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It’s Healthy to Eat Bugs — Seriously

by Grace » on Mar 20, 2018 0

When looking to eat healthy, there’s a food group that many people overlook: bugs. Yes indeed, I’m talking about insects. They might be gross but they’re packed with nutritional value. A new study by a pest control company (yes, let’s all take a minute to laugh at that) shows how much better eating bugs is compared to traditional proteins.

People have been eating bugs for centuries, if not millenia. Most of the rest of the world already does it, but those in Western culture are behind. However, the idea of chowing down on creepy-crawlies has been gaining traction in recent years, although it hasn’t quite reached ‘fad diet’ status.

And speaking of diet, the study pulled some numbers of a 100 gram serving size of crickets and compared it to foods and standard proteins. Here’s some of what they found.

The data shows that a serving of crickets has more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, and more fiber than green beans. That’s pretty significant. Those are three things that most people praise for their nutritional value, and you’re getting all three in one.

One of my favorite things they did was to compare crickets to some fun foods. Looking at crickets compared to a slice of pizza, crickets have less calories, more protein, and about half the fat. For steak, crickets have less protein, but they have much less fat and much more iron. Last, they looked at a standard taco. The crickets came out ahead in protein and also had less fat. That’s a win-win.

So, next time you’re looking for a healthy snack — why not try some bugs? There are a number of ways to make them: crispy, in a powder form (like flower), pan roasted, over roasted, or even as a garnish. If you decide to try it out, just be brave! You know that it’s good for you, and if you get over the mental block, you might find that they’re pretty delicious as well.

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