Rex:

> BTW, I've come across some data about why it may be important to steam
certain
> foods, before eating, to release toxicity.

a while ago there was an article reprinted in m2m talking about "why do we
heat some of our foods". in a nutshell, some higher plants are toxic and
heat has been used on certain foods to make them less toxic. even survival
of human race over other plant eating species has been linked in this
article to the 'maillard reaction' (simply using heat to prepare the food).

there were some foods listed in the article with anti-nutritional/toxic
factors and metabolic effects upon ingestion. like they say that ingestion
of raw cassava and peanuts may cause death within one hour. i don't know, i
have not tried it for myself, but i know for sure that there are some people
who end up in a hospital from eating raw nuts (peanuts?). i also know  that
i could never ever digest beans even presoaked and precooked.

some primitive people like australian aborigenals have been soaking certain
wild foods for days, even before cooking, in running rivers to remove toxins
while europeans when they came to this continent started eating them without
any preparation and many died.

best,
tatiana




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