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Blood Sugar and Prickly Pear
My sister is hypoglycemic, she found this out after she crashed this weekend at work. Her blood sugar level was 30 2 hours after a healthy lunch of salad, trout and milk. She works in the nursing feild so her co-workers were able to administer glucose under the tongue but she crashed again 6 hours later. Tests are being run.
Anyway I read up a little about prickly per harvest and the fruit and it turns out the fruit may be beneficial in balancing blood sugar levels. Studies are being conducted as to the medical benefits to diabetics of prickly pear.
Is it to late to harvest fruit? Does anyone know the best way to preserve prickly pear? Does anyone have first hand knowledge that would support this?
Ya know, I was sitting here stressing about this, and the fact that she is a single mom and I'm taking her daughter for the summer, leaving her alone to care for my 4 yr old nephew, when I reread this page. I just lost my baby brother last November and the thought of my baby sister being ill is almost paralyzing for me.
The universe kinda gives you what you need sometime's doesn't it? I mean, she lives in South Dakota but I live here and have access to fruit on private property and I joined this sub-group because I have access to mesquite tree's that led me to read the info that may be able to help her. See?
Anyway I read up a little about prickly per harvest and the fruit and it turns out the fruit may be beneficial in balancing blood sugar levels. Studies are being conducted as to the medical benefits to diabetics of prickly pear.
Is it to late to harvest fruit? Does anyone know the best way to preserve prickly pear? Does anyone have first hand knowledge that would support this?
Ya know, I was sitting here stressing about this, and the fact that she is a single mom and I'm taking her daughter for the summer, leaving her alone to care for my 4 yr old nephew, when I reread this page. I just lost my baby brother last November and the thought of my baby sister being ill is almost paralyzing for me.
The universe kinda gives you what you need sometime's doesn't it? I mean, she lives in South Dakota but I live here and have access to fruit on private property and I joined this sub-group because I have access to mesquite tree's that led me to read the info that may be able to help her. See?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on -
Nichol:
Check out several of Gary Nabhan's books:
(from: http://www.garynabhan.com/books.html)
Note that "Coming Home to Eat" is the next Sustainability Book Club choice (we'll meet sometime in mid-July to discuss this book)
Gathering the Desert, 1985
Gary has combed the desert in search of plants forgotten by all but a handful of American Indians and Mexican Americans.
In Gathering the Desert readers will discover that the bounty of the desert is much more than meets the eye—whether found in the luscious fruit of the stately organpipe cactus or in the lowly tepary bean.
Nabhan has chosen a dozen of the more than 425 edible wild species found in the Sonoran Desert to demonstrate just how bountiful the land can be. From the red-hot chiltepines of Mexico to the palms of Palm Springs, each plant exemplifies a symbolic or ecological relationship which people of this region have had with plants through history.
Each chapter focuses on a particular plant and is accompanied by an original drawing by artist Paul Mirocha. Word and picture together create a total impression of plants and people as the book traces the turn of seasons in the desert.
"Fascinating reading for anyone interested in human ecology or ethnobotany . . . a splendid way to learn to love—and save— the deserts." - Natural History
Enduring Seeds, 1989
In a series of beautifully written essays about Native American agriculture and wild plant conservation, Gary addresses the importance of conserving wild plants, the difficulties Native American peoples have had in preserving their agricultural traditions and current wild plant conservation efforts in North America.
"Gary Nabhan . . . is a seer and celebrant of the cultivated plant world before its defilement by modern agriculture. His interests and insights are as diverse as the wild seeds he gathers. Not only does he write beautifully about what he knows, he also goes out into the fields of native peoples collecting and conserving indigenous seeds, returning them to communities from which they have been lost. In words and actions, Nabhan aims to preserve no less than the 'remaining riches of the living world' ." - Gretel Ehrlich
Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods, 2001
"Gary Paul Nabhan has really put together a beautiful and inspiring apologia for the emerging local, cultural, slow food philosophy. Like a simmering stew, the book bubbles over with diveristy, as the author runs in and out of the poetic, historical, cultural and academic."
"From cover to cover, the subject matter remains fresh and suprising. Some of the foods you can expect to encounter include boiled venison, baked rabbit, grilled corvina, tomatillo consommes, squash souffles, tepary bean burritos wrapped in mesquite tortillas, freshly picked and lightly steamed lamb quarters, purslane, tansy mustards, cress, prickly pear punch, mistletoe and Mormon tea. You will encounter organpipe cactus jam, stewed pumpkin, pinole, creosote bush salve, jojoba oil, damiana tea and pit roasted agaves - or "tatemada" - an ancient tradition the author and some local Indians revived, among others." - John Peters (eBay)
Why Some Like It Hot: Food, Genes and Cultural Diversity, 2004
Nabhan, an ethnobiologist and nutritional ecologist, examines how our ethnicity determines our digestion. He explains why modern native Americans are prone to diabetes, and why Mediterranean diets generally work best for those whose forbears came from the Mediterranean.
He urges us to learn about the foods our particular ethnic group used to stay healthy in the home country, and to apply that knowledge to the food choices we make.
"Mixing hard science with personal anecdotes, Nabhan convincingly argues that health comes from a genetically appropriate diet inextricably entwined with a healthy land and culture." — Publishers Weekly
"Move over Dr. Atkins--here's someone who really understands what a body needs. In a homogenized world, it is delightful to be reminded that our cells and organs follow a much older and more complex set of instructions. Read it before you head out to the market for this week's shopping!" - Bill McKibben
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Permalink Reply by Nichol on -
Very cool. Most people can't tell we're part native because of the blond hair and blue eyes. It's cool that you spotted that in my facial structure. I never mentioned it did I? No, I wouldn't have, probably not even in my rambling first post.
I don't suppose you have "Why some like it Hot" on hand, do you?
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer on
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=) You give me more credit than I'm due.
I don't have "Some like it hot" but I know Changing Hands does and I'll bet a local library does too.
Jen
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Permalink Reply by TCarmichael on -
I went to a class out at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum this winter taught by Don Wells and Jean Groen. They have a few books on uses of native plants.
Jean also gathers local plants and cooks with them, and makes jellies/jams. She may be able to tell you where to gather NOW or may have some foodstuffs on hand to sell you. I bought some of her jelly but haven't eaten it yet...
Anyway, website is www.plantsofthesonorandesert.com.
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Permalink Reply by Nichol on
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Thanks! Turns out Prickly Pear is good for maintaining without sending into hypoglycemia so it may not be the best bet for her. I need to do more research and teh net isn't always the best recourse, so I'll definately check out these books.
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Permalink Reply by TCarmichael on
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I always heard the mesquite flour and tepary beans were good. I think you can buy both from Native Seeds/Search.
It is PRIME mesquite bean harvesting time right now. I was in Tucson this weekend and the mesquites on the interstate were loaded (not that I reco gathering on the interstate..).
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Permalink Reply by suean stewart on -
prickly pears,
I have collected and processed these a couple of times now. it is really cool and easy. first pick the fruit, then pop thme in the freezer. once they are frozen the water in each cell expands and the cell colapses. this is the cool part. just take em out of the freezer and set them in a collender in a t-shirt and as they defrost the juice runs out free and clear. I use the t-shirt or other fabric to collect any of the prickles that I don't want floating in the juice.
now, what to do with the juice? that is another question, the flavor goes a loooong way so once you find a good recipe, you'll have to share it.
hope this helps
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Permalink Reply by Yumiko on
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Cool. This is another native plant I've always wanted to harvest. I will try to remember the freezer method. Do you freeze them with the spines and all? I am assuming I should rinse them off before freezing them? I recall Greg at the Urban Farm demonstrating how to pick them a few years ago, and he was using tongs, but I don't remember the rest...
The fruit on my friend's prickly pear are still very green, so I think they are not ready to be harvested yet.
Yumiko
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Permalink Reply by Philodice on -
As a hypoglycemic person who has not had a crash in years, and is not on medication, there are a few things I've learned to avoid.
ALL white sugar, ALL white flour, ALL white rice, white corn, basically you don't want to eat white foods. ALL cornsyrups. ALL fake or synthetic sweeteners (odd, but true). Eliminating all these foods goes a long way toward long term control. She needs to avoid milk for now, as well as most things with even natural sugars in them. No Juice, especially grape and apple. Juice MUST have pulp in it not just clear juice, one glass of which could be deadly for her now.
The beginning anti crash diet is lots of oatmeal and thick, hearty whole grain breads with baked fish and chicken. Eggs are great. NO BEEF it is too difficult to digest at first and throws the whole index off. It's time for her to back off and ease into this control diet nice and slowly.
Meals should not exceed 400 calories at a time. (you have to sneak the food in under the radar of that overactive insulin production) I eat every 2-3 hours. Oatmeal, flax, grits, beans, prunes (5 every day) are great for controlling the glycemic index and they are very tasty, but she can't have any prunes either for a few weeks. Time for some mesquite bean pancakes!
According to my research the best meats for her to eat are quail, dove, Silkie Chicken, and rabbit. The experiments I'm doing are really great and I feel in control! This is not easy, I wish her luck and it's good for her to take some classes in nutrition. I had to get a degree in nutrition Just to feed myself. It was so worth it.
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