Idli, rajma are among Indian COVID-19 combatants, says ICMR study 

The scientists concluded that food habits and food ingredients probably played an important role.

GUWAHATI

Idli- sambar and rajma rice are among an array of Indian foods that may have saved many in the country from death during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new scientific study said. 

The study by a team comprising scientists from Brazil, Jordan, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and India was published in the April edition of the  Indian Journal of Medical Research by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). 

The infection and death rates in the case of pandemics are likely to be higher in densely populated countries. But India presented the opposite picture during COVID-19 for the researchers. 

“If we calculate the death per 1 lakh population, we can see that the death rate in India with 428 people per square kilometre was five-eight times lower than that in less-populated Western countries with a density of 36-92 people per square kilometre,” Debmalya Barh, one of the authors of the study said. 

An expert in genomics and precision health who conceptualised and led the research, he is an honorary scientist at the West Bengal-based Institute of Integrative Omics and Applied Biotechnology and teaches at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Brazil. 

“We looked into the phenomena from a precision health point of view where the gene, behaviour, and environment interactions determine the phenotype of any person. As there are huge differences in cultural aspects, including the food habits and food ingredients between India and Western countries, we focused on this area,” he said.