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Ways to start eating insects

smithsonianmag.com

81–90 of 128 posts

Re: Ways to start eating insects

#81
post #53
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some soy is fine, but if we're talking as completely replacing your meat, it could be too much estrogen like compounds. Hence breasts in men and an increased risk of breast cancer in women. I haven't seen enough studies to definitively rule these out. Besides, variety is always good. It's never wise to put all your eggs in a single basket.

> Some soy is fine, but if we're talking as completely replacing your meat, it could be too much estrogen like compounds. Are you aware there's estrogen found in virtually all animal products, in concentrations and potency many times greater than any phytoestrogens could possibly deliver? > Hence breasts in men and an increased risk of breast cancer in women. Your source for this claim? I've only found evidence to th…

Hey, that's great, I hadn't done a deep look for a while. Regardless, my point was more with using it as your only source of protein, which none of these address.

Re: Ways to start eating insects

#82
I'd rather we keep working on synthetically grown meat tissues. If we can grow the equivalent of a flank steak without needing to kill an animal to get it, eating meat becomes no more of an ethical problem than eating plants.

Re: Ways to start eating insects

#83
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The comment you replied to talked about cheap and sustainable sources of protein. Meat is neither.

Chicken, pork, salmon and tuna are definitely cheap sources of protein (depending on the country, but generally at least one of them is cheap).

Chicken and bugs are about equal when it comes to gram vs. gram of protein.

Re: Ways to start eating insects

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, vegans are not protein deficient and many people thrive on high carb diets (see blue zones, adventist health studies, etc.) Unfortunately we've all been bombarded with the protein myth (more protein == healthier) and even the smart people of HN can't seem to question this belief objectively.

And don't forget the cultural indoctrination in the West that meat is manliness. In the northern parts of the hemisphere when Spring rolls around the airwaves are inundated with advertisements for barbecues and beer. Meat from one source or another is the center piece for nearly every meal. And the restaurants, fast or otherwise, are only catering to this obsession with over-indulging in meat. The only thing that see…

Meat is inherently manly.

Consuming meat at the scale that Americans (for instance) do is not manly, it's extremely irresponsible.

Steak as cake. I like that. I'm genetically susceptible to cholesterol more so than others. I like this way of thinking about it.

Now, I would probably eat steak more often than cake, I don't really eat cake that much.

Re: Ways to start eating insects

#85
post #74
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please check the citations carefully. The very first one I opened said, > Funding sources: Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, The Beef Board, Kraft Foods, National Science Foundation (PI: Layman). Dr Layman has participated in speaker bureaus for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Dairy Council. Another reported, > Supported by a Medical…

Conflicts of interest are almost always present with something as fiercely debated as nutrition. On the low-protein side, much of the research is performed or reported by biased organizations like Center for Science in the Public Interest. Even if a moral case can be made for not eating animals, it shouldn't be allowed to influence nutritional science. Attacking conflicts of interest is an easy out (ad hominem); do y…

Only because no one wants to fund nutrition study, "respectable" organizations only fund studying disease.

Re: Ways to start eating insects

#86
post #63
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably because it's not a myth that high protein diets are healthful. High protein diets typically result in better maintenance of lean mass (muscle) and better health markers if compared with one that replaces protein with carbs ( http://examine.com/faq/how-does-protein-affect-weight-loss/ ) Many studies have shown that replacing fat or carbs 1:1 (by calories) with protein leads to better body composition and (som…

Please check the citations carefully. The very first one I opened said, > Funding sources: Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, The Beef Board, Kraft Foods, National Science Foundation (PI: Layman). Dr Layman has participated in speaker bureaus for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Dairy Council. Another reported, > Supported by a Medical…

You're sound like a conspiracy theorist.

Attack the data if you have a problem.

Re: Ways to start eating insects

#87
post #67

The Carmine [1] — a red dye most often made from boiled and dried Cochineals [2] — is frequently used in a lot of food products like ice-cream, candy, yogurt, juices, cake, sausage, etc. So most of us probably unknowingly started to swallow insects laced food since long ago. Only became aware of it because one of my ex-colleague has severe allergic reactions to it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine [2] https:…

For that matter, there are USDA allowable limits for "insect parts" in most food.

Re: Ways to start eating insects

#89
post #44
post #3

So why should we eat insects? The standard answer is: it is a cheap and sustainable source of protein. But I have yet to see a convincing argument that it is cheaper and more sustainable than soy protein, aka tofu.

> But I have yet to see a convincing argument that it is cheaper and more sustainable than soy protein, aka tofu. This, and I'd like to see a convincing argument that it's actually delicious to eat. Eating is not just about surviving, it should be a pleasure as well, and I think you need to overcome a lot of barriers before you can actually put an insect in your mouth, no matter how "good" it's supposed to be for you…

I'd like to taste a convincing argument that tofu is actually delicious to eat.

I'd rather eat fried ants.

Re: Ways to start eating insects

#90
post #45
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tofu and soy can cause hypothyroidism, no longer recommended to eat more than 100-200g/week source: https://translate.google.de/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=y&prev=...

Is there such a demonstrable effect on heavy tofu-eating populations like in Japan ?

The Japanese eat far more seafood than tofu. They consume on average < 9 g of soy protein per day, a tiny amount. By comparison, a single egg has roughly 5 g.
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