Experimenting with food has its limits, which are set individually for everyone. Some will shy away from trying seafood, for others the turn-off will be raw fish in sushi or typically Polish specialties like "galareta" (English: meat jelly) or "flaki" (English: guts). Vegetables and fruits are much less likely to be "censored", although there are some who shudder at cooked carrots. The spongy texture of tofu can also be intimidating.

Worms, however, are something the vast majority of people would not like to find on their plate. Eating maggots can appear on YouTube in the form of extreme challenges, but it is not considered normal in Polish cuisine. Actually - it's a shame, because it has been found that eating insect shells composition can activate an innate immune response in mammals, which positively affects metabolism.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) conducted an experiment in which they introduced chitin into the diet of mice. As a result, a special enzyme for its digestion began to form in the animal's body. What is more, fat regulatory cells were also activated in the process. Based on this, the researchers concluded that eating chitin likely results in a healthier microbiome in the lower gastrointestinal tract.

"We have several ways to inhibit stomach chitinases. Pairing those approaches with a chitin-containing food might have a very real metabolic benefit," an assistant professor of pathology & immunology at WUSTL concluded.

For many people, eating insects seems like a no-brainer. We can reassure all those who are unsure - our editorial colleague Marta has tried several types of worm snacks and is still doing well. What's more, she even liked some of them. She also praised them for their high protein composition.

Source: zielona.interia.pl