In Wisconsin, a newly published clinical trial looked at what eating crickets does to the human microbiome with interesting results. The study showed 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.
“I was on a trip with my parents in Central America and we were served fried ants,” Valerie Stull, a recent doctoral graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, said of a trip when she was 12. “I remember being so grossed out initially, but when I put the ant in my mouth, I was really surprised because it tasted like food — and it was good!”
More than 2 billion people around the world regularly consume insects, a good source of protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats, in their daily diet.