This really cool article features our friend Dr. Valerie Stull, you can hear her on our latest podcast as one of the organizers of Eating Insects Athens.
But put that aside a moment and read this article, it is a good one…
Today, Stull, a recent doctoral graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, is the lead author of a new pilot clinical trial published in the journal Scientific Reports that looks at what eating crickets does to the human microbiome. It shows that consuming crickets can help support the growth of beneficial gut bacteria and that eating crickets is not only safe at high doses but may also reduce inflammation in the body.
“There is a lot of interest right now in edible insects,” Stull says. “It’s gaining traction in Europe and in the U.S. as a sustainable, environmentally friendly protein source compared to traditional livestock.”
“This study is important because insects represent a novel component in Western diets and their health effects in human populations haven’t really been studied,” says co-corresponding author Tiffany Weir, a professor of food science and human nutrition at Colorado State University. “With what we now know about the gut microbiota and its relationship to human health, it’s important to establish how a novel food might affect gut microbial populations. We found that cricket consumption may actually offer benefits beyond nutrition.”
