The *ahem* aftereffects of Jerusalem Artichokes

[gfweb]

Round-up next spring when they sprout.

[gfweb]

according to Wikipedia, J. 'chokes  will convert their inulin to fructose if stored for a period...which should relieve the gastric issues.

 

How long?  A pure guess..weeks.

[GlorifiedRice]

Maybe Bean-O would help?

 

They are lower carb so they are a great Fauxtato.

[gfweb]

Beano is good only for certain carbs, those with alpha galactoside carbohydrates...eg beans.  Inulin is different, so it ought not to work with J-chokes

[Deryn]

according to Wikipedia, J. 'chokes  will convert their inulin to fructose if stored for a period...which should relieve the gastric issues.

 

How long?  A pure guess..weeks.

Thanks, gfweb. Good to know.

I have never grown them but I love them and when I come across some I usually buy them and cook in various ways. Have never noticed a problem with gas as a result, nor have any of my guests who have eaten them chez moi, to my knowledge. BUT, I live in places where it is probable that the produce I get is NOT fresh out of the ground.

I wonder how many here who have issues are trying to eat them fresh from their own gardens or live in a place where produce is likely fresher than it might be way up north in eastern Canada for instance?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Trade them for okra.

[GlorifiedRice]

Beano is good only for certain carbs, those with alpha galactoside carbohydrates...eg beans.  Inulin is different, so it ought not to work with J-chokes

 

 

Bean-O Helps with Sugar Alcohols and other off label foods

[hummingbirdkiss]

okra?  LOL???  that is random  

we do not get much okra here in the Puget Sound or I would probably 

 

no one wants Jerusalem artichokes either .

 

 

why are these things  EVEN FOOD????? they list 103948 benefits to eating them..they taste really good and are easy to prepare they are native and shit and voila they cause horrific pain stomach upset and god knows what else …everything I reads just gives it the "hands in the air" attitude you either can or can not eat them and so far I have not met anyone who can eat them with out knowing exactly what I am talking about 

 

I want to give them to "Bacon" but am afraid he will miss one and the whole yard will be full of them …I mean these could be such an easy fuel if they did not kill you in the process. Guess I will feed them one at a time and make sure he eats them all so they do not go the ways of bamboo 

 

there are no answers to eating these things are there I did a vigorous search because I am getting high blood pressure over my kitchen I thought adding them to my diet would be a good thing ..sunchoke smoothie anyone? 

 

 

oh and no luck for me with Beano I tried then almost ate the whole bottle to help the aftermath ..it is like a knife in your gut and not eating them myself again unless someone says "HEY this is the answer!!!!" 

 

so many good attributes attested but so very much pain 

Edited October 22, 2015 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[gfweb]

Somebody who suffers from the problem ought to do an experiment with aging the sunchokes and see how long it takes to convert the inulin.

[gfweb]

This says that slow cooking will convert the inulin.

https://www.paleohacks.com/fructose/converting-inulin-to-fructose-through-slow-cooking-2099

[GlorifiedRice]

But the entire reason (FOR ME) to eat them is as a lower carb tater sub. If the inulin gets converted to fructose, wouldnt that raise the carbs too?

[hummingbirdkiss]

Somebody who suffers from the problem ought to do an experiment with aging the sunchokes and see how long it takes to convert the inulin.

I will follow that person …I tried fermenting them thinking that had to do something to help and that was WRONG-OOOOO

 

you know it is so strange to have dietitians telling people to eat these things .I was sold and they tasted so good!  not like burdock that supposedly does all the same things for blood sugar and pretty much only tastes good as a banchan ..these guys taste good btw I can not eat burdock either because of the same inulin problem 

 

I am so confused part of what makes it so healthy for blood sugar and blood pressure is the same thing that causes such a tremendous rampage on your GI system ..and that to me is why pills get invented! 

 

no problem with any other food but this and burdock not  EVER ! so I am wondering about the ground nuts I planted and perhaps the idea that "some folks experience severe reactions the second time they try them "" should prohibit my trying those more than once when they are ready to harvest? 

 

 

see no one eats them here either with out "issue " so far huh?   they should not be "food" 

[gfweb]

Its "healthy" because the carb isn't absorbed so blood sugar doesn't rise.

 

Screwy logic.

[hummingbirdkiss]

ok then  I get that but then we have to break it down to digest it so yeah it is screwy huh? and it looks yummy .and come on what "food" can EG folks NOT eat? as a collective "we" really do eat "everything" that is edible and this seems to be one thing no one has actually found a way to eat and enjoy 

 

I am so sad but do not have enough of a kitchen and Beano doesnt do a thing to help me so I am not willing to risk more than a proven experiment with someone who says "i tried it this way and suffered before but can eat them like this" that I will try! 

I grabbed those just this morning they had spilled out on the grass and I am starting to panic wondering how many are actually in that box! they are big ..and yes if it gets cold I know they will taste better ..I see them once in a while at Hmart and that is it but no one has them in their cart or I would ask ..they are in other grocery stores and people look at them and the produce folks will tell you about them but when you ask "have you eaten them? " if they have and it affected them they do share that!!! LOL!!!

anyone who has tried them and had it affect them admits to it it is so extraordinary that something that mashes and holds butter like potatoes ..fries crispy ..tastes good raw and claims to be good for you ..can also have such horrible side effects for the part of the population that I have talked to ..that is what does not make sense to me! 

 

/I cooked a bunch for the animals and they seem to enjoy them so I can cook them for someone around here I guess ..hope they can process inulin guess I will find out

 

the quince smell so good right now I wish I could post the smell to share! 

Edited October 22, 2015 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[gfweb]

Nobody can process inulin as far as I know.

[hummingbirdkiss]

Nobody can process inulin as far as I know.

 

 

exactly what I think is true as well and why I find these damn things so frustrating you can grow them like crazy, they taste good and have a good amt of nutrition and the thing in it that is healthiest part that is supposed to help blood sugar and blood pressure..the dietitians used to want us to recommend them to diabetics LOL right! you think they would not come screaming back at me if I said just eat them like mashed potatoes???

 

it causes buckle over pain and horrid environmental issues there should be a warning label on this vegetable! I wonder how many folks knowing nothing at all about inulin have eaten these and gone to the hospital thinking they were" dying from the inside out"

 

 

I hope some day I can find a way to eat them but for now I guess I will cook and feed them to the animals 

 

now the ground nuts ..I am so glad I did not plant burdock too 

[Smithy]

In the interests of balance, let it be known that I have cooked and enjoyed Jerusalem artichokes and lived to tell the tale. Whether they weren't fresh enough or the method of cooking was the ticket I'm not sure, but we didn't suffer any ill effects. The recipe came from Fine Cooking, here:

Pan=Roasted Sunchokes and Artichoke Hearts with Lemon-Herb Butter. I hadn't heard of any gut problems before cooking them, and I'm rather glad of it since we had no fears of the food. We liked it.

[hummingbirdkiss]

that is awesome I am so glad someone can eat them may I send you a ton? 

[Ttogull]

Interesting thread.

I've been interested in the gut microbiome for a while. As stated, Jersusalem artichokes are high in inulin. As are garlic, onions, and leeks. Few seem to complain about the gastrointestinal effects of the latter. Why? I do not know for sure.

But as I understand things, not all inulin is the same. All inulin fails to be absorbed as food in the stomach and the small intestine. It is instead fermented by gut microbes in the large intestine. Some is short-chain, and other is long-chain. The short-chain is broken down quickly, and is very quickly fermented. Other is long chain and fermented later in the distal colon.

My understanding is that Jerusalem artichokes have short chain inulins. They are digested easily by the gut microbes They produce by-products like CO-2, methane, sulfur, and other gases. Under normal circumstances, other microbes would feed on these gases, thus canceling the effect. But the average Western diet starves these canceling microbes, so in the short run eating Jersusalem artichokes produces an excess of gasses because there are insufficient gas consumers. Hence pain and suffering by the host by gasses produced but not consumed by the gut.

So the response to something like Jersusalem artichokes is likely to be individualistic. I personally have no issues. But my diet includes all chain lengths of inulin (shorter chains including dandelion root, chicory root, and yacon root). A problem is an indication of imbalance. But adding Jersusalem artichokes slowly will help to restore an imbalance.

[GlorifiedRice]

Just as a side reference...

When Inulin is used as a sweetener in a low carb treat I have the awful stomach issues..

[hummingbirdkiss]

 I can not eat one choke and the reverse seems to be true the more I tried them the less I was able to consume…I eat a LOT of garlic ..so much so I grow it as a crop for myself … onions ect fine but any of those "low carb" pasta  products (people were making pasta salads out of them for pot lucks at work and not telling people that is how we onew those who could from those who couldn't ) …make me ill and so do the chokes and burdock other than that I can not think of a single food that does this to me…nothing and I eat everything just about 

 

I bet I could supply a LOT of people with chokes for an EG study if anyone wants to give it a go my bounty is overflowing 

so if you are daring and want some send me postage and my plot is your plot! or if you live in the Puget sound I will meet you on I5 bring  a truck 

 

I just saw a neighbor on a walk yesterday that let them go rogue ..that is not cool here they invaded an entire creek bed

[Ttogull]

If sunchokes and burdock affect you, I'm betting that dandelion root and chicory root do too. All short chain inulins, as I understand. Inulin sweeteners might also be short chain, because it will taste sweeter than long chain.

You might be able to overcome this, if you want. I did. You've got to grow the bacteria in your gut that eat the gases produced by the bacteria that ferment the short chain inulin. Every day, maybe twice per day, eat just a nibble of sunchoke. Not a whole one, just a small nibble. If it causes pain, eat half as much. If you get gas but it is tolerable (gas is normal, pain is not) stay at that level for a week or so. If it is painful, cut the dose by half and try again. Slowly work yourself up.

Why? I started a diet focusing on the gut microbiome some time ago. The effect has been amazing. But after gaining the ability to digest short chain inulins from sunchokes, burdock, and dandelion root, my digestion has been amazing. Its worth it. Plus sunchokes taste really good.