Insect Milk, A New Superfood?
This one’s going to be tough to swallow. Figuratively, at least, because the news is that insect “milk” is going to be soon sweeping the health food trends by storm. Is Insect Milk a new superfood?
A research team based at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in India believes that the “milk” from the Pacific beetle cockroach, could make for the next great superfood. The milk contains the protein-rich crystals that the insects lactate to feed their young. Now, maybe you’ll think twice before squashing that pesky cockroach in your apartment.
This particular species of cockroach is the only one that gives birth to live young. This is as opposed to laying eggs. Their “milk” is made up of protein-infused crystals. It’s reported to have three times the energy of the equivalent mass of regular dairy milk.
“The crystals are like a complete food. They have proteins, fats, and sugars. If you look into the protein sequences, they have all the essential amino acids,” Sanchari Banerjee one of the leading researchers, told the Times of India.
Cockroach milk is not just a wellspring of nutrients. It is also a “time-released food,” added lead study author Subramanian Ramaswamy. Meaning that once the crystals’ protein is digested, more protein continues to release through the body at a steady rate.
The team sees this substance as something that could someday be mass-produced. But no — they’re not suggesting anyone start milking cockroaches to squeeze out tiny quantities of nutrient-rich sustenance. Instead, the researchers have mapped the crystal sequence and plan on replicating the process in a lab by having yeast produce the crystal in large amounts.