RFK Jr adviser says traditional Indian food habits can help fight ultra-processed foods
Calley Means on how India’s long-standing emphasis on fresh food, fasting and movement could help counter rising lifestyle diseases.
Traditional Indian food habits such as home-cooked meals, fresh ingredients and fasting can help counter ultra-processed diets and rising lifestyle diseases, says RFK Jr adviser Calley Means. (File Photo) As India grapples with rising consumption of ultra-processed foods and lifestyle-related diseases, its traditional food practices could hold important lessons for better health, according to Calley Means, senior adviser on food and nutrition to US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Means, a leading voice in the Make America Healthy Again movement, said India’s long-standing emphasis on home-cooked meals, fresh ingredients, fasting and mindful living offers a strong counterpoint to the highly processed diets that now dominate many parts of the world. “Unfortunately, these eating patterns have spread globally, including to countries that historically had much healthier food traditions,” Means said during a virtual interaction with reporters and incoming fellows of the Health Coverage Fellowship at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
“The message we are trying to promote is not about pushing one dietary philosophy. It is actually very simple: eat real food.”
Responding to a query from The Indian Express on traditional Indian diets, Means said India’s food culture offers valuable insights at a time when countries are searching for solutions to growing metabolic health concerns.
“Every country has its own traditions, and there are many paths to good health. What matters is respecting food more, relying less on highly processed products and focusing on nutritional basics such as adequate protein, fibre and whole foods,” he said.
“In that sense, traditional Indian practices offer a lot of valuable lessons. Studying what has worked in India for centuries is a very good place to start.”
He said there is real value in revisiting the kinds of foods and lifestyles that humans have historically thrived on.
Asked what one lifestyle change could most benefit urban children, including in India, Means said the answer is straightforward: eat more real food, cut down on ultra-processed products, move more, sleep better and build healthy habits early. “At the core of what we are trying to say is that health is actually much simpler than people often make it out to be,” he said.
Means pointed out that ultra-processed foods were virtually non-existent 150 years ago, but today make up nearly 60–70 per cent of the average diet in countries such as the US. At the same time, he said, people are moving less and sleeping worse than at any other point in modern history. “People used to move naturally throughout the day. There were no gyms or structured exercise programmes because daily life itself involved much more physical activity,” he said.
He added that many of today’s health problems stem from major changes in diet, movement, sleep and daily routines. “That is why the focus must return to the root causes of health — better nutrition, more movement, proper sleep and healthier routines.”
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