Stop Giving Raw Eggs to Girls Who Are Going Through Menarche

When I got my first period, I was almost subjected to one of the traditional South Indian practices of giving girls raw eggs for their supposedly exceptional nutritional benefits and their ability to prepare the body for future childbearing. 

I was spared from drinking raw eggs because I had guzzled Indian sesame oil instead - I'm very fond of sesame oil's taste - raw eggs' taste? Not so much. But the issue runs way deeper than taste.

First, why raw eggs? Second, what exactly makes them beneficial for future fertility? And third, why does a girl getting her first period suddenly become a family project to prepare her body for motherhood?

I have nothing against these traditional foods - in fact, I drink sesame oil and eat one or 2 eggs every morning because they're nutrition-dense. But I have a problem with treating cultural beliefs as established medical facts.

Eggs are nutritious. They contain protein, choline, vitamin B12 and other essential nutrients. But there is no good evidence that drinking them raw improves a girl's future fertility or prepares her body for pregnancy.

What raw eggs can do is expose you to Salmonella, a bacterium that causes food poisoning. Contaminated eggs may look and smell perfectly normal, so you cannot determine their safety simply by inspecting them. Cooking eggs thoroughly reduces this risk. 

So, unless your culinary ambitions involve a dish that specifically calls for raw eggs, there is little reason to take an unnecessary risk when cooked eggs provide the same essential nutrients.

And about Japan: raw eggs are used in some Japanese dishes, but Japan is not exempt from food-safety risks. Its food-safety authorities still advise precautions when handling and consuming raw eggs.

The title is deliberately provocative, not a claim that raw eggs are safe only in Japan.

And then... black lentil porridge to strengthen the hips of pubescent girls? WTF!

 As part of a balanced diet, ulunthu kali is nutritious and is given to girls in the menarche phase. But the traditional explanation is that it strengthens a girl's hips for future childbirth. Excuse me, what?

There is a difference between nourishing a growing body and claiming that a particular food will strengthen or widen the pelvis for pregnancy.

Pelvic development is influenced by genetics, hormones and normal growth. My hip and Simran's hip aren't the same because of those factors.

 

Adequate nutrition supports healthy development, but there is no established evidence that ulundhu kali specifically prepares a girl's hips for childbirth.

If the porridge is nutritious, excellent. Let girls enjoy it because it is good food, not because their bodies are supposedly being prepared for a delivery room they may never enter.

Puberty becomes a rehearsal for motherhood and this is the part that bothers me most.

A girl gets her first period, a perfectly normal biological milestone, and suddenly everyone seems concerned about her future reproductive capacity. She must eat this, drink that, strengthen her hips and prepare her body for a pregnancy that may be years away, if she ever chooses to become pregnant at all.

Menstruation marks the beginning of reproductive maturity. It does not mean a girl is ready for motherhood, nor does it mean motherhood must become the central purpose of her physical development.

Yet some traditions frame puberty almost entirely around a girl's future role as a mother. Her body is treated less as something that belongs to her and more as something that must be maintained for a future  reproductive function.

We rarely stop to question the assumption behind these practices because they come wrapped in the authority of tradition, passed down by mothers and grandmothers who may have sincerely believed they were doing what was best for their daughters.

And they may well have been trying to nourish them. Historically, when access to nutritional information and healthcare was limited, traditional foods could play an important role in supporting health.

But good intentions do not automatically make every explanation scientifically sound.

Respect the Food. Question the Folklore.

I can appreciate the nutritional value of black lentil porridge, sesame oil and eggs without accepting claims that they guarantee fertility, strengthen the pelvis for childbirth or confer special reproductive benefits.

These are two separate questions: Is the food nutritious? And is the reason we are giving it to girls scientifically supported?

The answer to the first can be yes while the answer to the second is no.

We can respect our mothers and grandmothers without assuming everything they were taught is medically accurate. We can preserve cultural food traditions while updating our understanding of nutrition. And we can celebrate a girl's first period without turning it into a countdown to motherhood.

Girls deserve good nutrition because they are growing human beings, not because they are future mothers in training.

Feed them well. Teach them about their bodies. Give them accurate health information. And please, cook the eggs.