Got IBS? Eat worms!

[alto]

I am not making this up.

There was a feature on our local news this past week about a local doctor who had his IBS patients drink a glass containing 10,000 worm eggs. (He put it in Gatorade.)

His theory is that we are too clean these days, the food too sanitized. Our grandparents ate a lot more dirt, and all the vitamins, minerals and, well, animal matter that dirt contains. This keeps the gut healthy.

There were interviews with several very happy patients. He's thinking of doing clinical trials.

Watch this space .......

[razzle]

serious paleo people eat insects, too, alto...but they genetally buy them from farms that have chemical-free bugs to sell for eating.

I just can't get my stomach around it yet! maybe one day I'll get brave. ;)

[nsmith4366]

You mean they just drank this ONE time and he concluded some results? I hope not, that's not a good study - or it was a poor report.

I would guess it is NOT the dirt that they benefitted from. It is the fact that worms and most insects have no sugar, none if any carbs and are extremely high in protein (much higher than cow or poultry protein) and do include some fat.

To understand the significance of the findings, we'd need to know much more about the subject population, sample size, their diet prior to and during the experiment, the method - actual hypothesis and controls for distribution of the amount and type of worms administered. Including the nature of their IBS symptoms and what being better actually meant to them.

This person, if a scientist, made a terribly unprofessional and unscientific assumption - he assumed that it was the dirt making the difference and not any other factor. This is extremely far from the scientfic method - if he really wanted to see if it WAS the dirt, he would have to isolate the dirt itself and just fed them dirt to discount the possibility of other influences.

And there's always the cursed placebo effect which does occur from time to time...and the power of suggestion.

I have IBS and since low carbing - no more IBS. I do not believe it is a progressive disease, rather a condition that can be successfully managed with a low carb diet - and gosh, maybe I should throw some nice high protein/low carb worms in with my veggies tonight! Without the dirt.

:wave:

[alto]

Insects is one thing. I know the pygmies eat termites and find them a delicacy. But worms? Of course, since it was a general interest show they didn't say which kind of worm. But there are several illnesses caused by worms -- and dogs, who spend a lot of time eating dirt, have to get dewormed all the time!

Of course, there is the "don't knock it 'til you try it" school :)

[Lisa N]

All I can say to that one is ......EWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! :p

[Kay]

I had a classmate in college who raised rabbits commercially. Part of the process was composting the droppings, which meant lots of earthworms. She had heard that worms were high protein and were being considered by a fast food chain (urban legend?) so she decided to try some. She went through a very complicated process to feed them clean, then she served them to herself, ground and cooked.

Her reaction? - "Too rubbery!"

She finally decided that it cost more to produce earthworm protein than it did to produce rabbit meat protein so she gave up on the idea.

Good plan. I don't think it would ever have caught on.

[Kay]

But on the other hand, look at escargot.

I really think someone should find a market for our gigantic west coast slugs. Sold by weight, they'd be worth a fortune..

[flavanoid]

gross. just gross.

[Malulani]

I am certainly noy hungry anymore tonight.............thanx.

FYI ............the day we dissected worms in science class.........I was convieniently absent. I slayed the frog & the crawfish, but I CAN'T DO WORMS!!!!!!!



blech..........