permaculture

[David Travis <djtravis@hotmail.com>]

Re: artichokes, I'm wondering whether or not they have been "overlooked" 
because they simply don't make a very good food source.

I remember reading an article in the British Journal of Medicine talking 
about how inulin, the main chemical in Jerusalem artichokes, is not 
digestible by the human gut. This is presumably why Jerusalem artichokes are 
"great" for dieters, so the promotional emails go, but I doubt that many 
people realize that they are "great for dieters" in the same sense that 
eating sawdust or any other non-digestable organic substance is "great".

Part of me is always hoping that Jerusalem artichokes really are a great 
food, and that somehow I've misunderstood something about the varieties that 
are out there or how it behaves in the human gut. I kind of doubt that a 
different variety of J.a. magically avoids this problem, since the problem 
has to do with the basic way the plant stores its energy, rather than some 
incidental feature that could be bred out of it. Nevertheless, if anyone who 
knows more about the plants  or nutrition can weigh in here, I'd really 
appreciate it.

Because the other part of me is just kind of dumbfounded that people are 
still trying very hard to convince themselves and others to eat a plant that 
is fundamentally indigestible, in which case it would be a prime example of 
permaculture hype gone awry.

I hope that's not the case, of course. I love the idea of a food plant 
growing like a weed.

- David

_________________________________________________________________
More immediate than e-mail? Get instant access with Windows Live Messenger.
http://www.windowslive.com/messenger/overview.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Refresh_instantaccess_042008