A handful of ants a day keeps the doctor away, according to Chinese scientists.
Some 40 entomologists, or insect experts, and medical workers met recently in Nanking to discuss the health benefits of eating polyrhachis vicina roger - the country's most common ant."In some regions of southwestern China, local people regularly eat ants," the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. "As a result, the locals enjoy good health."
Ants were especially effective against rheumatism, said Zhang Zhilin, the vice chairman of the Chinese entomological society.
The formic acid and other mineral traces in the insects were also effective in the treatment of hepatitis B and other immunity disorders, the agency reported.
The consumption of ants as part of a healthy diet or for medicinal purposes has a 3,000-year history in China.