Part 1: Proteins and Essential Amino Acids
What lands on our plates has changed enormously in recent decades. One superfood replaces the next in supermarkets and on food blogs. Insect products are often referred to as superfoods as well. On our blog, we take a look at the nutrients in crickets and what they are needed for in our bodies. To kick things off, we'll focus on proteins and essential amino acids.
Aside from taste and a spirit of experimentation, health reasons are important arguments for unknown or unusual foods.
Increasingly, sustainability is also becoming a decisive factor in the purchase of food products. This is certainly the main reason for the great interest in the topic of insects for human consumption: To breed insects, you need significantly less space and water than for raising other livestock, and the CO2 balance is also much better here.
Aside from this broader context, the question of whether insects will become a staple of the European diet also depends on how each individual answers this question for themselves.
On this blog, we will gradually explore nutritional aspects that suggest that consuming insects is a good building block in a balanced diet - good reasons to give insects a try.
Crickets have a particularly high protein content, up to 70% (Acheta domesticus, average nutritional values per 100g, whole, dried) - more than twice as much as a beef steak. Additionally, they contain all essential amino acids.
Important Protein
Proteins have a high status in the nutrition of athletes. With protein shakes and bars, the body is supposed to be supplied with everything needed for muscle building. But proteins also play an important role for average active people.
They are significantly involved in many processes in the human body, such as the absorption of iron, the transport of fat and oxygen, as well as the maintenance and development of muscle function. They make a significant contribution to wound healing and defense against pathogens. Even for the formation, maintenance, and renewal of body cells, humans need proteins - about one gram per kilogram of body weight (as recommended by the German Society for Nutrition).
Since protein is satiating, protein-rich foods and protein drinks are suitable for supporting weight loss.
What Are Essential Amino Acids?
Amino acids that the human body needs but cannot produce on its own are called essential amino acids. They must be consumed through food.
In the human body, they are needed to build up the body's own proteins. An balanced mixture of amino acids is important: if one amino acid is present in too small an amount, the other amino acids are not used for protein synthesis but are broken down into fats and sugars.
Crickets contain all essential amino acids, allowing for optimal utilization of the protein.
So Are Crickets a Superfood?
In terms of protein content and the presence of essential amino acids, insects offer at least an equivalent alternative to conventional meat products.
Crickets are a reliable food choice that not only benefits oneself but also contributes to our planet. Considering that the superfoods of recent years often quickly fade into obscurity, we should not categorize crickets and other insects in this category. Instead, we should see them as alternatives for snacks or healthy ingredients for many dishes, as everyday food items that are filling, full of healthy nutrients, and therefore, super.
Sources:
insektenwirtschaft.de/naehrwerte/
wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein
wikipedia.org/wiki/Essentielle_Aminos%C3%A4urehttps://
www.ndr.de/ratgeber/Eiweiss-Baustein-des-Lebens,eiweiss134.html [NDR 2020, Source no longer available]