Would you drink cockroach milk?
A SYDNEY doctor has lifted the lid on the latest bizarre new super food, cockroach milk, yep, you read that right. Dr Nick Fuller has revealed what’s really in the product and whether we should be ordering a latte with cockroach milk.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
IT’S the new ‘superfood’ that we are all talking about. But has the world gone mad?
Picture this … You’re on your way to work. You drop into the supermarket to pick up your daily supplies which includes dried insects to snack on and then pop into your local cafe for your morning coffee — “Could I have a latte with cockroach milk, please”.
MORE NEWS:
Bikie shooting attack on Finks boss sparks new war
Strike Force Raptor: Sydney brothers arrested
Topless model built NSW drug empire
Fortunately, we are unlikely to see this scenario any time soon — at least for the latter — but a clever marketing campaign sees cockroach milk back in the spotlight after a 2016 research paper reported on the isolation of milk crystals from the Pacific beetle cockroach — scientifically known as Diploptera punctate.
And it’s not the same type that we see crawling around in our Australian homes.
These type of cockroaches are predominantly found in Hawaii.
The Pacific beetle is the only cockroach that gives birth to live young instead of laying eggs. The milk crystals provide the necessary nutrition for the young to feed on and are now touted for their ‘superfood’ qualities that we are supposedly turning to.
Superfoods are marketed as those foods containing a high concentration of nutrients and often promise to have all sorts of miracle health benefits. But unfortunately cockroach milk is not one of them.
Worryingly, the cockroach crystals may not even be safe for human consumption as we have no certainty of their toxicity.
RELATED NEWS:
DR NICK FULLER: We’re not sleeping enough and it’s killing us
DR NICK FULLER: The harsh truth about ‘healthy’ detox diets
DR NICK FULLER: The five worst diets that will cause you harm
There is no doubt that these cockroach milk crystals are high in protein and also a source of minerals like iron, calcium and zinc but they are also high in fat and very high in calories.
In fact, cockroach milk has more than three times the energy of cow’s milk. So it would be a sure addition to our waistlines if we were to start including it in our morning latte every day.
Even if you could bear the thought of cockroach milk make sure you leave it on the shelves and stick to the morning coffee with anything but insect milk.
Dr Nick Fuller is the author of Interval Weight Loss, which is a scientifically proven way of redefining the weight your body wants to be, to ensure you lose it and keep it off. For more information go to Interval Weight Loss.