permaculture

["Mathew Waehner" <waehner@gmail.com>]

Everything I've read sugests that inulin is indigestible to some people and
perfectly digestible to others.

Beans contain a relatively small portion of carbohydrates that are difficult
to digest, and we all know what happens when we eat too many of them.  The
sunchoke tubers should be almost entirely made of inulin, so if anyone can
eat a significant amount without trouble, it stands to reason that they are
absorbing the calories.  I can't imagine the gut flora bypassing a meal of
predigested starches.

I also can't imagine that generations of people have grown and eaten them
for no nutrition.  JA's aren't really a weird "permaculture crop" like
groundnuts or burdock- I've read several general interest vegetable
gardening books that mention them.

I am concerned that they won't be edible to me- if anyone suffers evil
flatulence its me.  I'll let you know how it works out in September.

Your point about quasi-edible crops is well taken, but we need to remember
how dependent on us our regular agriculture and garden crops are.  If we
have enough space, I think it is wise to add some crops that will survive
without irrigation, fertilizer, etc.







On 4/4/08, David Travis <djtravis@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> 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
> _______________________________________________
> permaculture mailing list
> permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Subscribe or unsubscribe here:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
> Google command to search archives:
> site:https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/permaculture searchstring
>
>
>


-- 
Matt

This is our grace: To be a note
In the exact chord that animates creation

-- Deena Metzger