The protein content of insects is very high, which is more than twice that of common meat and fish. At the same time, it also has the advantages of fast reproduction and large output, and it is much cheaper than chicken and pork that are often eaten.
In addition, insects are rich in vitamins and minerals such as zinc, iron and calcium, and their nutritional value far exceeds that of ordinary meat. The data showed that the iron content in100g beef was 6mg, while the iron content in100g locust was 8mg to 20mg.
Extended data
There are 2 billion people eating insects in the world, and the biggest consumers are beetles (3 1%), caterpillars (18%), bees, wasps and ants (14%), grasshoppers and crickets (13%).
According to FAO data, there are 527 kinds of insects as delicious food on the table. In terms of regional distribution, 36 countries in Africa, 29 countries in Asia (especially Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, India and Laos) and 23 countries and regions in America use insects as supplementary food.
According to the report, the research report of Italian scientists on eating "bugs" was published in the scientific magazine "Frontier of Nutrition", which aroused widespread concern in the medical field.
Italian scientists have studied 12 kinds of edible insects and two kinds of invertebrates, including ants, grasshoppers, crickets and silkworms. After removing the inedible parts of these insects, scientists ground the remaining parts into powder, and then extracted the water-soluble and fat-soluble parts to study their antioxidant capacity.
The results showed that the water-soluble extracts of locust, silkworm and cricket showed extremely high antioxidant capacity, which was five times higher than that of freshly squeezed orange juice. The antioxidant capacity of fat-soluble parts of silkworm, cicada and African caterpillar is twice that of olive oil.
China News Network-The United Nations encourages people all over the world to eat worms, beetles and caterpillars and spend the most.
China News Network News What are the benefits of eating an insect meal? Research: It can not only supplement protein, but also prevent cancer.