No need for a double take. That headline definitely did not say chocolate milk. After the reignited discussion surrounding cockroach milk, many wondered if it could become the next big "superfood" trend. And for obvious reasons, not everyone was excited about stumbling into the cockroach-sourced alternatives section on their next trip to the grocery store. The idea of cockroach milk having superfood potential originated in 2016 when a group of scientists in India examined milk from the Pacific beetle cockroach for its nutritional value. Their study, published in the Journal of the International Union of Crystallography, revealed the milk to be a highly nutritious substance, almost three times richer in calories than buffalo milk. It also contained nearly four times the protein found in cow milk. That being said, the team believed a lot more testing was needed to understand its digestibility and safety. "In principle, it should be fine," said lead researcher Subramanian Ramaswamy at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in Bangalore, India. "But today we have no evidence that it is actually safe for human consumption." Ramaswamy also noted the difficulty of procuring the milk in the first place, which does not involve the milking process we associate with cows and goats. While cockroach species are typically known to lay eggs, the Pacific beetle cockroach gives birth to live young ones. Tiny crystals extracted from the midgut of cockroach embryos is where the "milk" comes from. "The crystals are like a complete food," said Sanchari Banerjee, one of the researchers in the study. "They have proteins, fats, and sugars. If you look into the protein sequences, they have all the essential amino acids." It would be difficult to argue against that line-up. So what could possibly go wrong with consuming this nutritional powerhouse? "The levels of growth hormone in this particular liquid are unknown," said Dr. Rachel Nazarian, at Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York. "The high levels of sugar may also make it a poor choice in terms of skin health and beauty, as we know that high-sugar diets actually accelerate skin aging." South African company Gourmet Grubb is currently selling "Entomilk," a dairy alternative labeled as the superfood of the future. The name of the product was inspired by the term entomophagy, which is the practice of eating insects. The milk comes from sustainably farmed insects and is said to contain high levels of protein, iron, zinc, and calcium. "Think of Entomilk as a sustainable, nature-friendly, nutritious, lactose-free, delicious, guilt-free dairy alternative of the future," the company website stated. And those with an intense fear of cockroaches (katsaridaphobia, so you won't have to google it) can heave a sigh of relief. It may be a while before we start seeing products exclusively sourced from the insect as it takes the killing of more than 1,000 cockroaches to produce just 100 grams of product, which does not paint a very feasible picture. Source
