WASHINGTON D.C. — You may think cockroaches are the spawn of Satan, but new research has found that the little buggers can produce a whole lotta nutrients.<br /><br />The Washington Post reports that unlike most insect species, the Pacific beetle cockroach is viviparous. This means it gives birth to live offspring instead of eggs,which it nourishes with a yellow, liquid substance from her brood sac.<br /><br />Instead of simply being digested, the liquid milk is deposited in the embryo's midguts and forms into tiny crystals. <br /><br />Analyses revealed the crystalline milk is a complete food containing proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, and with three times more energy than buffalo milk.<br /><br />It's apparently one of the most nutritious substances on the planet, but does that mean we should be guzzling the stuff?<br /><br />Eh … not quite. Milking a roach is hard, but even without the eww factor, there's no telling if roach milk is safe for human consumption. Fortunately, science is on it.<br /><br />Scientists are now reverse bioengineering the milk and working on using yeast to produce the beetle roach crystals in larger quantities.<br /><br />It may take a while, but someday people might hoard roach milk instead of kale and avocado.
