(CBS Local) – Scientists say they have discovered the next superfood that’s a perfect non-dairy alternative. However, they may have a hard time getting people to try cockroach milk.
Using a 2016 report on the benefits of insect dairy, scientists found that the Pacific Beetle cockroach of Hawaii possesses nutrient-filled milk crystals, which they use to feed their young. “A single crystal is estimated to contain more than three times the energy of an equivalent mass of dairy milk,” the report stated.
The study published in the Journal of the International Union of Crystallography also found that the milk-like superfood was full of amino acids and sugar-coated proteins, which makes this a natural gold mine for humans.
Some companies are already trying to get ahead of the trend by selling the bug juice in everything from milk to ice cream. “Think of Entomilk as a sustainable, nature-friendly, nutritious, lactose free, delicious, guilt-free dairy alternative of the future,” South African company Gourmet Grubb writes.
Scientists and entrepreneurs both admit this trend may take some serious work to convince people they should switch to a bug-heavy diet. “Yes, there will be people who think [insects] are icky or have a yuck factor, but the ingredients are so versatile,” Jarrod Goldin of Canada’s Entomo Farms said, via Global News.
Cockroach Milk? Experts Call Insect Dairy The Next Superfood