Insects can be considered as an adequate and healthy alternative to so-called "traditional" protein sources such as meat, legumes or milk.

In this article, we will be looking at the different nutritional intakes offered by cricket powder compared to cow’s milk in terms of protein content.

Protein Quantity: Cricket vs Milk

On the same weight basis, cricket powder possesses about 20 times more protein than milk:

Table 1: Protein content comparison between cricket powder and cow’s milk on a 100g basis

Thus, in terms of quantity of protein, cricket powder is by far the most beneficial. However, as previously mentioned inthe article about protein, quality is also an important factor to consider when examining the protein content of a food product.

Protein Quality: Cricket vs Milk

Cricket powder and cow’s milk, are both considered as complete sources of protein: the 9 essential amino acids are all present in sufficient quantities by gram of protein. However, as cricket powder possesses more protein, it will offer much more essential amino acids thant cow's milk on the same weight basis.  In fact, as one can observe on the graph below, cricket powder possesses all the essential amino acids in quantities that surpass that of milk:

Graph 1: Essential amino acid content comparison between 100g of cow milk and 100g of cricket powder

Some figures to give a better overview

An individual with an average body weight of 65kg would need approximately 60g of cricket powder in his diet to satisfy his daily needs in all essential amino acids, while approximately a whole litre of milk would be required.

Thereby, one Näak bar offers on average one fifth of the nutritional needs for each of the different essential amino acids, as one can observe on the table below

Table 2: Percentage of daily intake in essential amino acids obtained with a Naak bar

To sum it up, there are two main things worth remembering: variety and quantity. These two terms  are crucial in our everyday diet in order to obtain all the essential amino acids and nutrients to maintain a good health, with a special accent on the different protein sources that are available to us. For ultra endurance athletes, Näak ultra energy bars are the perfect source of long-lasting energy. 

In addition to being a great source of high quality protein readily available to provide our body with the energy it needs to function properly, insect protein is also environmentally friendly! Indeed, producing 10g of cricket powder requires 20 000 times less water than to to produce 10g of beef!

So,why not give a try to insect protein with a Näak bar?