India’s batting superstar Virat Kohli turned vegetarian a few years ago. Seeing the man who once loved butter chicken turn to vegan sources, even for his protein needs was baffling for many. But, Kohli had his reasons and he even explained how quitting non-vegetarian food helped him take his fitness to a new level. However, when Virat posted a story on Instagram, saying he had ‘mock chicken tikka’, many fans were left scratching their heads. However, there’s a side to the story that certain fans failed to understand.
A few years ago, Virat had revealed that he quit being a non-vegetarian because of a cervical spine issue. Since his body was creating way too much uric acid, he had to make certain changes in his diet, and this one of the biggest ones.
In the Instagram story that Virat shared, he is eating ‘mock chicken tikka’, which is not animal-based, but plant-based. Hence, it remains a vegetarian dish.
Virat Kohli loves the “Chicken Tikka”#ViratKohli #CricketTwitter #KingKohli #Cricket pic.twitter.com/611fIdtkhn
— Niche Sports (@Niche_Sports) December 12, 2023
Some people on Twitter really don’t understand the difference between Chicken tikka and Mock chicken tikka (a kinda plant food)
and started controversy against Virat Kohli for eating non veg. pic.twitter.com/rplyX4QPmq— Akshat (@AkshatOM10) December 12, 2023
What is ‘Mock Chicken Tikka’?
Unlike the usual ‘Chicken Tikka’, the mock version of the dish isn’t actually made from chicken. Instead, soy is used. Over the years, many vegetarian versions of chicken and meat items have arrived, mostly made of soy.
The flavours and textures of the food item often makes it difficult for people to differentiate between the two. But, the ‘mock’ version of chicken items is purely based on soy.
Why did Virat Kohli turn vegetarian?
“Left eating meat just before the England Test series. In 2018, when we went to South Africa, I had a cervical spine issue while playing a test match. It compressed a nerve that was running straight to the little finger of my right hand. It gave me a tingling sensation and I could barely feel my little finger. I could not sleep at night and it was hurting like mad,” Kohli said in the Instagram Live session back in 2020.
“Then I got my tests done and my stomach was too acidic and my body was too acidic, creating too much uric acid. Even though I was taking calcium and magnesium, everything but one tablet was not sufficient for my body to function properly. So, my stomach started pulling calcium from my bones and my bones got weaker. That is why I stopped eating meat completely in the middle of England tour to cut down the uric acid and I have never felt better in my life, to be honest,” he added.
Virat even revealed that the decision changed his life to a large extent, with his energy levels going up.
“I felt amazing, it is almost two years now and it is the best decision I have taken… it made me feel why I didn’t do it before,” he said then.
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