What are the health benefits of consuming cockroach milk products?

Does cockroach milk have health benefits?

Not that anyone has shown. Headlines called it a superfood, but the claims rest on one laboratory study of the protein crystals, not on trials in people. A review editorial that discusses it says the extent to which cockroach milk shares the qualities of mammalian milk is unknown, and that the benefits linked to ordinary milk come from studies of cow and other mammal milk, not insect milk.

What is cockroach milk?

It is a nutrient-rich fluid made by the Pacific beetle cockroach, Diploptera punctata, one of the few cockroaches that gives birth to live young. The mother feeds her babies with a milk that forms protein crystals. A 2016 structural study in the journal IUCrJ described these crystals and estimated that a crystal holds more than three times the energy of the same mass of dairy milk, which popular articles turned into superfood claims.

What do we really know?

• The crystals contain protein, fats and sugars and may release amino acids slowly as they are digested.
• The energy figures are estimates from the crystals, not measurements of a food.
• The editorial we read gives no safety information and says it is unknown how far cockroach milk shares the qualities of mammal milk.
• Safety, allergy risk and contaminants have not been established for people.

Can you buy or eat it?

We found no regulated cockroach milk product sold as a food. Press coverage said researchers had begun making the protein in yeast, which was described as years away from any product, instead of harvesting it from insects. Be wary of any supplement or powder that claims to be cockroach milk or promises benefits. Insects can carry bacteria and allergens, and some people react to cockroach proteins.

The takeaway

Cockroach milk is an interesting science story, not a health food. If you want more protein, ordinary foods such as dairy, soy, beans and eggs have well-studied nutrition. For advice about your own diet, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian.