Author: Esther Landhuis / Source: Science News for Students
Valerie Stull begins her mornings with a breakfast shake. She blends peanut butter, cocoa powder, banana, soymilk and flax seeds into it.
She also sweetens it with honey and stirs in a little extra protein. That last ingredient is a powder made from ground crickets. Her research has shown that these bugs can be good for the gut.Stull works at the Global Health Institute. It’s based at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. There she studies the overlap between agriculture, the environment and health. She’s part of an emerging group of researchers who study the impacts of eating insects. There’s a formal name for dining on bugs: entomophagy (En-tuh-MAH-fuh-jee).
About two billion people regularly eat insects. That’s almost one in every four. Most North Americans and Europeans tend to find the idea of entomophagy revolting. Yet even in their parts of the world, bug eating is starting to catch on. That’s especially true when the bugs are downed, as Stull’s are, in a form that doesn’t show their eyes, wings and feet.
Some scientists view edible insects as “mini-livestock.” (Livestock refers to animals that can be farmed.) Compared to raising cattle and more traditional livestock, insects need far less land and water. Bugs also are nutritious. They’re packed with protein, vitamins and minerals. Plus, their outer shells contain chitin (KY-tin) — a source of fiber.
High-fiber diets help guard against diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer. Fruits, leafy greens and whole-grain foods all contain fiber. But the human body cannot digest fiber. Instead, fiber’s health benefits come from serving as a food for the beneficial microbes that live in our gut. Those gut germs make up our microbiome (My-kroh-BY-ohm). They include bacteria that can make us ill and others that boost our health.
The helpful crew breaks fiber into small molecules. These compounds can then boost the immune system, control body weight and even influence mood and emotions. Scientists refer to fiber and other parts of the microbes’ diet…
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