While some foods clearly have threatening auras as we have seen in this post, there exists a whole new world of weird and unusual foods popular among culinary thrill seekers. Edible insects like ants, crickets, and mealworms have been a staple in many far East diets, whether eaten raw, cooked, or added to other dishes.

Now, a growing body of research has found that edible insects have superior health benefits due to their high levels of vitamin B12, iron, zinc, fiber, essential amino acids, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and antioxidants.

For example, this study claims that the addition of edible insects such as crickets to the human diet could offer numerous benefits. For example, the environmental and nutritional benefits include an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, decreased agricultural use of land and water, improved prevention and management of chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, and enhanced immune function.

While today, most animals are born and raised for their muscle tissues, organ meats are largely overlooked. However, hunter-gatherers didn’t just eat muscle meat. They ate the organs too, such as brains, intestines and even testicles. In fact, the organs were highly prized.

Organ meats, known as offal, can be seen as a culinary oddity not for faint stomachs, but the fans of it claim it’s nature’s most concentrated source of virtually every important vitamin, mineral, amino acid, and fat.

Healthline reports that organ meats are particularly rich in B-vitamins, such as vitamin B12 and folate. They also have an abundance of minerals, including iron, magnesium, selenium and zinc, and important fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, E and K.