WALNUTS (was: Ethnic Genetics/Foraging)

[Guest guest]

Speaking of nuts off of a tree, my friend came over with a box full of walnuts

that he just picked off of one of his client's trees. I don't think I've ever

seen a walnut tree before, and I know I've never seen how a walnut ready to be

picked looks! He told me to put the box outside and let the walnuts rot so that

the flesh falls off around the shell inside.

Does anyone else here know how long it would take in order for my walnuts to

be ready to soak and eat?

(ELAINE wrote: " I also don't tend to sprout stuff, but then nuts straight off

the tree are in a very different state to the dried ones we get - sort of green

and sweet and milky. " )

-Tiffany Lohr

 

Elaine Bruce <lilelil wrote:

You know, I always figured the Europeans just were in the habit of eating more

(not responding to 'true' hunger), but I'm sure your right, they probably did

cook food a lot more (and from seeing recipes from those times, also had complex

combinations of rich foods - if they were wealthy enough of course!).

I've heard about the 'thrifty' gene theory - thanks for reminding me of it, it

does make a lot of sense. I suppose most populations suffer from this to varying

degrees - we're just not designed to have plentiful food supplies all year

round. To compensate, we now

have to use will power to avoid eating unneccesary food, to varying degrees of

success!

I don't tend to wash forgaed foods unless they're obviously in need of it. I

guess there's a chance something unpleasant like animal urine might be on it,

but if I can't smell it or taste it, I guess there can't be much! I've read this

can be a way of getting B12 (among other useful things), but obviously if that

seems a bit gross than feel free to wash stuff.

It's rare that you're going to eat an enormous quantity of foraged stuff every

day, and I think this is the reason people don't tend to have reactions - the

body is ingesting the plant toxins and surface bacteria, etc. in such small

quantities that the body can deal with them or even benefit from them.

I also don't tend to sprout stuff, but then nuts straight off the tree are in a

very different state to the dried ones we get - sort of green and sweet and

milky. I haven't tried wild grains, I guess these would be better sprouted, I

stick more to greens, nuts and berries.

Hope you can find somewhere nice to find wild foods - maybe even a local forager

(ask the older folk, they're often the best source of local knowledge like that)

- I know you'll really enjoy it!

 

Tiffany wrote:

ELAINE wrote: I remember reading how the first Europeans to come to America

decimated friendly local populations, by each consuming in a day what would last

the locals most of a week, and hence eating much of their available food.

TIFFANY L. responds: Was this because the Europeans tended to cook the life out

of their foods more than the American locals?

ELAINE: That's a good point you made about Native American's inclination to

obesity on an SAD diet. But I'm not sure there's a massive genetic difference

(more an adaptive difference after birth) - after all, look how many people of

European descent are also obese on the SAD.

TIFFANY: Yes, the genetic difference isn't massive, it's just a difference. I

assume that even the ancestral Europeans, before cooking was a big hit, ate more

raw than they have been in the past few centuries. My point is that any of a

people who originated in colder climates, where they needed a certain amount of

body fat to keep warm and food was scarce a good part of the year, were

genetically adapted to survive during periods of near 'starvation'. Now-a-days,

those genes have stayed active in most of them. It's like they store fat, as if

there would be a near-starvation period coming up.

Here's an excerpt followed by the link to a scientific postulate describing

that:

" ...Some experts postulate the existence of a so-called " thrifty " gene, which

regulates hormonal fluctuations to accommodate seasonal changes. In certain

nomadic populations, hormones are released during seasons when food supplies

have traditionally been low, which results in resistance to insulin and

efficient fat storage. The process is reversed in seasons when food is readily

available. Because modern industrialization has made high-carbohydrate and fatty

foods available all year long, the gene no longer serves a useful function and

is now harmful because fat, originally stored for famine situations, is not used

up. Such a theory could help explain the high incidence of type 2 diabetes and

obesity found in Pima tribes and other Native American tribes with nomadic

histories and Western dietary habits. "

http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/diabetes-type-2-causes.html

Here's a link to genotype/environmental impacts between racial populations:

http://www.obesityresearch.org/cgi/gcaSEARCHID=1 & FULLTEXT=obesity+gene+ancestry & \

FIRSTINDEX=0 & hits=10 & RESULTFORMAT= & gca=obesityres%3B3%2Fsuppl_2%2F223S & sendit=Ge\

t+All+Checked+Abstract%28s%29

ELAINE: I've not known of anyone who forages having a reaction to the foods

they'd eaten, though you're right, it's always wise to procede with caution when

it comes to new foods.

TIFFANY: And they might had prepared the foraged foods in a way to not induce

harmful effects, like how we sprout our nuts, beans and seeds to allow their

digestion.

ELAINE: I think our limitations in terms of different foods these days are

caused by taste preferences, what foods are easily transportable, and

particularly agriculture. Agriculture meant we could choose the

sweetest/starchiest/fattiest foods and grow huge quantities. We were also able

to selectively breed them to be even sweeter/starchier/fattier. In terms of

taste, just as a typical SAD-eater would find an advanced RF diet pretty much

unpalatable (where's the sugar? the salt? the fat? the spices?) until their

taste buds adjust, so even a RF would need time to acclimitise to the very

bitter tastes of some of a foraging human's diet.

TIFFANY: All great points!

ELAINE: But those original foods are still out there, we just have to go out and

find them. And fortunately, there really is nothing so fun as going for a trip

to the countryside and looking for nice foods. I've found that children

particularly enjoy foraging - I guess it's a natural instinct, and they love

getting closer to nature. It also gives an aim to a country walk. I love to take

my (husband's) daughter out to pick wild strawberries, blackberries,

elderberries and flowers, etc. in season. She sees different plants and berries

and asks 'can we eat this?' and I wish I knew a bit more so I always had an

answer! When out in the country as a child we always ate wild fennel leaves,

dandelion leaves, shepherd's purse, pansy flowers, hazelnuts, etc. as we walked

along.

TIFFANY: I need to look for a place like that near me in the Southern California

mountains. Would you rinse, soak them for about 10 minutes then rinse again with

a portable water container, just in case, say, animals peed on the plants?

Thanks again, Elaine!