Mumbai, India – A quiet wellness revolution is underway in India, with celebrities like Vidya Balan, Aamir Khan, and Jyotika leading the charge by adopting anti-inflammatory diets. When Vidya Balan took the stage at the Galatta India Fan Festival in October 2024, she wasn’t there to discuss her film Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Instead, she corrected a decades-old assumption: “It’s not fat, it’s inflammation,” she said, describing a regimen called Elimination of Inflammation that had done what years of dieting hadn’t. The clip has since crossed five million views and rewired how urban India talks about weight.
Balan wasn’t the only one listening to her body. THR India cover star Jyotika lost nine kilograms in three months on the same principle and publicly thanked Balan for pointing her to it. “I learned about my gut, digestion, inflammatory foods, and food balancing,” Jyotika said. “More importantly, I understood its impact on my well-being and moods.” For Aamir Khan, the entry point wasn’t a mirror but a migraine. Months of the affliction led him, also on Balan’s suggestion, to an anti-inflammatory diet — and the 18 kilograms he shed turned out to be a side effect, not the goal. “It worked like magic,” he said, adding that the migraines had eased considerably.
What connects all of them is Amura, a Chennai-based health-tech firm that prescribes individualised diet and lifestyle protocols based on blood work and consultation. Its founder, Saravanan Balakrishnan, reversed his own diabetes through nutrition alone after his father and grandfather died of heart attacks at 41.
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“Our patients might be dealing with bloating, weight issues, acid reflux, but they might not have found a solution with their doctor,” he says. Nutritionists caution against self-prescribing, emphasizing that inflammation triggers vary widely from person to person. “Turmeric shots or ginger might work for one person and do nothing for you,” says nutritionist Maria George. “Nothing works in isolation.” Still, neither dismisses the trend as a fad. “Good gut health comes with so many benefits that it’s bound to improve quality of life,” George adds.
