Cockroaches and their nutritional values

I went to a friends house few days ago, I was there when she cooked rice for her siblings but when she wanted to warm the soup, she found a cockroach inside the soup, because of that she said she couldn't take the soup.

Due to the fact that her siblings are really hungry she had to put palm oil on the cooked rice instead of warming to soup for them to eat before they prepared a stew for the left cooked rice.

I asked why she didn't warm the soup, because I believed the germs that the cockroach could transmit will die if they are exposed to high temperature, even though I know there are some germs that can withstand 100°C of temperature, but I don't think the cockroach could transmit that type of germs to the soup, she said those cockroaches are found in the toilet, she can't tell if it has been in the toilet and that's why she can't take it and she can't also allow her siblings to consume it.

So I asked her that, if I have a cockroach farm in which the cockroaches are well treated, will she consume some of it, she said NO, then I asked again, what if I have a cockroach farm that can be use to feed poultry birds, will she buy the birds from me.
she then said, animals and humans have different body system, she said she might purchase the poultry birds.

This is to show that even if you have a poultry birds that you feed with cockroach content feed, people might likely not buy the birds from you because of the believe that cockroaches could transport germs, they consume anything including facial deposit and they are mostly found in places that are not healthy like toilet.

The truth about cockroaches

Cockroaches are insect that can pretty much consume anything,they love to take lemon and onion.

We have more than four thousand species of cockroaches but the most healthy one which is being consume or use in pharmaceutical companies especially in china is the American cockroach (Periplaneta Americana).
It wasn't named American cockroach because it can only be gotten in America,we can also get them in Nigeria, china and so on.

Some Other species are:

• Brown - bounded cockroach (supella longipalpa)

• Germany cockroach (Blattena Germanic)

• Oriental cockroach ( Blatta orientalism)

• Smokyblack cockroach (periplaneta fuliginosa) etc..

If you want to know more about the different cockroach species we have, you can check the below link 👇
Link: https://www.westernexterminator.com/cockroaches/species/

Why should we consume cockroach

Cockroaches are one of the insect we have that contain very high percentage of protein, even with the fact that they are not wanted in the environment. Out of over four thousand species of cockroaches, Periplaneta Americana is the most edible one,this type of cockroach will have no side effects nor will they transmit germs or bacterias in the body of humans or animals when consumed if they are been nutured well.
It's not a new thing that Chinese do consume cockroaches and it's not new that they establish cockroach farms which is one of the most lucrative business one can venture into in China.
Some countries like Nigeria still finds it hard to adopt, because they have a very strong hatred for cockroaches.
There are so many researches done on how to utilize cockroaches in making feeds for animals in Nigeria but I don't think we are implementing it.

I haven't heard of a cockroach farm in Nigeria.
I think with this my post, someone can be interested in consuming or having a cockroach farm.

Let have a breakdown of what we can benefit by consuming cockroaches.

Cockroaches are good sources of nutrients and minerals

Nutrients

1. Cockroaches are a good source of Crude protein.
2. They are good sources of carbohydrates (Dry matter and NFE)
3. They are good sources of Crude fibre
4. They are good sources of Crude fat
5. They are good sources of Crude Ash
6. They have low moisture content which helps to reduce the spoilage of cockroach made meal/feed and the infection by fungal .

All the above nutrients are need by humans and livestock, which are something we lack in our body system, consuming cockroaches can help us fill the portion of our daily nutritional requirements.

Micro and Macro Minerals

• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Potassium
• Copper
• Zinc
• Manganese
• Phosphorus
• Sodium and so on

Importance of cockroaches

Iron, zinc, copper and manganese strengthen the immune system as antioxidant enzyme cofactors. Likewise, magnesium and zinc prevent cardiomyopathy, muscle degeneration, growth retardation, impaired immunological disorders. dysfunction spermatogenesis.

The nutrients and minerals in cockroaches can help increase the growth rate in livestock and also help to develop a strong shelled egg
in poultry layers bird.

The nutrients and minerals derived from cockroaches are also good for pregnant woman, lactating women, or malnourished Adults and children.

They are used by pharmaceutical companies to make drugs and food.

They also are use in treating diseases, Aids, and so on.

Cockroach milk 🥛🍼 😋

Diploptera punctata one of the species of cockroaches produce what is called cockroach milk which is very rich in protein.
It was said that it contains all the nine essential amino acids and it's even more nutritious than cow milk, buffalo milk and human breast milk.

You can check more on it 👇:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cockroach-milk-nutrition#benefits

What should be done for people to start taking cockroaches as a source of nutrition for their growths and developments.

We need to educate people about the benefits and the importance that cockroaches give to the body, we also need to make it known to people that these cockroaches are treated not just Random cockroaches, they are being fed with lemons, onions etc... which are also edible to humans.

I will wish to have a cockroach farm if I have the opportunity, and I will wish to sell them to pharmaceutical companies for drug and food production

A cockroach farmer named ‘Li Bingcaia’ in Yibin, Southwestern Sichuan province of China in his statement, reported “cockroaches are gold, they have high protein content and are highly nutritional

You can read this below pages to know more on cockroach and their nutritional importance.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341250717_Cockroach_Periplaneta_americana_Nutritional_Value_as_Food_and_Feed_For_Man_and_Livestock