Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Snail pies are good for you


"A nutritionist in Nigeria says that malnutrition and iron deficiency in schoolchildren could be reduced in her country by baking up snail pie.

In a research paper to be published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health, she explains snail is not only cheaper and more readily available than beef but contains more protein.

[...]

Iron deficiency and a lack of protein in the diet affect young mothers and their children in many developing countries including Nigeria, according to the World Health Organisation leading to serious health problems. There is no quick fix for the problem of malnutrition in such countries, but alternative to high-cost meat products could help.

Snail meat contains protein, fat (mainly polyunsaturated fatty acid), iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, vitamins A, B6, B12, K and folate. It also contains the amino acids arginine and lysine at higher levels than in whole egg. It also contains healthy essential fatty acids such as linoleic and linolenic acids. The high-protein, low-fat content of snail meat makes it a healthy alternative food."
And I think snails are as ubiquitous as frogs...

1 comment:

Tanya said...

Hahaha I read this too. They sound nutritionally better than marmite! If its good enough for the French...
On a note thats both related and unrelated I stumbled across this website which I thought you'd like as much as I do..check out the gorgeous piglet squid!

http://uglyoverload.blogspot.com/

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin