Guest guest Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hi Nick, I'd be happy to help with this. I sense some confusion on your part regarding roots. These are for transportation ... movement ... not primarily for storage. Similarly, within plants, sap is for movement, not primarily for storage. In contrast, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are primary storage locations (depending upon the type of plant) and are associated with reproduction. That a vegetable is located underground does not diminish its distinct structure and function. Make sense? By way of distinction, leaves are the factories, the locations in which most of the awareness and metabolic work of the plant take place. Leaves are vegetation, the food of true herbivores, not vegetables. Regarding your initial question, from my perspective we serve ourselves best by abandoning any notion of " food groups " . This conception was invented circa 1947 by the chemical industry, via its food-processing and agricultural subsidiaries and dependents, to protect themselves against the effect of emerging research linking the consumption of animal foods with death from heart disease. (Yep, ALL the way back then! As such, any such notion connects us to a whole belief system contrary to Nature's design. We humans are designed to eat, digest, and metabolize primarily high-water-content, low-fat, low-protein foods. Our long digestive tract mandates this, for foods that remain too long tend to ferment (carbohydrates) and/or rot (proteins). Fruits and green leaves top the list of such high-water-content foods. Some people also consider (some of the) vegetables primary, as well. But many vegetables are very high in starch, indigestible fiber, and/or irritants. Examples include potatoes, cauliflower, and onions/garlic, respectively. I do not perceive any of these as particularly constructive foods for our species. I hope this helps! Best regards, Elchanan PS: I rather doubt that the local hillbillies serve as your best available food-assessment resource. _____ Nick Hein Sunday, February 15, 2009 12:08 PM Raw food groups Good afternoon (EST), Are there food groups for raw food - I was thinking that they might fall into.... Fruits, vegetables, greens, nuts, seeds, roots And I've been thinking roots aren't getting the attention they deserve. They taste really good this time of year, and they are available fresh/local. Botanically I know that they are the plant's storage chamber for the coming year. I also read a research article saying that root vegetables have been found to be more common in early native diets than was previously known - as if they liked them. We have a local root plant called ramps (a local variety of wild leek that can't be cultivated) that taste/feel great and have been a local tradition for Spring cleansing - among the long-time local residents colloquially known as hillbillies. Nick Hein Morgantown, WV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 Elchanan, Thanks for your post, I really appreciate your direct and knowledgable comments. I have to concede that I know little about our natural needs (which we evolved to thrive on over millions of years without packaging or advertising to recommend it). I had a salad last nite made entirely from shredded turnips and parsnips. I'd really just like to know if roots are sub-optimal, transitional, seasonally ideal or generally ideal. My personal convictions are for minimizing food transport as well as maximizing my benefit from eating it. I've seen anthropological research showing that native cultures in our climate actually really LIKED root crops and ate them even when more palatable (by our current standards) crops were available. Additionally, in this part of the country roots are the only vegetable I can see as being available local and fresh this month. As for the PS, I wasn't suggesting that anyone is the best food-assessment resource. However, I think that ramps are interesting because this is one of WV's only native, indigenous edible plants. They are a big deal with the natives for a few weeks in March because they are cleansing. The fact that the locals NEED cleansing because of poor food choices the rest of the year is a topic for another time. Also the word " hillbilly " is a little incendiary around here - not to the hillbillies, but to the ones that live next to them and don't want to be grouped with them. I think that's why we're called the Mountain State and not the hill state :-) Thanks again for your help in understanding and discovery. Nick Hein Morgantown, WV - Elchanan Wednesday, February 18, 2009 4:07 PM Myth: Food Groups; Ideal Foods for Humans (WAS: Raw food groups) Hi Nick, I'd be happy to help with this. I sense some confusion on your part regarding roots. These are for transportation ... movement ... not primarily for storage. Similarly, within plants, sap is for movement, not primarily for storage. In contrast, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are primary storage locations (depending upon the type of plant) and are associated with reproduction. That a vegetable is located underground does not diminish its distinct structure and function. Make sense? By way of distinction, leaves are the factories, the locations in which most of the awareness and metabolic work of the plant take place. Leaves are vegetation, the food of true herbivores, not vegetables. Regarding your initial question, from my perspective we serve ourselves best by abandoning any notion of " food groups " . This conception was invented circa 1947 by the chemical industry, via its food-processing and agricultural subsidiaries and dependents, to protect themselves against the effect of emerging research linking the consumption of animal foods with death from heart disease. (Yep, ALL the way back then! As such, any such notion connects us to a whole belief system contrary to Nature's design. We humans are designed to eat, digest, and metabolize primarily high-water-content, low-fat, low-protein foods. Our long digestive tract mandates this, for foods that remain too long tend to ferment (carbohydrates) and/or rot (proteins). Fruits and green leaves top the list of such high-water-content foods. Some people also consider (some of the) vegetables primary, as well. But many vegetables are very high in starch, indigestible fiber, and/or irritants. Examples include potatoes, cauliflower, and onions/garlic, respectively. I do not perceive any of these as particularly constructive foods for our species. I hope this helps! Best regards, Elchanan PS: I rather doubt that the local hillbillies serve as your best available food-assessment resource. _____ Nick Hein Sunday, February 15, 2009 12:08 PM Raw food groups Good afternoon (EST), Are there food groups for raw food - I was thinking that they might fall into.... Fruits, vegetables, greens, nuts, seeds, roots And I've been thinking roots aren't getting the attention they deserve. They taste really good this time of year, and they are available fresh/local. Botanically I know that they are the plant's storage chamber for the coming year. I also read a research article saying that root vegetables have been found to be more common in early native diets than was previously known - as if they liked them. We have a local root plant called ramps (a local variety of wild leek that can't be cultivated) that taste/feel great and have been a local tradition for Spring cleansing - among the long-time local residents colloquially known as hillbillies. Nick Hein Morgantown, WV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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