If you think that locusts are used as food in Africa and the Middle East only, you are deeply mistaken. We eat dishes of insects on a regular basis too. For several decades chitin and its derivatives have been added to foodstuffs, medicines, cosmetics, and even suture material.
The Japanese were the first to embrace the chitin fashion, the Americans and Europeans soon followed suit. Russian manufacturers finally adopted the technique too.
Chitin is a principal constituent of the exoskeleton, or other covering of insects and crustaceans. Chitin also occurs in a cell membrane of yeast, algae, and fungi.
Chitin additives are used to make food look more attractive and enhance it's flavor. They are also used as preservatives. Some people use them as food supplements. Chitin diet is exceptionally good for health.
The chitin additives can work wonders:
-protect the human body from the harmful effects of radiation;
-suppress the growth of cancer cells;
-prevent the development of myocardial infraction and stroke by boosting the effect of blood-thinning drugs;
-increase immunity levels;
help control cholesterol levels in the blood (especially in the case of atherosclerosis and obesity);
-combat inflammatory processes;
-enhance regeneration of tissues.
Chitin is the second (next to cellulose) most widespread organic matter in fauna. Some scientists even maintain that humankind will switch to the chitin diet in the near future. Sam Hudson, a professor of chemistry of polymers at the University of North Carolina, recently made a statement about the "chitin-coated" future that is "as limitless as the number of food products that can be made using chitin".
Human beings first came to taste arthropods ages ago. According to Leviticus, the third book of the Bible, there are so-called 'clean' and 'unclean' insects. For example, locusts and grasshoppers fall under the category of clean insects. John the Baptist lived on a diet of honey and locusts while in the desert. Boiled ants were served at dinner parties at the court of Montezuma. Some peoples in Africa and the Middle East still have a penchant for bugs and spiders.
Comparative nutrition information in grams per 100 grams of product:
Grasshoppers: proteins- 20.6; fats- 6.1
Dung beetles: proteins- 17.2; fats- 3.8
Termites: proteins- 14.2; fats- 2.2
Bees: proteins- 13.4; fats- 1.4
Beef: proteins- 23.5; fats- 21.2
So, what do you think about a diet of grasshoppers and dung beetles?
beyondtheveil posted on Nov 11, 2007
| views: 239
Comments
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beyondtheveil said on Nov 11, 2007....
Forgot the source: English/Pravda- health/science article- 11 Nov. 2007 -
lfbno7 said on Nov 11, 2007....
I watch Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel channel. He is always eating insects. He was eating one in Mexico that he said was delicious. He said it was like Tutti Frutti bubble gum. Watching his show makes me want to try it too, but then again, just the tiniest bite, maybe. He also eats bull's testicles. I don't want dung beetles. They are too dungy. -
quietone said on Nov 11, 2007....
I think some might be okay to try. I think I'd try a grasshopper maybe or an ant. I am sure I have probably eaten an ant a few times in my years. It is funny how we associate a "name" with a taste...like "dung" beetle...I think I'd pass on that too. I have seen some of those kinds of shows...and when they get to ugh those big white grubs...no I will pass! -
secretlife said on Nov 11, 2007....
i'm going to become a vegetarian when we go to an insect diet. -
queenparanoia said on Nov 11, 2007....
very interesting post beyond... i dont mind eating bugs... as long as it taste like chicken... =) -
beyondtheveil said on Nov 11, 2007....
7- I've never seen that show, but it sounds interesting enough to give it a try.
quiet- You know, I could be pushed into trying one of these dudes- if they were cooked, none of that raw stuff. Yea, cooked and lots of spices.
secret- If its a diet, I'm for the veggies too. However, would you consider one of those spicy fried tarantulas if I go first?
queen- For the life of me I can't remember who or where, but someone was eating one of those bugs or grubs and said it did taste like chicken. You may be in luck.
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Suddenrain said on Nov 12, 2007....
What in the world bought this subject up? Hi Beyond. I have to tell you, I may try certain bugs just to say I did it, but as a regular diet? No. You are what you eat you know. I'd rather be a cow. :-P LoL -
Lioness said on Nov 12, 2007....
Interesting piece of information, beyond. But to feed on insects?? Oh, no, thank you. -
Fallyn said on Nov 12, 2007....
um.......
*blinking*
i can't even handle the thought of clams and shrimp! i think insects would push it a little beyond what i could stomach.
i have a weak stomach.
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uniquely-ironic said on Nov 12, 2007....
I'm afraid you're gonna have to disguise them to get them into me. I think I'll take my chances with traditional foods. -
secretlife said on Nov 12, 2007....
beyond: no way am i eating that hairy thing!where's kruu? i know somewhere she wrote about eating bugs.....maybe it was thailand.... -
moonriver said on Nov 14, 2007....
ants and locusts and weevil beetles and certain beetle grub... considered delicacies among my people. consider this: when i was in 4th grade i sometimes got this surprise in my lunchbox... a loaf-bread sandwich of ant larvae stir-fried in anchor butter. yum... ;-)
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Fallyn said on Nov 14, 2007....
i used to eat peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.....does that count? *cringing*
moonriver...seriously though...i respect your culture. ......if i grew up in it i would be eating the same things i'm sure and without the squeamish stomach.
people around here eat all kinds of seafood....it's completely normal.....i just can't....like i said...i have a weak stomach...and i didn't grow up on it.
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moonriver said on Nov 14, 2007....
fallyn, i agree. food is 20% nutrition and 80% culture. admittedly, my stomach also turns topsy-turvy at some of the stuff that's considered standard fare in american breakfast tables.
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Fallyn said on Nov 14, 2007....
moonriver...i'm curious...what? ooh, inspiration. *laughing* -
moonriver said on Nov 14, 2007....
most of what comes out of kitchen blenders in the morning rush, for example. god, the stuff that go into that blender, comes out all gooey... then you drink it! i'm just basing myself on short visits to my american cousins and what i see on tv, of course, and then comparing them to my own asian upbringing and diet... i say, to each his own ethnocentric slop hahaha.
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Fallyn said on Nov 14, 2007....
*LAUGHING* .....some of it i like.....like bananas and strawberries and peaches....
some of it.....is not something i would like......wheat grass for one.
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beyondtheveil said on Nov 14, 2007....
moon- I could give you a much longer list of foods and preparation in "American" diet that I can't handle, than I could give you in foreign diet. There are many foods eaten here I would exchange for a grub any day. We definitely have our own "ethnocentric slop".
fallyn- Peanut butter and pickle sandwich?....oh dear....
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Fallyn said on Nov 14, 2007....
beyond.....i had a crush on this boy......who ate peanut butter and pickle sandwiches......in second grade....nuff said.
hmmm his grandma actually had chocolate covered ants at her house. he liked them.
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