Native foods as pharmaceuticals, programs to promote

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Permalink Reply by TAR HEEL on June 3, 2009 at 5:04pm

Gary,..where is ''native''? Native to KY? .....get out of town and talk to some of the ol' timers. If you present yourself with the right respect, gramma LulaMay might teach you to make a "root-poltice''......who knows. mater cage.

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Permalink Reply by John Walker on June 3, 2009 at 9:09pm

oops,
I meant to say native to the places that immigrants came from, such as quelites (amaranth and chenopodium spp)

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Permalink Reply by TAR HEEL on June 4, 2009 at 12:52pm

PEYOTE.

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Permalink Reply by Diana on June 4, 2009 at 2:24pm

Got on a phase of reading all the horticultural toxicology reference books when my first toddler started eating things poison control call center didn't have the info for...it's amazing what uses common landscape plants have listed in the footnotes. By the way, no toxic info found for mimosa tree seeds...so if there are no records of something being toxic anywhere, could it be edible or livestock feed? Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but these reference books had tons of footnotes for studies and such. These might be helpful to find original source material for your studies.

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Permalink Reply by sharon on June 17, 2009 at 10:06pm

I would suggest that you research American Indian sources. There was a large population of NA's in your area and they were well versed in plants as both food and medicine. Some plants may have spiritual significance, and those are best left where they are.

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Permalink Reply by needles on June 21, 2009 at 10:14am

As far as nutritionally related diseases go, the usual advice of eating a large variety of foods would apply. When working with immigrant populations, I would think the biggest problem would be cultural - can't find the foods they're used to, reluctant to try new ones - that kind of thing. What you're talking about is a public health issue. Public health workers can be distressingly conventional in their approach to problem solving, but they usually have a very firm grasp on what the problem is. Try finding local foods that would be palatable substitutes for the ones left behind, if possible.

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Permalink Reply by Becky Christensen on June 21, 2009 at 10:55pm

Please when you talk to the Elders of Native communities - I suggest you do so with and offer up tobacco if that is their tradition - there are many many plants - "bush medicine" as we call it - that have healing properties - BUT - they must be used in the utmost respected way - plus with the spiritual ways provided as well and only by those that know - or are suppose to know these ...... and in reality - a lot of medicinal plants - here were used in the "old country" -

One very good book that I have used as a resource is Native American Ethnobotany by Daniel E. Moerman - but I always will check in with those elders - medicine men and women - who have had this knowledge passed down to them - and I am suppose to know then I will - if not - then accept it! We need to protect the sacredness of this knowledge from those very pharmaceutical - that attempt to profit from what the creator has provided to us for free to be used with respect by those the creator has chosen to know these things. - and as Sharon stated - somethings are suppose to be left where they are and with those that know them.

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Permalink Reply by John Walker on June 22, 2009 at 9:59am

Thanks to all who replied.
I should have been a little more specific, though the exact words eluded me at the time.
I meant to say the foods that immigrants could bring with them from their native countries, not necessarily native to the US.

pax
John

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