following “paleo” diet? then eat your insects. lots of them

I see people go through different diets. Low carbohydrate, 80/10/10, atkins, zone diet. One of the most popular ones at this moment is “paleo”

I am not even going to describe what it is. If you google you will have a lot of website explaining what it is and many people raving about it.

Basically it is whole food diet (which I love the idea of) and remove most of processed foods. It is to suggest that we need to follow more of what hunters-gatherers ate. That means no grains, dairy, legumes  and other processed products. Many people go extremely low carbohydrate and lots of protein from animal products.

I have talked about low carbohydrate diet here 

I always stated the importance of individual biochemistry. Everyone’s body is different. Jumping on and off a popular “diet” does have many consequences. It does not mean that you can’t experiment. In fact it is important to shift, upgrade and try different things as our body change and our needs also.

As the popularity of Paleo diet grows more studies and more critics are out.

Studies done on a relationship between and insulin levels and meat here is pretty interesting.

Even if you are on Paleo diet at this moment and having a positive result I am not 100 percent sure if that could be sustainable for you and the environment. The whole point of eating ancestral way is to eat naturally grown animals. No hormones, grain fed animals here. Finding wild animals is not easy or cheap. Raising animals take much environmental effort compared to any plant foods.

One thing that many Paleotarian choose to ignore is our ancestors ate bugs. lots of bugs. What do you except? they can’t be hunting for animals all the time. If you are following true Paleo you better be eating them too.

insects
yap. you read it right. Insects like crockets, grasshoppers and worms have been appearing as new protein source.

Even there are some companies making energy bars using grounded insect powders.

I have found some stylishly done insect cookbooks too!

If you think “yuk” of the thought of crunching on a little insect legs then it may help you to realise that you have already been eating some form of insects in your life. Insects that didn’t get washed off your fruit and vegetables or got squashed in the process of making any food products.

Do we need to be concerned about this? I don’t think so. Just like we are deigned to cope with many bacterial and viruses in the environment, it is just what happens in the nature.

It happens to be widely accepted and normal in most corners of the world, by many cultures, outside of the US, Canada, and Europe.

As a plant based eater myself I have my own reasons for eating the way I do. What if insects are not jeopardising my belief on ethical eating? Would I include these in my diet if it provides me a great nutritional value and longevity to my life?
It is not a clear Yes at the moment… but never say never, right?

question for you today is
What is your first reaction to eating insects?