Phosphor wrote:

>having dug up some local water lilly tubers i can say there's not much in
>the way of anything edible in them.
>

The source I provided says otherwise.  As far as I can tell, the author
has no dietary ax to grind, so I'd say it's possible that the aborigines
know something about where to find the good ones.

> i think some species of ground orchids
>are a better source of mucilaginous starch, but who knows how much is in
>them. will try to find out. yams grow only in the tropics.sub-tropics, are
>available 6 months of the year and a source primarily of water rather than
>carbohydrate.
>

We were discussing the sorts of foods available in equatorial Africa, so
that would certainly include the tropics and sub-tropics, no?  The yam
is 70% water; lean chicken breast is 74% water, etc.

> while they are  a famine food, do u really want to imitate
>paleo man in the grip of a famine? be my guest.
>

What basis do you have for your claim that they are a famine food?  It
certainly doesn't follow from the fact that they are available only six
months out of the year, so you must have some other fact in mind.  What
is it?  The site I gave provided a number of plant food sources
available to the aborigines, and I expect they have always exploited all
of them.  You seem to be arguing that they ignored them unless they were
starving.  Do you have any evidence for this?

>if they got 100 grams carbs daily, which i find doubtful, remember that this
>is in the context of a fairly active lifestyle. in the hour after moderately
>strenuous exercise the muscle cells can absorb glucose with little need for
>insulin.
>

I wouldn't deny it.  This only underscores the obvious fact that there
significant non-dietary differences between paleo and non-paleo
lifestyles that nevertheless have consequences for what sort of diet
"works."  I really do believe that people living off the land have a
very different relationship to food, compared to people who only have to
walk to the refrigerator or a restaurant to be fed.

>also remember the diet of paleo aborigines wold be full of trace elements
>and vitamins from raw liver and other organ meats, shellfish etc. many of
>these are crucial in maintaining proper blood sugar control.
>
>

Absolutely.  There's no question about it.

Todd Moody
[log in to unmask]