What’s Happening: Entomophagy

What if you could feast on a Paleo-approved, environmentally friendly, ethically raised, and extremely nutritious animal protein you’d never tried before? Great, right?

What if that animal protein came from something you never thought of as food? Something you’ve been taught to think of as “gross” and “icky”?

What if it was a cricket?

Ever since the UN’s report on world hunger praised insects as a sustainable and practical solution to feeding Earth’s growing population, emtomophagy (the practice of eating insects) has been in the news. Edible insects got a mention in one previous What’s Happening post, but this week, crickets are taking the Paleo world by storm, with new posts at both Mark’s Daily Apple and the Whole30 blog about the nutritional and environmental advantages of these tasty little critters. The protein of the future is here, and it says chirp!

In less insectivorous news this week:

• A provocative post at The Bulletproof Executive argues that some probiotics might actually do more harm than good, especially for people who have trouble with histamines.

• Emily Deans at Evolutionary Psychiatry reports on some interesting research about sleep quality and exposure to natural sunlight.

• Your thyroid gland is in the driver’s seat for your entire hormonal system, so a thyroid problem can really spell trouble – learn about thyroid disease here at a guest post from Dr. Kelly Brogan at the Healthy Home Economist.

• A guest post at Paleo Parents reinforces what every woman should already know: fertility is an extremely important sign of overall good health, and your period has a lot to teach you about how well your body is doing.

• It’s normal to care about what you eat, but it shouldn’t take over your life: a new post from Beth at Weight Maven looks at the topic of orthorexia, an eating disorder marked by an obsessive fixation on (real or imagined) food quality.

• Is a new set of cookware on your shopping list? Skip the Teflon and check out this new post from Wellness Mama on the safest options for pots and pans.

• If you’ve ever wondered what your cholesterol numbers really mean, this post from Ben Greenfield might shed some light on the subject.

Would you start to question your Paleo diet if you noticed your cholesterol numbers creeping up? Let us know on Facebook or Google+!