jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Jul 24, 2014 15:10:39 GMT -5
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panamark
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,343
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Post by panamark on Jul 24, 2014 16:27:52 GMT -5
Have you ever read the reports of the Lewis and Clark expedition's bloating and digestive problems when they started eating the camas lily bulbs with the Nez Pierce Indians. Sounds like they all wanted to die! Yet the Indians' digestion systems had adapted and no problem. As I recall, the whites were warned to go slow on it.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,061 
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Post by gemfeller on Jul 24, 2014 18:13:14 GMT -5
Have you ever read the reports of the Lewis and Clark expedition's bloating and digestive problems when they started eating the camas lily bulbs with the Nez Pierce Indians. Sounds like they all wanted to die! Yet the Indians' digestion systems had adapted and no problem. As I recall, the whites were warned to go slow on it. According to this source the temporary gastric distress was caused mainly be gorging on fiber after a nearly continuous protein diet -- up to 9 lb. of buffalo meat a day! They later stocked up on camas bulbs, which they grew to like, for their trip down the Columbia and discovered that when fermented it made a passable beer. franceshunter.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/nearly-all-the-men-sick-lewis-and-clark-meet-the-camas-root/ |
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unclestu
Cave Dweller
WINNER OF THE FIRST RTH KILLER CAB CONTEST UNCLESTU'S AGUA NUEVA AGATE
Member since April 2011
Posts: 2,298
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Post by unclestu on Jul 24, 2014 18:37:58 GMT -5
I don't know about those nuts but last week I was carted away in an ambulance suffering from severe dehydration as a result of severe gastro intestinal disorder. Lets just say fluids were leaving my body from every orafice. That was on Friday. I was discharged from the ER late Friday night after spending the whole day being tested and being rehydrated via IV. On Monday I received a call from the corp office of the supermarket chain that I shop with. It seems that there was a contamination with Lysteria in some fruit that I had purchased. Fortunately though I was very sick it was not from the bad fruit. My Dr. told me that there is a very bad virus going around and that Iwill not feel back to my normal self for another 7 to 10 days.
The Lysteria contaminated fruit (nectarines,blums and peaches)is in fact part of a nation wide recall and not just a local situation in my area NY/NJ.
Stu
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 24, 2014 18:54:05 GMT -5
My late mother-in-law used to "sample" all kinds of things growing. No, it didn't do her in, but I had always wondered about her doing that. I don't understand why, with so many different types of food available, anyone has to go grazing on food they don't know?
I don't taste wild mushrooms, berries, or anything I'm unfamiliar with. Gastrointestinal distress in no laughing matter. Don't put nuthin' in your mouth unless you know what it is, and where it's been, lol. Stay safe out there!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2014 20:08:27 GMT -5
Jim, what plant is that? I was all set to start my own thread about foraging and free foods and such and here Jim beat me to it!! Jim, I hope you wont mind if I add my own little bit of data. [ rockpickerforever] This time completely lacking in any distress of any kind. Just a heaping pile of happiness. I pulled into a parking lot of a lead and noticed these big bright red "berries". I went in to learn the client is not a manufacturer as we thought. This gave me a few minutes to explore this beautiful fruit.  First I inspected the flower, smelled it (no odor) and tried to see if it resembled anything I had knowledge of. Yes, it looks like Jasmine (it ain't). I gotta remember to clean off the lens cover before I take pics of bright stuff  So, then I inspected many fruits and decided that the bright red ones were prime. Anything darker red was starting to shrivel, potentially having gone bad, and anything lighter was too hard. Experience with fruits tells me that soft uniform colored ones that have yet to shrivel up, are the ones to eat. So, I grabbed one, like any other ripe fruit it fell off into my hand. I smashed it, squeezed a bit of juice onto a finger and tasted one drop of juice. Experience tells me that if it's bad, this is when I will know for sure. Bad foods are usually quite aweful in flavor. This juice was that like one might buy at a farmers market. Bright, sweet and flavorful. So, then I bit a tiny bit and it was delicious. Then I ate half the fruit. Awesome! Tomorrow, I will go back and fill a bag with ripe and delicious Natal Plum - Carissa macrocarpa.  |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Jul 24, 2014 21:54:56 GMT -5
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 24, 2014 23:11:05 GMT -5
Scott, I used to taste different things when I was growing up. I've eaten natal plums before, also eugenia berries. I either outgrew it, or I'm just not that adventuresome any more. It no longer holds a thrill for me. I'll stick with the foods I know aren't going to kill me, lol.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2014 6:39:15 GMT -5
It quandaries me to think that the natives tested all kinds of plants for ailments. No FDA regulations. Tests were simply based on human reactions.
Over many generations.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,723
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 25, 2014 9:04:03 GMT -5
Oh the memories!!! Had eaten some nasty stuff in the Army years ago,put your stomach in a knot!!! Was sick a few times from it!
About 20 years ago I got food poisoning from mayo,laid me out for a few days too!!!
Was in Vegas about 7 years ago and got severe food poisoning again..Its like the body was saying,damn,not again..Ok,let get this over with....LOL
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2014 14:22:57 GMT -5
feel bad for those that get food poison or stomach virus. would not wish that on anyone.
food poison can give you a heart attack. those that drink too much and nave to purge, same deal.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2014 14:32:02 GMT -5
Have you ever read the reports of the Lewis and Clark expedition's bloating and digestive problems when they started eating the camas lily bulbs with the Nez Pierce Indians. Sounds like they all wanted to die! Yet the Indians' digestion systems had adapted and no problem. As I recall, the whites were warned to go slow on it. Mark, I saw the native people of the Amazon drinking river water regularly. Maybe you see the same thing when you stay in Panama. I think they develop a resistance to foods and water with creepers in it. We were staying in a high tannic tributary that was not silty. Apparently the highly tannic water of the Okeefenokee swamp here in south Georgia has such a high tannic acid level that bacteria has a hard time surviving in it and is safe for civilians to drink. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2014 14:40:37 GMT -5
Have you ever read the reports of the Lewis and Clark expedition's bloating and digestive problems when they started eating the camas lily bulbs with the Nez Pierce Indians. Sounds like they all wanted to die! Yet the Indians' digestion systems had adapted and no problem. As I recall, the whites were warned to go slow on it. According to this source the temporary gastric distress was caused mainly be gorging on fiber after a nearly continuous protein diet -- up to 9 lb. of buffalo meat a day! They later stocked up on camas bulbs, which they grew to like, for their trip down the Columbia and discovered that when fermented it made a passable beer. franceshunter.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/nearly-all-the-men-sick-lewis-and-clark-meet-the-camas-root/I see there was chance that they may have harvested the poison camas at some point. The resulting beer was probably a big welcome. Those dudes were brave/lucky souls. Interesting that an elderly lady saved them getting scalped, a bit close for comfort. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2014 14:42:06 GMT -5
Scott, I used to taste different things when I was growing up. I've eaten natal plums before, also eugenia berries. I either outgrew it, or I'm just not that adventuresome any more. It no longer holds a thrill for me. I'll stick with the foods I know aren't going to kill me, lol. I can tell. Those berries left their mark:) |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 25, 2014 15:17:40 GMT -5
Scott, I used to taste different things when I was growing up. I've eaten natal plums before, also eugenia berries. I either outgrew it, or I'm just not that adventuresome any more. It no longer holds a thrill for me. I'll stick with the foods I know aren't going to kill me, lol. I can tell. Those berries left their mark:) Funny you should say that, James... Actually, we'd drag those natal plum berries across the sidewalk, and leave obscene messages, lol.
Did you know that all parts of the natal plum, except the berry, are poisonous? ALL parts of the oleander are poisonous. The list is prodigious. link This is just California. (Carissa macrocarpa - Natal plum - 2 = Minor Toxicity: Ingestion of these plants may cause minor illnesses such as vomiting or diarrhea. If ingested, call the Poison Control Center or your doctor.)
Mark, I saw the native people of the Amazon drinking river water regularly. Maybe you see the same thing when you stay in Panama. James, I don't think the native people of Panama drink river water from the Amazon! Think Central America vs. South America, lol. (Just kidding, I know what you were trying to say, lol).
The downside to tasting wild plants is, even if they taste okay to eat, you don't know if they have pesticides on them or not, for one thing. And if they do taste okay, they can still cause you kidney or liver damage down the road. Would a person know, say five, ten years from now what caused their kidneys/liver to fail? How many people enjoyed their last meal of wild-picked mushrooms? There's a saying - “There are old mushroom pickers, and there are bold mushroom pickers. But there are no old bold mushroom pickers!!" Words to live by.
I know you guys like to live dangerously. Sorry, to me, it's just not worth it. We are not back in the day when we have to try things to see if they are edible, or have some pharmacological value.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2014 15:25:17 GMT -5
Like eating the wrong mushroom, it can be irreversible if it cooks a kidney. Not worth it Jean. I agree.
You can't be tough guy w/bad kidneys !!
I catch the geographical glitch. Off by just a few miles. You know we can't do grammar.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 25, 2014 15:34:24 GMT -5
Me thinks it's the suthener in ya! We can't all be good at geography, grammar, or math, lol!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,612
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2014 18:32:36 GMT -5
We do have our skills  |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 26, 2014 4:45:13 GMT -5
Ha ha, why yes you do, James, you certainly do. That is mainly a suthen sport, since we don't have enough water in the arid southwest to make mud like that! Our mud tends to be much drier.
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thehp
having dreams about rocks
Member since July 2014
Posts: 52
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Post by thehp on Aug 2, 2014 20:54:37 GMT -5
I have a pretty simple rule - if someone eats something as a regular food, regardless of culture, I will try it - i.e. I''m down for any delicacy so long as served by someone knowledgeable. I will not however eat things based off of field guide or internet info alone.
( I figure I take enough gambles "sampling" from the still and brew pot, no reason to add to it with accidental "die a million death berries", lol )
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