Chef Ranveer Brar Debunks 'Superfood' Hype

Chef Ranveer Brar has challenged the popular notion of 'superfoods,' asserting that the label is a marketing strategy. He explained during a discussion with Soha Ali Khan and Garima Arora that companies create the term 'superfood' primarily to drive product sales by highlighting specific compounds.

Brar contrasted this with India's traditional 'effect-first' approach to food and health. He pointed to ingredients like finger millet (nachini) and Indian berries, rich in calcium and antioxidants respectively, as examples of naturally beneficial foods. Similarly, fox nuts (makhana) are noted for their fiber content.

This ingrained cultural practice of consuming food for its inherent benefits, without needing scientific explanations of causes, has been passed down through generations, exemplified by grandmothers' simple advice. Brar suggested that this effect-first philosophy might explain why Indian ingredients didn't gain international recognition as quickly as Western-marketed ones.