吃這個對身體好，只要你愿意吃

如果你想要一個健康的腸子，蟋蟀應(yīng)該是你菜單上最好的東西。一項隨機雙盲臨床交叉試驗發(fā)現(xiàn)，咀嚼富含蛋白質(zhì)的昆蟲會增加腸道益生菌數(shù)量，并且可以減少體內(nèi)的炎癥。

Many people feel totally squicked out by the idea of eating bugs, but a growing body of research suggests that it's the way of the future.

許多人被吃蟲子的想法給弄糊涂了，但是越來越多的研究表明這是未來的一條明路。

Global population continues to rise, and raising livestock is extremely hard on the environment, using tremendous land and water resources, and releasing vast amounts of methane into the atmosphere.

隨著全球人口不斷增加，飼養(yǎng)牲畜對環(huán)境極其不利：它們利用巨大的土地資源和水資源，并釋出放大量的甲烷進入大氣。

We know insects are a viable food source for humans, because, according to estimates at least, they make up part of the diet of at least 2 billion people around the world.

我們知道昆蟲對人類來說是一種可行的食物來源，因為據(jù)估計，它們出現(xiàn)在了全世界至少20億人的菜單上。

And research suggests that our bodies are actually really good at digesting them - not to mention they are nutritionally rich, packed with protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats.

研究表明，我們的身體實際上很擅長消化它們，更不用說它們富含營養(yǎng)，富含蛋白質(zhì)、維生素、礦物質(zhì)和健康脂肪。

"There is a lot of interest right now in edible insects," said nutritional scientist Valerie Stull of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies."It's gaining traction in Europe and in the US as a sustainable, environmentally friendly protein source compared to traditional livestock."

威斯康星大學(xué)的麥迪遜-納爾遜環(huán)境研究所(the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies)的營養(yǎng)學(xué)家Valerie Stull說：“關(guān)于食用昆蟲有很多有趣的地方。與傳統(tǒng)家畜相比，它在歐洲和美國作為可持續(xù)、環(huán)境友好的蛋白質(zhì)來源正在得到推廣。”

But insects also contain fibre, such as chitinous fibre in their exoskeletons, that is different from the dietary fibre in fruits, vegetables and grains.

其實昆蟲也含有纖維，如外骨骼中的幾丁質(zhì)纖維，這不同于水果、蔬菜和谷物中的膳食纖維。

Since dietary fibre promotes the growth of "good" bacteria, or probiotics, in the gut, what does insect fibre do to our microbiome, the complex and mysterious symbiotic microbes that live inside us? That's what Stull and her team set out to discover.

既然膳食纖維能夠促進腸道內(nèi)的益生菌的生長，那么昆蟲纖維對我們體內(nèi)的微生物群有什么作用?這就是Stull和她的團隊想要研究的。

They recruited 20 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 48. For two weeks, half of this group ate for breakfast a muffin or a shake including 25 grams of powdered crickets, while the other half ate the muffin or shake without crickets.

他們招募了20名年齡在18歲到48歲之間的健康成年人。這些人的一半早餐吃松餅或點心(含有25克蟋蟀粉)，而另一半吃的早餐則沒有蟋蟀，這樣持續(xù)兩周。

This was followed by a two-week period of normal, cricket-free eating to "reset" the body, and then the two groups switched. Neither the study participants, nor the researchers, knew which group was eating the crickets.

接下來的兩周則一切正常，不吃蟋蟀粉，以“重置”身體，然后兩組的早餐互換。志愿者和研究者都不知道哪一組人在吃蟋蟀。

During the testing period, blood and stool samples were taken from the participants, and gastrointestinal questionnaires were filled out both prior to the clinical trial, and after each two-week cricket-eating period.

在試驗期間，從參與者中抽取血液和糞便樣品，并讓他們在試驗前和吃了兩周蟋蟀粉后填寫有關(guān)胃腸問卷。

The blood was tested for a variety of health measures to assess liver function, as well as an enzyme associated with inflammation, and the stool was tested for changes in the microbiota, and inflammatory chemicals in the gastrointestinal tract.

血檢測試了各種健康指標，以評估肝功能，以及與炎癥相關(guān)的酶，糞便檢測測試了胃腸道中的微生物的變化，以及炎癥相關(guān)的化學(xué)物質(zhì)。

None of the participants reported feeling any different on their questionnaires, and the researchers found no overall changes or side effects in either the gastrointestinal tract or overall microbial composition.

沒有一個參與者在問卷報告他們有變化，研究人員沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)胃腸道或總體微生物組成出現(xiàn)任何整體上的變化或者副作用。

What they did find was an increase in a metabolic enzyme associated with gut health, and a drop in an inflammatory protein in blood plasma called TNF-alpha, which has been implicated in a range of ailments including cancer, major depression, Alzheimer's disease, and inflammatory bowel disease.

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)的是與腸道健康相關(guān)的代謝酶增加，血漿中與炎癥相關(guān)的、被稱為TNF-α的蛋白質(zhì)下降，這些與包括癌癥、抑郁癥、阿爾茨海默病和炎癥性腸病在內(nèi)的一系列疾病有關(guān)。

They also found a significant rise in a bacterium called Bifidobacterium animalis - on average, it increased 5.7-fold on a diet that included cricket flour. This bacterium is one of the good guys, having been implicated in a range of health benefits, including an increased immune response, and better gastrointestinal health and comfort.

他們還發(fā)現(xiàn)一種叫做“雙歧桿菌”的細菌顯著增加，在吃了蟋蟀粉的分組中增加了5.7倍。這種細菌對人非常友好，能夠給人帶來一系列的益處，包括增加的免疫應(yīng)答，以及更健康舒適的胃腸道。

Of course it's important to remember that the study is a small one, and further, larger studies will need to be undertaken to see if the results can be replicated. But it's looking pretty positive - and represents yet another potential benefit to eating bugs, among the many already posed.

當然，這項研究只是很小的一部分，更多的研究需要進行，以確認這個結(jié)果是否可以復(fù)制。但這個結(jié)果在許多已有的結(jié)論中看起來仍然很令人感到樂觀，而且它說明吃蟲子可能還有很多潛在的好處。

"This very small study shows that this is something worth looking at in the future when promoting insects as a sustainable food source," Stull said.

Stull說：“這項非常小的研究表明，昆蟲作為一種可持續(xù)的食物來源很令人期待。”

Meanwhile, if you want to hoe into some fried locusts - and if you can find some - have at it!

同時，如果你想品嘗一些油炸蝗蟲(如果你能弄到的話)，那就吃吧!

The team's research has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.

該小組的研究已經(jīng)發(fā)表在《科學(xué)報告》雜志上。