Snails are well known for their lack of speed and their ability to upset gardeners. But there is growing scientific interest in the familiar sticky trail of slime they leave behind — and the medicinal value it may contain.

For centuries it has been thought that eating snails is good for you, and not just because they are a good source of protein and considered by some to be a delicacy.

Both the ancient Greeks and Romans advocated eating snails to cure a wide variety of ailments. These included fainting, stomach pains and coughing up blood, as well as general pain relief.

The snails could either be eaten whole after boiling or crushed (shells included) into a crunchy pulp.