Hippiekinkster
Posts: 5512
Joined: 11/20/2007
From: Liechtenstein
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Najakcharmer
Just about every item you mentioned is relatively to extremely low in carbohydrates as well as calories, and could not be a highly sustaining food for Arctic living. In addition, most are only seasonally available, and are not available at all in the further North regions inhabited by some indigenous peoples. The energy to calorie ratio to gather some of these foods is fairly low, making them less practical for survival than essential meat and fat.
BTW, the "eskimo potato" is a legume, and it has some known cases of serious toxicity associated. "Indian rice" is a lily, and it is seasonal and limited to the southernmost coastal regions of Alaska. Overconsumption of plants from the lily family tends to have unpleasant side effects. Essentially you're talking about meat, fat, salad and some low-carb berries, with a few edible but non starchy roots. That would pretty much be the Atkins diet. Many of the plants that do potentially offer some nutrient value have also evolved significant toxicity to discourage predation, and are not easy or reliable calorie sources.
For all practical purposes, in an Arctic environment, concentrated energy sources are essential. Ergo, meat and fat. Low calorie salads simply don't supply sufficient energy for the stomach space. The supplemental vitamins are useful, and are often ingested in the form of a tea (eg, pine needles, spruce gum, Labrador tea or scurvy grass). They do not add significant calories or carbohydrates to the diet.
Oh, I won't disagree with you on any of the points you've raised. I didn't list any of the highly toxic plants, such as baneberry.
I will point out that some flora, like seaweeds, are dried for later use. They don't need to be available year-round.
Eskimo Potato (Hedysarum alpinum): ("caution: there is a look-alike but poisonous cousin") "Both Eskimos and Indians once collected the roots by the bushel and some still make good use of them." pg. 268
Indian Rice (Fritillaria camchatcensis): "The buds of the bulb closely resemble rice grains and provide an even more richly starchy food with an agreeable nutty flavor." "The bulb is the edible part of the plant, and is available all year." "Bulblets are most often dried before cooking." "The plant is common, and in many cases abundant." pg. 269; originally from "Vegetables of the Alaskan Wilderness" by C.R. Snow, The Alaska Sportsman, Vol. 1 #4, April 1935.
Cat Tail (Typha latifolia): "Nearly all parts can be eaten at varying times of the year. During the late fall and winter, cattail roots are a good source of starch and may be eaten just like potatoes, boiled and mashed, fried and roasted. Season the same way too." pg. 265
Now, I've not been to the North coastal areas. Bonnie (my ex sister-in-law) has; she spent almost 15 years going out to the villages to teach kids for the Head Start program. She likely has a lot more first-hand info than anyone I can think of. She's hard to catch up with, though. It's an interesting topic.
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RE: Is there any way to stop carb cravings? - 
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It would be interesting to see if a population of people of, say, Irish ancestry would fare as well on such a diet... 
In the spirit of the thread, tho, i'll make them big so they don't count for as many carbs. 
That link I gave has all of his essays (AFAIK). He's stone deaf now. I disagree with his "meathead" diet 
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