Sun drying might destroy vomit-inducing toxins in hopniss, jicama, sunchokes

[longhairlover]

If you have ever experienced vomiting from eating hopniss, sunchokes, or jicama (and possibly other root vegetables) - hey look, there is a vomiting smiley face up there! - I'm interested in finding ways to prevent this, because I am emetophobic and I really, really want to avoid vomiting at all costs. 

Native Americans ate hopniss, some kind of lily root tubers, and other root vegetables without getting sick, but when they gave them to the white people, the white people weren't able to prepare them properly, and got sick.  (Same with corn, which has to be soaked in water and ashes, called nixtamal, although corn did not cause vomiting, but rather, malnutrition from anti-nutrients.)

Sun drying is the universal primitive food preservation method, for people who don't have refrigerators. 

I tried eating a jicama.  I cooked it for what I thought was a long time, but when I put a tiny bite of it into my mouth, I had strange, tickly, twinge-like sensations in my mouth, and I know from experience that this means the food will make me vomit.  I did swallow one bite, and later on, had huge, strange twinges in my abdomen, which felt like electrical shocks. 

It is not inulin fiber.  I did not get gas.  Inulin would not give me twinges in my mouth.  It is rotenone, a natural insecticide in the roots to protect them from being eaten.  Rotenone causes vomiting and affects the nervous system, which explains why my twinges felt 'electrical' in nature. 

Rotenone is destroyed by sunlight. 

Sunlight was universally used to preserve foods. 

I still have the leftover uneaten jicama in the fridge.  I am going to take it out and sun dry it and see if I still get the twinges. 

The twinges in my abdomen were extremely intense even from one tiny bite of jicama.  If I had eaten any more I would have been vomiting uncontrollably.  It felt like it was making my whole intestine move around. 

I know I'm talking about cooking, in a raw forum, but this applies to eating it raw, too.  Even animals will dry their foods to preserve them.  I forget which kind of rodent it is, but there was some rodent that dries out a bunch of grass to store it for the winter.  They're eating it raw after it's been dried.  If someone wants to eat raw hopniss or any other foraged root, but finds that it's too toxic and it causes vomiting, sun drying is the perfect solution.  It isn't cooking, it's something primitive stone age people can do, and even animals can do it, so it doesn't violate the principles / guidelines that paleo dieters are following. 

[cherimoya_kid]

Few of us eat much veggies, truthfully.

[PaleoPhil]

I prefer jicama raw myself. Especially young, small, fresh, sweet ones. If it made me vomit, I wouldn't eat it. YMMV.

[lb_on_the_cb]

interesting.  i heard that some root vegs have serious toxins in them and that the people who eat them have learned over the millenia how to neutralize thru cooking.  also, the farmer that grows this stuff (as well as the EPA) is prob assuming that it will all be cooked - maybe there are pesticides or herbicides to consider as well.  Growing your own garden is prob the best solution.

(ive never heard of hopniss)

[PaleoPhil]

Jicama is popular in Mexico, where it is actually usually eaten raw, though it is also cooked. Even the Wikipedia article notes it:

"The flavor is sweet and starchy, reminiscent of some apples or raw green beans, and is usually eaten raw, sometimes with salt, lemon, or lime juice and chili powder. It is also cooked in soups and stir-fried dishes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachyrhizus_erosus

Never heard the notion before that jicama must always be cooked. If the farmer thinks that they have to be cooked, it could be because he only sells large ones. They aren't much good raw by the time they get mid-sized to large. I buy the smallest ones I can find with skins that aren't mottled by bubbles. When they are really good, they are one of the tastiest raw plant foods.

Cooking reportedly only neutralizes some pesticides a bit. Peeling or washing are the best methods I've heard of for dealing with that. http://www.sciencefocus.com/qa/does-cooking-destroy-pesticide-residues Luckily, jicama skin needs to be peeled/cut off anyway. I would also cut away any brown/tan/discolored area of the flesh. If you do taste brown areas, you'll discover why.  Jicama is one of a small number of non-organic foods I buy, and I peel/cut them, so I'm not that concerned about pesticides myself. It's a very satiating food, so I don't eat a ton of it. It would be nice if organic jicama were available in my area.

There are many myths about what foods can/cannot be eaten raw. For example, there's a common myth that all meats must be cooked thoroughly, despite the fact that millions of people eat raw meats all around the world every day.

Every plant food contains toxins. Even fruits contain tiny amounts of plant toxins (despite the countless claims to the contrary on the Internet). Plant food toxins are sometimes also called "phytonutrients" or "antioxidants" or "polyphenols." Sound familiar? That's right, they are often claimed to be medicinally beneficial.

There's a theoretical mechanism for why pesticides produced by both plants and humans may actually be beneficial in small amounts! It's called hormesis:

Polyphenols, Hormesis and Disease: Part 1

In common lingo, it's described with phrases like "the dose makes the poison," "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger" and "the terrain is everything."

I even eat a small potato or two raw now and then (especially the day I buy them or shortly thereafter) and my tolerance for that appears to have increased over time. I recommend caution with potatoes, though, at least early on, because some people are super-sensitive to plant toxins/medicinals. Your own severe reaction to certain foods may suggest that you need to be especially cautious. You may also want to watch out for going too far in the other extreme and avoiding too many foods to the point where your diet becomes too severely restricted, which can also cause problems.

There is a tendency in dietary circles to consider only foods toxins and not also look at other parts of the bigger picture, such as anti-toxins (such as vitamin B6 and maybe butyrate), and enzymes and microbes that break down toxins into beneficial nutrients.

YMMV

[Hanna]

I have eaten a lot of raw vegetables for many years. However, I visit the forum primarily to read Paleophil’s interesting posts, laugh about Tyler Durdens posts and such. 
I eat Jicama raw and like them too. Never noticed strange, tickly or twinge-like sensations, although I only really discovered them recently.

[Ioanna]

I have eaten raw jicama on several occasions in salads and solo without problems. I don't do this often bc I have not found an organic source, and it comes from Mexico which is the US largest export of DDT the last I read.

[PaleoPhil]

Thanks Hanna. 

Organic would be ideal, but I find I benefit from jicama despite the non-organic aspect, so I eat some. I try to do whatever works best for me, whether that means 100% organic or not. Even so, I eat more organic than most Americans. As always, YMMV.