7 reasons to incorporate insects in your fitness diet

This year could be the year when we will all start eating (or at least trying) insects. For some people, they are only the food fad of the year but they can also be a durable trend and the beginning of a true evolution in our diet.

The truth is that it’s our choice and it will depend on how we will consider insects in our diet. We can simply refuse to eat insects, we can eat “bugs for fun” and miss all of the benefits of entomophagy and maybe leor we can expect more of bugs and accept them as they really are : a true alternative source of proteins.

They present a lot of benefices and advantages for the health and the environment. That’s why insects can naturally have a place of choice in our daily fitness diet!

I wanted to use a catch phrase : “Insects have 6 legs, so here are 6 reasons to put bugs in your fitness diet” but they are so amazing that I could only cut to 7 reasons… So, here are 7 reasons to incorporate insects durably in your daily fitness diet.

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Reason n°1 : Insects are a “superfood”

When we want to achieve some fitness goals or just simply feel healthier and better, we all know that a healthy diet is one of the major key for this. For so, we need good and efficient ingredients. Well, insects are high in proteins and contains 5% of fats. .If you follow the paleo diet, guess what were eating our ancestors?

They are also rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron. More over, they contain a large amount of vitamins such as thiamine (B1), pyridoxine (B6) and cobalamin (B12). All of these vitamins and minerals are essential for our progress and more generally our health. (For more information you can check the complete nutritional table)

At last but not at least, insects contains what they eat, so in the future it will may be possible to modify the nutritional composition of insects by changing their feed.


Reason n°2 : Insects are cleaner and more pure than you may think

A lot of people feel not ready to eat insects because they think that insects are “dirty” or “unsafe”, but in fact, it’s quite the opposite. There are more than 1900 edible species eaten regularly by 2 billion people all around the world.

Here in the Western countries, some different farms are starting to raise crickets and mealworms especially for human consumption. The people involved in this business are doing their best for providing us safe and well raised insects fed with organic and non-GMO food. If you prefer, you can also try to raise insects by yourself, it’s safe, fun and easy!

If we take a look at all the chemicals, antibiotics, heavy metals, BGH and pesticides that can be found in meat,fish or cereals, that our “delicate” lobsters are scavengers eating dead animals and all the chemicals found in the food industry, can we consider crickets, mealworms or grasshoppers well raised and fed as unsafe?

As insects are arthropods, if you’re allergic to shellfish, you shouldn’t eat insects.


Reason n°3 : “Man ist was man isst”.

This german proverb means “We are what we eat”. Unconsciously, when we are eating a type of food, one part of us want to acquire its characteristics. Maybe that’s why we prefer saying that we are eating some “beef” for becoming stronger and bigger instead of some”dairy cow” which could be more appropriate.

Crickets are fast and are able to jump more than 20 times their body length. The little larva of the Tenebrio Molitor become a very resistant dark beetle with a solid armor.

If “we are what we eat“, that’s some amazing characteristics I would like to acquire!


Reason n°4 : Insects are tasty!

The most evident reason could be this one : Insects are tasty. Even if we eat to live and not live to eat, a good food is always a pleasure. Following a healthy diet can be boring, and at some time we can lack some imagination for finding new and healthy recipes.

Adding a handful of mealworms, crickets or some grasshoppers into your favorite meals can improve the taste and also your proteins,vitamins and minerals intake. If you are bored by beef or beans, try bugs!


Reason n°5 : Insects everywhere and at any time

The nutty flavor of insects can be added almost everywhere. You can add them whole and fried in your omelette, roasted with cinnamon in your cottage cheese or for breading your chicken. If you don’t want to see them you can also mix them and add it in a beef or a veggie burger, you can mix cricket flour with coconut flour for some delicious pancakes.

If you don’t want to prepare them, you can find some amazing and delicious energy bars made with cricket flour (the Chapul bar review is coming soon!). As a snack, for breakfast, after a workout, as a main or side dish, insects can be eaten at any time and be easily and quickly prepared.


Reason n°6 : Insects are a sustainable source of proteins

In the Western countries, we can’t say that finding enough proteins is hard. The real problem is the environmental cost of this protein production.

The production and the transformation of meat, fish and some cereals needs a lot of water, produces a large amount of wastes and by-products, pollutes the soil, the water and the environment.

All of these productions need also a lot of space and the world’s population is growing. On their hand, insects need far less space, water and feed to provide the same amount of proteins. That’s why insects have a place on our plate.

If we eat healthy and make sport, it’s because at some point we expect to live longer and better. But what’s the point of living longer if our environment is ruined and we can’t enjoy it and share it with our children?

I know that for the moment it can be too expensive and maybe “too different” to replace entirely your meat by insects in a meal, but they can already have a place in your fitness diet as a side dish or a complement to meat or beans. Replacing 50 grams of beef by a cup of crickets or adding mealworms to your beans and almonds won’t change the world, but it’s a part of a little, healthy and delicious detail. And, as in your fitness journey, every detail and every step forward is important.


Reason n°7 : Nourishing our self-esteem

When we are training and eating healthy, we feel proud about ourselves. Thinking about eating insects as an obligation for our future generations can be like considering them as a starving “no-choice” food. Instead, we’ve got to think as eating insects a choice, a little good action and pleasure for a personal and global improvement.

Even if it is a little (and so delicious) good action we are making by eating insects, we should feel happy about it too. Insects fill your belly, your muscles and can fill your heart too!

It’s a little step further for “A healthy mind in a healthy body on a wealthier environment”


In a following post, I will share with you some simple ideas for incorporating easily insects in some healthy recipes. I hope that you will give me yours!

The present post can be related to the previous How eating insects made me happier and healthier, if you liked this actual post, you will maybe like the previous one.

Take care and see you soon!

Florian

Flo

Formerly I'm an environmental engineer, personal trainer, fitness nutrition specialist and "Entotarian". In the edible insects industry for five years, I've been consultant for an insect farm in France, free-lance writer and international speaker. After developing the world's first table-top farm, I'm now in Paris with Jimini's where we are developing and selling delicious insects. I would say that my life revolves around eating insects.

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