Inflammatory and carcinogenic effects of insect food in the human diet: an attack on the Mediterranean diet?
"The exogenous chitins and chitinases provoke human innate immunity to generate a deluge of inflammatory cytokines, which injure organs (leading to asthma, atopic dermatitis, etc.), and in persistent situations lead to death (multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), cancer, etc.)." This is an excerpt from the cited article, which discusses the effect of exogenous chitin (i.e., introduced through the diet, for example) on the body. This chitin is found in insect-based novel foods promoted by political institutions that often tell us that wine and, in general, homemade foods are bad for us! For this author, instead, Chitin in edible insects acts as a potent prebiotic, supporting gut health and selectively promoting beneficial bacteria. But let's do a little analysis. 1- Toxic potential: In addition to the aforementioned chitin, we can consider tannins, which form insoluble complexes with proteins and reduce their bioavailability. Phytates and oxalates, chel...