Are insects the next big energy food?

Source: Best Health magazine, September 2014

At least two billion people worldwide eat insects regularly, according to a 2013 United Nations report. Insects could one day be a staple food, given an ever-growing population plus a projected future shortage of the water needed for crops and livestock.

Many edible insects’beetles, caterpillars, ants, grasshoppers and crickets, to name a few’are rich in protein and good fats, and high in iron. You could call them the perfect nutrition bar’and in fact, we found two examples: Chapul and Exo. Both of these U.S.-based companies promote their cricket bars as earth-friendly, since crickets can be grown using far less water compared to, say, beef cattle. And Exo notes that crickets have more than double the percentage of protein as chicken. Chapul’s are made from baked crickets ground into a powder and mixed with ingredients such as dates, cocoa, honey and oats. Exo’s, also made with cricket flour, are free of gluten, grains, soy and dairy.

Do you dare to try them? Has it really come to this?

This article was originally in the "New and Now" section in the September 2014 issue of Best Health. Subscribe today to get the full Best Health experience’and never miss an issue!