14 DAY TRIAL // 29-year-old Jason Brink, born and raised in the US, moved to Thailand quite a while ago. Apparently, his stay in this part of the world has worked wonders for his waistline. Simply put, the once obese man is now love handles-free.
As surprising as this may sound, it's insects that the 29-year-old has to thank for his success getting back in shape. Dead, fried insects seasoned with chili, salt and all sorts of other spices, to be more precise.
That's right, Jason Brink maintains that it was his taking up the habit of eating insects that helped him lose weight. What's more, he says that other people looking to get rid of their excess weight should at least consider ditching hamburgers for crispy crickets.
Insects are a popular food in Thailand
In a post on Daily Mail, Jason Brink explains that folks in Thailand have been eating all sorts of insects, crickets, locusts, wasps, ants and termites included, for decades now. They've even perfected several recipes that the 29-year-old argues are downright delicious.
“Recently, I was introduced to an excellent Thai delicacy from Northern Thailand that is essentially young wasps and termites with a few giant ants, cooked with lemongrass and chilli peppers and served over rice, you can see that particular dish below.”
“In addition to being delicious, it was far and away healthier than the alternative stir-fried chicken or beef. Available seasonally, this delicacy is something I would happily eat any day of the year,” the young man writes in his post.
As far as crickets are concerned, Jason Brink says that, when he first put one in his mouth, he assumed that he was chewing on a peanut. It was only when he realized that the treat was too soft and had too metallic a taste that he figured out that he was in fact eating one such insect.
Not such a crazy idea, after all
Truth be told, odds are that many of you find the idea of eating insects nothing short of appalling. Still, Jason Brink is quite right when saying that crickets, termites and all sorts of other creepy crawlers are a great source of nutrients and can help people lost weight.
Thus, first off, insects pack very few calories, especially when compared to the foods people usually eat. Just to put things into perspective, it need be said that 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of crickets have a calorie count of just 121 while at the same time containing all sorts of healthy compounds.
Specifically, experts with the World Health Organization say that, as shown by several investigations, insects are a great source of proteins. Besides, they contain loads of zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, iron and the like, and even fibers.
“While eating insects is seen by us as a strange thing to do, they are, gram for gram, some of the best protein available,” Jason Brink says. “It is up to us to make decisions about the future of our waistlines and our planet, and the best option might be a little more creepy-crawly than we initially suspected,” he adds.
Mind you, this 29-year-old is not the first to argue that eating insects is perfectly healthy and safe, and that including all sorts of critters in our diet can only prove beneficial to both us and the planet.
Thus, it was towards the end of last year's October that a group of students announced that they were working on developing an insect-based flour. The flour, which helped the students win the 2013 Hult Prize, promises to help tackle the ongoing food crisis in some of the world's poorest regions.
