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Medicine beetles, healing beetles, or simply darkling beetles are such colorful names, but behind them lies the same idea: eating these insects is supposed to cure almost any disease, from diabetes to cancer.
Why do we have such skepticism and why is the word “allegedly” used? Perhaps the world community is really missing out on such a simple and powerful medicine? Maybe these insects have real healing properties? Let's look into this.
Medicine beetle: what kind of insect is it?
Let's agree to call the beetle discussed in this article a medicine beetle, as suggested by researchers studying this species. You may ask why this beetle does not have an established folk name? The fact is that it became known in the CIS relatively recently and does not live in our latitudes.
It is native to Germany, but has been introduced to Argentina since at least 1991, from where it spread further across Latin America and reached Paraguay. Based on this historical and geographical information, we can say that the medicine beetles had no chance of getting naturally east of Greenwich.
The medicine beetle belongs to the darkling beetle family (Tenebrionidae, also known as Tenebrionodae), genus Palembus. In general, representatives of this family are not widely known: the Latin names of the genera of this family, such as Martianus Fairmaire, Palembus Casey, Ulomoides Blackburn and others, do not evoke special associations.
Interestingly, in the same family there are flour beetles, widely known in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, which spoil flour and grain. These darkling beetles are parasitic insects that harm entomological collections. However, the medicine beetle has a special status in this family.
According to researchers, medicine beetles allegedly have the ability to treat various diseases, including:
- Cancer,
- Diabetes,
- HIV infection
- Tuberculosis,
- Jaundice,
- Parkinson's disease…
The ellipsis is used here for a reason: the diseases listed are far from a complete list of those against which these beetles can supposedly be used. Apparently, doctors missed valuable information: it seems that the medicine beetle has become a kind of universal remedy, like a Swiss army knife!
How did researchers discover such amazing properties in the medicine beetle that it is now being considered as a potential tool in the fight against cancer?
Anatomical reference
To fully understand the medicine beetle and the importance of its role in the world, let's remember the basics of human anatomy. This look will help determine how real the possibility of using these beetles for medical purposes is, or whether there is some kind of nuance behind this.
What is cancer
Cancer, or oncology (these terms are often used interchangeably in everyday speech), is a disease associated with the inability of the body's cells to die and stop dividing. Under normal conditions, our body has biochemical mechanisms that control this process. However, sometimes, due to various reasons, this mechanism is disrupted, and cells begin to divide uncontrollably, forming a tumor.
A tumor can arise from any cell in the body, even from an ordinary mole. When cells begin to replicate uncontrollably, it results in tumor formation. Treatment for cancer usually involves methods aimed at removing the tumor, such as surgery or chemotherapy, or a combination of both. The oncologist selects the appropriate treatment method, taking into account the type of tumor and its characteristics.
Effective cancer treatment involves stopping the tumor from growing and spreading in the body, also known as metastasis. Ignoring the need for treatment can have serious consequences for the patient.
What is diabetes
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder in the body caused by insufficient production of the hormone insulin or its ineffective use. Insulin is necessary for the body to absorb glucose. This condition can occur due to dietary imbalances or genetic predisposition.
The diagnosis and causes of diabetes mellitus can only be established by a doctor, and only he can prescribe the correct treatment aimed at correcting metabolism.
Not having enough insulin can lead to serious complications such as vision problems, heart failure and an increased risk of strokes. If you ignore the treatment prescribed by your doctor, diabetes can be extremely dangerous for the body.
What is HIV infection
HIV infection is often confused with AIDS, but they are two different conditions. HIV stands for "human immunodeficiency virus" and AIDS stands for "acquired immunodeficiency syndrome." AIDS is the most severe stage of HIV infection, manifesting itself only in the last stages of the disease, when the virus reaches maximum activity, and medicine can only offer palliative treatment.
Many people correctly claim that HIV is incurable, and this is indeed true - today this disease does not have a complete cure. However, it is worth remembering one important thing: with the help of antiretroviral drugs, you can significantly reduce the viral load in the body, making the disease practically inactive. People on antiretroviral therapy can lead full lives and even become parents.
However, low awareness of diseases, dissemination of outdated information and fake news on social networks lead to disorientation among people and prevent them from receiving up-to-date information. As a result, even treatable diseases can progress to an advanced stage. This poses serious problems for patients, their families and, ultimately, for the country's health care.
Lack of patient awareness creates confusion in the medical field and complicates the treatment process. This also applies to cases where people mistake medicine beetles for universal saviors from all diseases.
About the healing properties of medicine beetles
Initially, residents of eastern countries such as Japan and China spoke about the benefits of these insects and believed that “beetle eating” helped with lower back pain and cough. At the end of the twentieth century, reports of the miraculous properties of the beetle began to come from Latin America.
This insect was made popular by Ruben Dieminger, who published many materials about the healing insect on his website. Later Andrey Davydenko joined this campaign. The creators of the site claim that positive changes in the body are noticeable within fifteen to twenty days.
Those who spread information about the miraculous properties of this insect on social networks explain its miraculousness as follows. When studying one of the representatives of the darkling beetle family, Tenebrio Molitor, it turned out that their females secrete a certain pheromone containing a certain “rejuvenation molecule.” Accurate information about the composition of this molecule is not provided, since the materials on social networks are based on the same text from the Russian version of the site, and there is no other data.
However, this information is now being actively disseminated, and even from the main channel of the country there are recommendations for including beetles in the diet. Another study noted that nerve degeneration was slowed in rats fed darkling beetle. It is assumed that the pheromone destroyed the affected cells, which helped slow down the destruction process.
Medicine beetle. Who, if not him?
Attributing medicinal properties to insects is an issue related to alternative medicine. Yes, of course, there are cases when chemical compounds secreted by insects are used in the creation of drugs approved by the World Health Organization, FDA, Ministry of Health and other medical organizations, but in these cases we are talking about highly specialized substances.
However, in the case of medicine beetles, their properties go beyond ordinary discoveries. This discovery could be nominated for the Nobel Prize in medicine, chemistry and biology at the same time. Therefore, it is worth asking yourself the question: perhaps we are too skeptical and are missing something truly significant?
Bugs against traditions
The phrase “traditional medicine” has already become a dirty word on social networks among adherents of beetle healers. What is traditional medicine in general and by what parameters is it contrasted with alternative medicine?
In the ordinary (one would like to say traditional) understanding, traditional medicine is one that offers a system of treatment with generally accepted means. Therefore, this raises the question: by whom and by what criteria were these remedies recognized and why do their properties really benefit and defeat the disease, and, conditionally, drinking soda for stomach cancer is a method from the category of alternative treatment?
Traditional medicine is inextricably linked with evidence-based medicine. This means that if we want to know whether a certain treatment is effective, we have to look at statistics and see how many people it helped and what percentage of those people made up the total number of people who underwent the protocol. When we pass a certain limit, we can say that the method is effective.
The interesting thing is that the “traditionalists” did not dismiss the study of beetles. There are at least two publications that prove that the chemical compounds of these beetles destroy cancer cells and that they have immunomodulatory and antiphlogistic, that is, anti-inflammatory effects. What did science not like so much about these insects?
Evidence-based medicine warns against the following aspects associated with the consumption of the medicine beetle:
- Toxicity: Increasing the dose of Ulomoides Dermestoides (this is the species that belongs to the darkling beetles) can cause intoxication. The amount of bugs that can lead to poisoning varies, and it seems that this dose is individual for each person.
- Risk of complications: Consuming medicine beetles can lead to pneumonia. In addition, the beetles are not sterile, which increases the likelihood of secondary infection.
- Non-specific: The pheromone secreted by darkling beetles acts nonspecifically, destroying cells indiscriminately - both diseased and healthy. This means that healthy cells in the body can also be destroyed.
In addition, it is worth considering one more aspect: studies on the effects of beetles on the body are extremely limited in number. This means that it is impossible to draw universal conclusions about the positive effects of these insects. It is because of this that the miraculous properties of beetles are not the subject of serious pharmacological research; at least not currently.
Beetle-doctor-healer-healer: what's the result?
What conclusions can be drawn based on this information? It is ethically impossible to judge the decisions of people who are faced with life-threatening diagnoses, especially in the context of the debate with HIV and cancer dissidents, which continues to cause controversy. However, with regard to commercial offers of treatment with unconventional methods, be it bugs, soda or anything else, the situation is clearer. We hope that our article helped you understand this issue and assess how much you can trust the promises that come in the “letters to the editor” section, promising to cure any disease instantly.
Repetition of already known, but no less important phrases: only a healthy lifestyle and regular medical examinations will help prevent serious diseases, and treatment is possible only with the help of official medicine. Let this message find its reader!
F.A.Q.
Do they use flour beetles?
The official Russian medicine beetle web page makes no mention of the use of the well-known flour beetles. For the purposes we discussed in the text, exclusively Argentine beetles are used. According to the creators of the page, in Argentina these beetles are even bred and sent out for free.
How are medicine beetles used?
We strongly recommend that you do not attempt to implement the information that may be found in the answer to this question! The chemicals released by the beetles are known to be toxic. In some open sources you can find advice to use them together with bread, increasing the dose in proportion to the days of the course (the first day - one beetle, the second day - two, and so on), and also use the tincture.
What alternatives exist if not this method?
As you already know, our opinion coincides with official medicine. Only a doctor can prescribe a treatment that is not only justified, but also safe. He does this after carefully collecting anamnesis and forming a complete picture of your disease.
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