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New research on the effects on the gut flora shows that protein from a cricket is not only safe, but also very healthy.
Cricket Protein Shake
Actually, I found the idea of a cricket protein shake just funny when I read the title of the research [1]. I wondered in which flavors Body&Fitshop would offer those shakes. ‘Crunchy cricket protein bars’, how would those sell?
But cricket protein powders and protein bars are not such a crazy thought at all. An American start-up raised half a ton in investments in a few days in 2013 [2]. A nice confirmation that (part of) the American people were open to the idea of eating insects. The two students, one of whom was a powerlifter who already made his own protein bars, then started the company
Exo. A year later, they had raised 4 million in investments for their ‘cricket bar’. They were not the only ones. Another startup in cricket protein bars,
Chapul, saw its sales quadruple the same year.
Insects have been in the spotlight for some time as a sustainable source of protein, but also vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. The sellers hope that proteins from insects will eventually become a popular alternative to meat.
In many parts of the world, insects are already a normal part of the diet. Globally, they are eaten regularly by more than 2 billion people. In the West, we are just a little behind.
‘Paleo-, gluten-, and eco-friendly superfood’
The cricket farmers are aided by the popularity of the paleo and gluten-free diet. But you don’t have to believe in a caveman’s diet (like me) or have a gluten phobia (like me) to see the value of crickets as food. I mean the nutritional value. Of the dry matter, almost 60% is
protein containing all essential amino acids. Almost a third consists of fats (mostly saturated). In addition, crickets contain a lot of vitamin B12, calcium, and iron.
Proteins from insects could also be much less of a burden on the environment. Nearly four liters of water yield about 6 grams of beef compared to 72 grams of crickets.
Safe and Healthy for Gut Flora
Proteins from insects, specifically crickets, are believed by proponents to play a much larger role in our diet. To promote the consumption of cricket protein, it is important to have certainty about safety. New research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has now shown that high doses of cricket are not only safe, but even beneficial to the gut flora. It supported the growth of healthy gut bacteria in the study and may have anti-inflammatory effects.
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,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
Crickets contain different types of fibers (such as chitin) than those found in vegetables and fruits. Some fibers promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria, also known as probiotics. The research aimed to study the effect of these fibers.
Twenty men and women between the ages of 18 and 48 ate a control breakfast or a breakfast containing 25 grams of cricket powder in the form of muffins and shakes for two weeks. Each participant then ate a normal diet for two weeks as a ‘washout’ period. The diets were then reversed so that everyone had followed both diets.
All on Cricket Shakes Together?
As a strength athlete, you are mainly interested in two properties, namely quality and price. Regarding the amount of essential amino acids (including the BCAAs), (home) cricket (
A.domesticus) protein scores similarly to soy [3]. However, casein performs better.
Looking at the price, it doesn’t get much better. This may of course have to do with the fact that it is (still) a niche market.
The first site I find where you can buy cricket powder asks over 33 euros for 100 grams of (home) cricket powder. The second site asks almost 40 euros for that. For the same amount, you can also get more than 2 kilograms of casein!
So for me, (for now?) no cricket shakes.
References
- Valerie J. Stull, Elijah Finer, Rachel S. Bergmans, Hallie P. Febvre, Colin Longhurst, Daniel K. Manter, Jonathan A. Patz, Tiffany L. Weir. Impact of Edible Cricket Consumption on Gut Microbiota in Healthy Adults, a Double-blind, Randomized Crossover Trial. Scientific Reports, 2018; 8 (1)
- fortune.com/2016/04/18/eating-bugs-insect-protein/
- Liya Yi, Catriona M.M. Lakemond, Leonard M.C. Sagis, Verena Eisner-Schadler, Arnold van Huis, Martinus A.J.S. van Boekel, Extraction and characterisation of protein fractions from five insect species, Food Chemistry, Volume 141, Issue 4, 2013, Pages 3341-3348
