Meat, Poultry and Eggs Will Make You Obese, Says Health Ministry

Ministry of Health says give up meat, fish and eggs if you want to be ‘healthy’ according to a now deleted tweet.

A diet of meat, eggs, junk food, cola will make you fat. A diet of corn, pumpkin, strawberry, peas, grapes, chilli, avocado, kiwi will make you slim and trim. So what’s your choice?, asked the Union Ministry of Health in a tweet on their official twitter account.

The tweet left the meat eating non vegetarian Indian population ( over 70 percent of the country according to a Registrar General of India (RGI) survey done in 2014) examining their Body Mass Index. And the ‘shudh’ vegetarian population asking, what is this avocado??

Also, fat shaming much, Ministry of Health?

The social media team did realise the gaffe and quickly deleted the tweet, but as we say in the internet world, where there is a delete button, we have screen grabs.

Check the screengrab of the original here.

After beef ban in some states, no eggs in mid day meals, and now no meat, poultry or eggs in this advertisement for ‘SwasthBharat’, what egg-jactly is going on? Ministry of Health, do you speak for only the 30 percent vegetarian Indians?

Just for the record, World Health Organisation and India’s own Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) only recommends this: A good mix of carbohydrates, fats and proteins, that are recognised as macronutrients, which are needed in large amounts. And vitamins and minerals, that constitute micronutrients and are required in small amounts.

Eggs, poultry, fish and meat are a good source of protein. And for a large part of the country, the only source of protein. Why take that away?

Meanwhile, twitter had a field day.

The all important question...

Where’s the science? Asked this comment.

What do you think of the Health Ministry’s bad attempt at promoting ‘Swasth Bharat’? Comment below.