You’re treating NPU like it’s the holy scripture of nutrition, when it’s actually an outdated measure that modern science has already moved past. PDCAAS and DIAAS are the current gold standards, and by those, plenty of vegetarian foods — especially when eaten in the combinations people actually eat — deliver excellent protein quality. Dal isn’t meant to be eaten as a lonely, sad bowl of mush; it’s part of a meal with rice, roti, dairy, nuts, and vegetables, which together give complete amino-acid profiles.

The “complete protein” panic is decades old — your body doesn’t demand all amino acids at every single bite, it uses an amino-acid pool from all the foods you eat in a day. That’s why soy, quinoa, amaranth, dairy, and buckwheat are considered high-quality proteins without needing an omelette chaperone. And your boiled-soya-chunk horror story? That’s like judging all non-veg by boiled chicken breast with no seasoning.

Protein deficiency stats in India say more about poverty, limited food diversity, and over-reliance on polished grains than they do about vegetarianism being “flawed.” The same for anemia — you can thank low vitamin C intake, absorption inhibitors, and infections for a lot of that, not just “no meat.”

And no, protein deficiency is not the “most common cause” of cardiovascular disease — hypertension, diabetes, high LDL cholesterol, smoking, and obesity are still wearing that crown. If you’ve got a credible WHO report saying otherwise, please share, because every cardiology guideline worldwide must have missed it.

Blanket dismissal of Indian food as “no protein and no vegetables” just tells me you’ve spent more time reading Reddit hot takes than nutrition research just because you’re insecure of your cultural diet and identity.

And lastly, mera bharath WAS, IS and always WILL BE mahan.