs off.