Paleo Phil wrote:
> On Fri, 9 Jan 2009 15:07:10 +0000, Geoffrey Purcell
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>   
>> The problem with the notion that tubers were a mainstay of the
>>     
> Palaeolithic Diet is that most need to be cooked etc. in order to be
> remotely absorbable by the human body( a good  example being cassava, which
> is a staple food in many African countries and contains cyanide-based
> compounds when raw). So, it is highly unlikely that tubers were a
> significant part of the diet before c.250,000 years ago, when cooking was
> invented. 
>   
The tuber/root issue wasn't the discussion I was trying to raise.  The 
point I was trying to make was one of fiber consumption in a paleo diet, 
that the Inuit are not, in my opinion, a good example of a paleo diet 
since they generally don't have much access to plant material most of 
the year.  I don't think that is true of paleo diets generally, hence my 
reason for bringing up the Australian estimate of 40-80 grams of fiber a 
day.


However, I'm currently convinced that some roots /tubers, not as a 
staple, were a part of a paleo diet where they are found.  In some dry 
areas, tubers are an effective way of getting some access to water, even 
if they aren't eaten but only the water extracted.  Over time, I think 
that is perhaps a partial answer to the genesis of tuber/root consumption.

Steve