Eating roots of weeds

[green goddess]

I've been trying, lately, to harvest as much of the weeds growing in my yard as possible, using them in smoothies and juicing, mostly. A few days ago I pulled a lot of small lambsquarters and washed them, but decided to keep the roots intact, figuring there was nutrition in them, too. I didn't go overboard with the washing of them, so some still probably have little traces of soil, which I figure is no big deal, and actually probably beneficial in terms of minerals and maybe, maybe even some B-12? What do you think?

Are weed roots nutritionally viable, and could they be a source of B-12?



PS. Just noticed, and just in time, that my title had originally read 'Eating toots of weeds'! Whoops!

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Are weed roots nutritionally viable,

yes

and could they be a source of B-12?

yes, but not a reliable source of B12, no vegan foods are reliable sources of B12, not chlorella, not spirulina, not kelp, not dulse, not yeast, not sprouts, not certain mushrooms NOTHING!!! How do l know this? l eat nearly all the vegan B12 foods and still remain hopelessly deficient in B12, and most of the 100,000 HHI clients (70%) who eat these B12 foods over the years with bacteria still remain deficient also. Some can get enough B12 from a vegan diet to get by, but that is only a minority and diminishing day by day.

How much B12 are people absorbing v's B12 in the blood? There is a big difference.

[green goddess]

I just don't get this whole B-12 thing. Vegans are supposed to be universally woefully deficient in it, which means that non-vegans are fine, which means that we are supposed to eat animal-related products to obtain it. Well, where do these animals get their B-12 from? Other animals? Nope. Vegetation and the like. I'm not sure if, say, a deer has ever been tested on its B-12 levels, but considering the animal is healthy, I'm sure the levels are fine. So what gives? Why are humans so apparently condemned to have to take B-12 supplements? And what exactly is in these supplements, anyway? How did humans survive millennia ago without B-12 supplements?

I have a really hard time digesting the thinking that even with eating what is (believed to be) the optimal way of eating, vegan raw foods, something as important as B-12 is missing. I hate having my non-raw-vegan friends saying I need to eat animal to be healthy and get enough B-12. It just doesn't add up in my nutritional philosophy.

So, assuming animals are not B-12 deficient, and that humans were not B-12 deficient back in 'the old days', what is going on? Does a human have to start out raw vegan from birth to be able to have optimal B-12 levels in the body, which remain through life, and that starting off SAD depletes these levels and reaches a point of no return where we have to supplement? I just can't easily accept that the healthiest eater in the world still has to supplement on something because the body can't get it from the food. This just doesn't make sense, at least not to my (admittedly limited) nutritional knowledge.

[MysticTree]

B12 is made by bacteria. So firstly, our bombardment with the message that all bacteria should be cleansed to hell and back isn't helpful. Throw out your anti-bac sprays and stop washing the bacteria off fruit and veg with vinegar, lemon juice and bought washing products. Secondly, lots of meat eaters are deficient. Either the meat is lacking or they cannot absorb it. Chances are the ontensive farming methods we have used have depleted the soil of crucial bacteria. Many supplements are analogue b12 . Not helpful. Tests for b12 are notoriously ambiguous. There is so much room for really good research in this area.

[green goddess]

Ooh, that's another topic that burns me up: anti-bacterial everything. Where did humans get this stupid idea? Ideal health is not spent in a clinically sterile environment - ideal health is when the immune system is able to function optimally and protect us from any 'bad' bacteria. Dogs certainly think twice about filtering the river water they drink, or washing the grass or berries they eat. Or cooking any little critter they hunt, either. Nature is full of bacteria; it's necessary. Killing it all doesn't make sense, and not all is ever killed - the strongest survive and we inadvertantly create 'super bacteria' this way. Nature is about balance, and humans are so good at destroying this balance.

Anyway.

I should check out all that I can about B-12, as I just don't really understand it. :/

[Living Food]

I just don't get this whole B-12 thing. Vegans are supposed to be universally woefully deficient in it, which means that non-vegans are fine, which means that we are supposed to eat animal-related products to obtain it. Well, where do these animals get their B-12 from? Other animals? Nope. Vegetation and the like. I'm not sure if, say, a deer has ever been tested on its B-12 levels, but considering the animal is healthy, I'm sure the levels are fine. So what gives? Why are humans so apparently condemned to have to take B-12 supplements? And what exactly is in these supplements, anyway? How did humans survive millennia ago without B-12 supplements?

I have a really hard time digesting the thinking that even with eating what is (believed to be) the optimal way of eating, vegan raw foods, something as important as B-12 is missing. I hate having my non-raw-vegan friends saying I need to eat animal to be healthy and get enough B-12. It just doesn't add up in my nutritional philosophy.

So, assuming animals are not B-12 deficient, and that humans were not B-12 deficient back in 'the old days', what is going on? Does a human have to start out raw vegan from birth to be able to have optimal B-12 levels in the body, which remain through life, and that starting off SAD depletes these levels and reaches a point of no return where we have to supplement? I just can't easily accept that the healthiest eater in the world still has to supplement on something because the body can't get it from the food. This just doesn't make sense, at least not to my (admittedly limited) nutritional knowledge.

As MysticTree said, most meat eaters are deficient too. The problem isn't that we can't get sources of b12 to eat, it's that we can't absorb it because our health is compromised. I don't pretend to know everything about the b12 debate, but I'm betting that the problem is our abused digestive tract. It's even possible that people with optimally functioning digestive tracts and good levels of gut flora can produce all the b12 they need. Animals aren't b12 deficient because they never put the crap in their bodies that most of us have done since birth and messed up the inner workings. Cleaning up your digestive tract is the first step towards fixing b12 deficiency.

Another problem is that most blood tests aren't the best indicators of how much of the nutrient you are actually getting.

I recall that we have multiple threads on the subject of b12 if you want to delve into the topic more closely.

I haven't had a blood test in a long time, but I don't worry about my b12 levels at all - I'm guessing that they're probably fine, due to the level of health and energy that I enjoy, but if they're low then I really don't care, for the reason above - I feel great. I'm healthier then just about everyone I know and if I'm deficient in anything it isn't impacting me at all. I'm just getting stronger every day, so there's no chance of any deficiency issues rearing their ugly heads down the road either. At some point on my journey it seems that individual nutrients may have lost some of their importance and I now seem to be subsisting more on the subtle energy of food.

[MysticTree]

I don't think even the experts understand it adequately!

[Living Food]

As for eating weed roots, some of them are edible and some of them are not, just like with any other plant. Always make sure that a particular plant has edible roots before eating them.

[MysticTree]

Absolutely. Dandelion you can eat the whole shebang :)

[Living Food]

I like to harvest dandelion leaves during the warmer months and go for the roots during wintertime, although I don't eat very many roots (the occasional dandelion root, the occasional Queen Anne's Lace root) because they're filling and take up valuable stomach space that could be filled with sprouts, which tend to b much higher in nutrients and are definitely much higher in life energy.

I'd like to be able to locate marshmallow because the root is so high in pectin and soluble fiber and so would be a great natural bowel cleanser, but I don't think that there's any near me

[MysticTree]

The area where marsh mallow grows needs to be very clean too. Like for watercress.

[Living Food]

They pick up contaminants easily?

I know that pennycress is a hyperaccumulator of minerals - which is great if you can get some from clean, fertile soil, but not so good if it comes from contaminated soil.

There are lots of plants that pick up certain contaminants in far greater amounts then most others, which can be good for the environment but bad for us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoremediation

[MysticTree]

I think anything that has its roots in damp or wet conditions permenantly are more likely to be problematic. Water can hot our so many things especially if the water is stagnant.

[Non]

Eatable weeds are seen by most of us as the 'bad plants', some individuals actually use them in broth, mix chips and soups. There are well over 100 valuable fresh mushrooms in the Combined Declares alone and you will need to be cautious in selecting what marijuana to eat and what marijuana not to eat.

LOL.

I'm sorry but some of your posts seem incoherent.

[SunshineMN]

LOL.

I'm sorry but some of your posts seem incoherent.

That's just because "he" is here to advertise the link in his sig. I give him half a point for at least trying to be on topic compared to most in the past.