Could bugs be your next training fuel?

Most of us don’t look at a handful of mealworms and think “great post-workout fuel,” but maybe we should. On mysportscience.com, Maastricht University researcher Wesley Hermans wrote about a study he led on whether insect protein can stand up to the animal sources we’re used to. The results make you wonder if we’ve been ignoring a perfectly useful protein source simply because it wiggles and squirms.

The case for looking beyond the usual proteins

The researchers point out that we’ve spent decades studying the muscle-building effects of the usual suspects: milk, eggs, beef, whey and how to fuel running on a plant-based diet. But with more attention on the environmental cost of food, insects may present an alternative. Many have amino-acid profiles similar to traditional animal protein, but can be produced on a scale that’s far more sustainable. The question is, do they actually work for muscle repair and growth?

The study

The study tried to answer that. The researchers recruited a group of recreationally active men, who did a single-leg resistance workout and then drank a shake with either 30 grams of milk protein or 30 grams of mealworm protein. Over the next five hours, the researchers took blood samples and muscle biopsies. The team tracked how well the protein was digested, how fast amino acids reached the bloodstream and how much of it ended up being used to build new muscle protein.

Insects for the win?

Hermans writes that both proteins were “properly digested” and led to very similar rises in blood amino acids. More importantly, the muscle protein synthesis response—essentially the body’s short-term muscle-building signal—didn’t differ between the two groups. Participants who drank the mealworm shake built new muscle protein at the same rate as those who drank milk. The amino acids even showed up inside muscle tissue within two hours in both cases. As Hermans put it, “you really are what you just ate.”

The takeaway for runners

If you’re open to the idea, Hermans suggests mealworm protein is worth considering. In the study, it held up surprisingly well next to milk, challenging the assumption that insects can’t possibly match more familiar sources. It’s not as novel an idea as you might think—among the Canadian brands that sell cricket protein, näak has been using its bars and drink mixes for nearly a decade. For anyone looking to mix up their protein options or find a more sustainable protein source, it might be a more practical choice than it sounds at first glance.