Bugs might not be the first option that pops into your head when you get hungry, but it could certainly be an environmentally sustainable alternative to consuming meat. A report from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry examines how the nutrient content from certain insects can measure up to the nutrient content from beef (particularly, iron), opening the possibility of an alternative for our dietary needs.
Some Eastern and South American cultures have seen their fair share of critters in their diets. Around 1,900 different species of insects are documented as a food source around the globe. Insects have been established as a source of protein, but recent findings show that iron is also another nutrient that bugs can give us. Iron is often lacking from non-meat diets, causing multiple complications (such as iron-deficiency anemia or poor pregnancy outcomes).
The research analyzed the most commonly eaten insects for their mineral contents and used a lab model of human digestion to estimate how much of each nutrient would get absorbed. Grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms and buffalo worms were some of the chosen insects, and they showed varying levels of iron, calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, and zinc. Surprisingly, minerals like calcium, copper and zinc are more readily available for absorption than the same minerals from beef.
Figure 1. Different levels of Iron uptake depending on the type of insect, compared to the iron uptake from meat. Credit: American Chemical Society
Gladys O. Latunde-Dada, Wenge Yang, Mayra Vera Aviles. In Vitro Iron Availability from Insects and Sirloin Beef. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2016; DOI:10.1021/acs.jafc.6b03286
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