As a person who grew up in an Indian household, I must say, “It takes guts to have an Indian gut.” We have so much variety that sometimes it feels like we were just meant to eat and do nothing. And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I have left gluten and dairy for good.
The girl who grew up eating rotis, paneer, pasta, pizza, sweets, and full-fat milk on an everyday basis. Yes, I had to bid goodbye to the emotional attachment of loving Momo.
It’s a real challenge in a household where paneer is made three times a week, coffee and tea without milk are literally non-negotiable, and on a good day, chole bhature is all you can think of. That big, fluffy whole wheat puri with hot chickpeas — I mean, with a meal like that you don’t even require sleeping pills. And obviously, to wash it down, we always have buttermilk in every household on an everyday basis.
I’m a total foodie, really. So along with Indian food, pasta, Chinese, and desserts go hand in hand. So when my body started answering on behalf of my heart, I had to stop both. It was never a trend; it was my body asking for help. Because when you have bloating, hormonal issues, and fatigue on an everyday basis, you automatically change.
Even with all these changes, the real cultural shock was when I had to pay 200 rupees just for a litre of oat milk. I mean, that made me say having gluten and lactose is so socially easy and friendly for the pocketbook. But here we are.
To be honest, the opinions you get in your household for switching are the worst.
They’ll be like:
“Eh! You might as well quit living instead of paying so much.”
“No problem, let’s solve it with a medicine I created at home.”
“Oh! These are just excuses. It’s really for your aesthetics and your Instagram story.”
My goodness, they won’t leave a chance to pass a comment. And honestly, there’s a lesser percentage who will actually understand — and that is obviously your own generation. But the oldies? Absolutely not. But hey, that’s my situation. Others may be different.
So when you hear my opinion about gluten and lactose — they are familiar to the taste buds, emotionally comforting, delicious, and honestly, readily available.
Whereas when you switch sides to gluten- and lactose-free, oh boy! It’s confusing, a little dramatic, expensive on your pocket, but eventually healing.
And no, this is not me declaring war against roti or paneer. It’s just me choosing peace with my own body. Gluten and lactose were comfort, culture, and convenience. But sometimes love is not enough if your stomach disagrees. So for now, we’re on a break. Maybe not forever, maybe not dramatically — just respectfully. Because at the end of the day, I’d rather miss garlic bread a little than feel uncomfortable all the time.
Tell me — are you still loyal to your comfort foods, or has your body forced you into character development too?
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