Top 10 Biggest Benefits of Eating Insects

I'm not saying we should all start eating insects instead of our conventional food, but there is no denying that insects are highly nutritious.

I wanted to make a list to show you the scientific studies that have been conducted on the nutritional benefits of insects. Even the United Nations recommends that people eat insects to combat hunger and poverty.
The Top Ten
Insects have a much higher nutritional value than many vegetables, fruits, flowers, leaves, and nuts

Now you might think, THAT'S CRAZY! Nope, it isn't, it definitely isn't. The fat-protein ratio in the insect diet is much lower than in your regular cereal or bacon. Insects are second trophic level organisms, which means they have the necessary nutrients stored in their tissues as they eat a range of plants. To get the same amount of nutrients as them, we have to eat a wide range of foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, and meat (or eggs for protein). But meat also contains a lot of unwanted fat, which is harmful to your health. However, the amount of fat present in insects is almost negligible.

Insects are potentially the best animal feed on Earth

They rival the highly expensive soy-based or fishmeal formulas. Weird, isn't it?

Insects are easy to breed for food production

We can never run out of insects if we start breeding them. They can also be a reliable source of food.

Breeding insects for food is good for the environment due to lower resource use and greenhouse gas emissions

The amount of greenhouse gases produced for rearing cattle is ten times the amount produced while rearing insects. Thus, it helps in curbing global warming.

Low production of carbon dioxide, reduced abuse of antibiotics on animals that create multi-resistant bacteria, and the potential to feed the whole world.

Insects are sometimes present in canned food we buy from the supermarket but are not the major source of their nutrients

Funnily enough, we are indirectly insectivores too. We don't realize we are actually consuming them! The culprit who makes you eat insects secretly is the packaged food you buy from the supermarket.

This is an article about packaged food given by the magazine, The Week -

"The FDA's Defect Levels Handbook lays it all out. Staples like broccoli, canned tomatoes, and hops readily contain 'insect fragments - heads, thoraxes, and legs' and even whole insects. (I won't tell you about the rat hair limits...) Fig paste can harbor up to 13 insect heads in 100 grams. Canned fruit juices can contain a maggot for every 250 millilitres. 10 grams of hops can be the home for 2,500 aphids."

Only 0.5% of the known insect species in the world are harmful to people

Whenever we talk about insects, our mind quickly diverts to the disgusting, pathogenic, and disease-spreading creatures that create problems in the normal lives of humans, but that is a huge stereotype! Cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, and fleas aren't the only insects in this world. They belong to the 0.5% harmful category. The rest are really harmless to us.

Insects are less likely to carry diseases that make humans sick compared to some other food sources

You heard it right. Insect food is less likely to make us sick. Only 0.5% of insect species are harmful to humans. The rest are completely harmless. Because mammals share many diseases with us (like flu), many of the diseases that can happen to pigs can spread to humans if consumed as bacon. Because insects and humans are anatomically very different, the diseases of insects are very different from ours, and therefore their diseases cannot spread to us and our diseases cannot spread to them.

Insects are abundant and can be found in many environments worldwide

You can find insects even in your own backyard. Do you need any more proof?

Insect farming can contribute to a country's economy by creating sustainable industries

When insects are added as a diet source, it relieves pressure from agricultural produce and livestock rearing. The country can then become self-sufficient in food.

Eating insects improves gut health due to their high fiber content
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