It may sound weird but it is true that some people eat lizard as their meal. People are not commonly consume lizard in culinary purpose but more as medicine. We can easily found lizard in our home or in the garden around the environment. Lizard is one kind of reptile that belong to order Squamata or in the same class to snake. They different from snake because they got legs and having external ear hole. unlike snake they also have eyelids which can be moved. Lizard can be found everywhere in every continent in this world. Actually lizard has important role in keeping environmental balance by acting in the food chain of an area. Lizard is commonly predators of certain insects and bug which is harmful for plant and human. They consume pest on the field and also mosquito inside home. By those activities, they can prevent human from such disease that caused by insect.
Lizard has been consumed as food since long and people in Asia loves to eat it. They usually consider lizard as extreme snack. Even lizard meat doesn’t sound tasty, people in some Asian countries like China, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines have their own recipe to cook and consume lizard. Even there are special market who sold such exotic meat in those countries that let people to purchase and bring the lizard meat home.
People who are used to eat lizard have their own purpose to get the benefits of lizard. Lizard meat contains some amount of nutrients which believed can cure some disease and keep healthy body. According to some studies, lizard meat contains high proteins and amino acid. It contains important nutrients such as tyrosine, phenylalanine, trypthopan and histidine in low level while isoleucine in lizard meat found in high level compared to other common meat such as beef and diary product. It is surprising that those nutrients make lizard meat as one kind of meat that surpassed essential nutrients to the body.
Health Benefits of Eating Lizard
Due its nutrition, people has started to consume lizard as medicine and wishing the benefits. Below are the list of benefits that you may get after consuming lizard meat :
1. Provide energy
Lizard meat contains some amount of calories which is almost same with other types of meat. In one ounces of lizard meat contains 50 kcal. It is same amount of energy in one ounce of chicken. To fulfill daily intake of 1500kcal, you need to consume almost 2 pounds of lizard meat.
2. Improve stamina
The protein contained in lizard meat not only provide us with energy but also can improve stamina. Amino acid is body repair block and it is known as part of body metabolism in producing energy
3. Prevent asthma attack
Asthma is an allergy which occur in respiratory tract and usually people with asthma will be difficult to breath during asthma attack. Eating lizard meat is believed can cure and prevent asthma attack. Maybe this benefits provides by the presence of certain amino acid that has repairing impact in respiratory muscle.
4. Cure epilepsy
People in Asia has used lizard meat as medicine to cure many health problem such as epilepsy. Epilepsy is a disorder which occur in neurological system. Eating lizard that contains protein regularly can help to cure neurological disorder and maintain healthy nerves
5. Heal skin disease
It is believed that meat of most reptile such as snake, lizard or iguana can cure skin problem. People in Indonesia used to eat lizard meat to heal itchy skin and some other skin disease such as eczema, and psoriasis. They even drain the meat then turned into powder and put in capsule skin.
6. Cure acne
As mentioned before that lizard meat can be eaten to cure skin disease. This benefits including acne treatment. Eating lizard meat everyday can reduce the inflammation on skin and remove acne from face. Some people also use lizard blood to cure acne.
7. Prevent gland disorder
Gland disorder is harmful if its happen in the body. Most gland in the body regulate many process especially in metabolism and immune function. One of the most important gland in the body is lymphoid gland. It will be terrible if this gland getting damaged. Eating lizard meat regularly can keep the glands in their healthy function.
8. Promote flatulence
If you experiencing discomfort feeling in stomach, eating lizard meat can reduce those feeling by promoting flatulence. Too much gas in the stomach that produced by gastric will cause some problem if its not getting out of the body.
9. Relieving muscle stiffness
Some vendor in Indonesia sold grilled lizard meat during night time and people used to come to eat lizard meat not only to improve stamina but to cure muscle fatigue and stiffness after working hard. The amino acid contained in lizard meat may become the reason to deliver this benefit.
10. Fight cancer
It is maybe sounds impossible but who knows that lizard meat can be used to treat and fight cancer. A cancer patient in Bogor, Indonesia has proved this benefits. Doctor in a hospital suggested a cancer patient to eat lizard meat. Later the cancer patient ate 3 lizards meat everyday and after six months doctor examined him and it was a shocked that he was totally recovered from cancer.
11. Help to cure digestion problem
Lizard meat can cure most digestion problem like nausea and discomfort feeling. It is also help to maintain healthy digestive tract in the body. The protein and amino acid which contained in lizard meat can also protect stomach lining from ulcer.
12. Cure hemorrhoid
Hemorrhoid is a condition of bleeding which occur in the anal tract during defecation process. Eating lizard meat can help bowel movement and protect the blood vessel in anus from certain damage.
13. Prevent from stroke
Stroke mostly happen in people who suffer heart and cardiovascular disease. It is occur when the blood vessel in brain got damage and causing paralyzed limb or other body part. Lizard meat contains protein which can help to maintain healthy blood vessel and prevent atherosclerosis.
14. Promote long life
A news that published in Daily Mail Uk reported that the oldest man on earth which live in Bolivia has passed his 123 years and survived cause he regularly eat lizard meat until now. This man still alive today and has 16 grandchildren and 39 great-grand-children. He still strong enough to walk along some kilometers everyday. Isn’t it amazing?
Health Risk of Eating Lizard
Some people still consider that eating lizard meat may give harmful effect to the body. The main cause that makes eating lizard can be harmful is the presence of pathogen bacteria such as Salmonella. Salmonella is a type of bacteria which can cause many health problem in human body such as thypoid fever and diarrhea. It also contains certain protein that may trigger allergic reaction in the body. People with allergy history should concern about health risk and think twice to try eating lizard.
How to Catch and Cook lizard
Catching fresh lizard will be another challenge. Lizard can be caught by using trap or shot . Nowadays some markets sells exotic meat or which they called extreme food and it can be found in certain area. If you purchase the meat from market you better make sure the meats are fresh enough and doesn’t contain poisonous bacteria.
After get the lizard meat you should know how to process and cook it. Follow these tips before you eating lizard :
- Before you cook lizard you should cut the head and the gut of lizard. Don’t forget cut the anus as well
- Divide the lizard body and separate the legs and tail by cutting them
- Remember don’t use same cutting board which you use to cut lizard with other kind of food such as vegetable. This may cause cross contamination
- Boil lizard meat for 20 minutes until the skin get loose and it sterile from any kind of bacteria
- Remove the skin from lizard body and then you can cook it just as you wish. You can fry or stir it, its up to you. The taste of lizard meat is just resemble to chicken wings
Eating lizard meat maybe far from your tongue and it is maybe difficult to start. But if you want to try it by wishing get those all benefits, don’t be hesitated. Just try it and maybe you will get the benefits.