3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD BE EATING CRICKETS AND OTHER BUG PROTEIN

August 16, 2016

ALL YOU CAN EAT, RIGHT IN YOUR BACKYARD.

So I’m in the car a while back and I’m feenin for a snack. I’m driving and there’s no food to be found, I feel around in the glove box to see if I could find a snickers or a tic tac, something. Then my friend from the back seat says “hey, why don’t you try one of these…” He reaches in his back pack and pulls out a cricket bar. That’s right, a protein bar made out of cricket meal, that’s rolled up crickets just to drive home the point. I’m skeptical, but I try it, and honestly it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.

The friend that handed it to me was of Indian descent. He explained to be that people in Asia and many African countries had been consuming this stuff for eons as a regular source of nutrients. Not only are these things chock full of protein ( 100 grams of cricket meal boasting 59 grams of protein), but they’re not pumped full of hormones like the chicken or beef you’re probably using as a regular source. On top of that the protein you get from crickets contain all the essential amino acids. Still need more reasons? No problem.

Iron

Insects are a great source of Iron. Crickets contain about 3 times as much of this muscle building nutrient as beef does.

Magnesium

Insects contain nearly 5x as much magnesium as beef. According to a 2015 Harvard study, magnesium has been known to cut heart disease in half. That’s a big percentage.

You’re eating the whole insect

Unlike animals, where you’re mainly consuming muscle and fat, you’re eating the insect whole. This includes bones (calcium, iron) and organs ( vitamin b12 and zinc). According to Daniella Martyn, the author of Edible, ” it’s like if somebody ground up a whole cow.”

While the picture of downing live meal worms and crickets may not be an appetizing one for most North Americans, a ground up version should take away from some of the queezines.

We’ve attached a nutritional diagram of just what you get from 100 grams of ground up insects, hopefully these stellar marking will help you warm up to the thought.