A diet supplemented with South Africa's edible bugs and worms could help the country's many Aids patients boost their nutrition levels, entomologists said on Wednesday.
The Mopane worm (Imbrassia belina), a delicacy in parts of southern Africa, is considered particularly healthy because of its high protein, crude fat and mineral content, said Rob Toms of the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria.
He also recommended stinkbugs (Pentatomidae), a common agricultural pest that emits a nasty odour, which are traditionally consumed by some people in the far north of the country and have considerable nutritional value.
"For many it offers a cheap way to stay healthy. A nutritious diet for an Ais patient might cost over R1 000 rand a month but if you live in an area where mopane are abundant, you could pick them off the trees yourself," he said.
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| 'For many it offers a cheap way to stay healthy' |
The mopane worm develops into the mopane emperor moth. The caterpillars are harvested, boiled, dried or mixed with other traditional foods.
But the worm, which has a dry, gritty texture and slightly meaty taste, has fallen out of favour with blacks because they are ashamed of their traditional culture in the face of Western disapproval of eating insects, said Toms.
"In fact they should be proud and use traditional food items to improve their health," he said.
Toms made his recommendations at a recent Aids symposium in Cape Town that focused on the importance of good nutrition for Aids sufferers in South Africa, where nearly 5 million people are infected.
"What we know about the nutritional value is based on traditional knowledge accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years. We believe more research needs to be done. But there has been a lot of interest," he said. - Sapa-DPA
| 'They should be proud and use traditional food items to improve their health' |
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