1 Month Living on a Wild Diet

[DanaM]

Does it grow flat to the ground in a big whorl? I think I just weeded about a bushel of it 

[jamie]

yup!

[DanaM]

Culinary Uses

Although purslane is considered a weed in the United States, it can be eaten as a leaf vegetable. It has a slightly sour and salty taste and is eaten throughout much of Europe, Asia and Mexico.[3][1] The stems, leaves and flower buds are all good to eat. Purslane can be used fresh as a salad, stir-fried, or cooked like spinach, and because of its mucilaginous quality it is also suitable for soups and stews. Australian Aborigines used to use the seeds to make seedcakes.

Purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid in particular[4]) than any other leafy vegetable plant. Simopoulos states that Purslane has .01 mg/g of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). This is an extraordinary amount of EPA for land based vegetable sources. EPA is an Omega-3 fatty acid normally found mostly in fish, some algae and flax seeds. [5] It also contains vitamins (mainly vitamin A, vitamin C, and some vitamin B and carotenoids), as well as dietary minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. Also present are two types of betalain alkaloid pigments, the reddish betacyanins (visible in the coloration of the stems) and the yellow betaxanthins (noticeable in the flowers and in the slight yellowish cast of the leaves). Both of these pigment types are potent antioxidants and have been found to have antimutagenic properties in laboratory studies.[6]

100 grams of fresh purslane leaves (about 1 cup) contain 300 to 400 mg of alpha-linolenic acid [7]. One cup of cooked leaves contains 90 mg of calcium, 561 mg of potassium, and more than 2,000 IUs of vitamin A.

Medicinal Uses

In Greek popular medicine, purslane is used as a remedy for constipation and inflammation of the urinary system.

A common plant in parts of India, purslane is known as "Sanhti", "Punarva", or "Kulfa". In North India it is known to act as a liver tonic and is used in diseases of the liver[citation needed].

Known as Ma Chi Xian (pinyin: translates literally as "horse tooth amaranth") in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is used to treat infections or bleeding of the genito-urinary tract as well as dysentery. The fresh herb may also be applied topically to relieve sores and insect or snake bites on the skin.[8]

[jamie]

yup!!!!!

[Stoker]

I'm getting my lady involved in this she is willing to try some of the plants like plaintain.
No worms! Ms Kerrie is generally a good sport about stuff. My Dad has purslane in his yard
he hates the stuff  wait till I tell mom to cook it for him.  My favorite thing when we would go
bear hunting in the spring was fiddleheads and rice. Take care
Thanks Leroy

[Dingleberry]

Very cool. One thing though, we'd be dead without meat. You can get sustenance from plants but you'd starve to death eventually. On the other hand, you could survive on meat. You have to eat every part of the animal to do so but you will get what your body needs. Any way im still at it. Getting skinny but feel good. I broke once for a veggie pizza with a friend. But it was worth it. =) still busier than hell and definately not getting enough protein but it shows how long the body can last on a minimal diet. Or better put how many times we eat for pleasure rather than sustenance. One more week and im going to start eating some organic produce like rice and veggies but im gonna continue this wild thing for the rest of the year. I know ive been promising more pics just keep forgetting to take them. Also the diet has been pretty damn boring. Ill put up what i have tonight. Peace

I think an individual person could survive on the right combination of fruits, vegetables and grains in the wild.  Beans, acorns, and oils from acorns would be a necessity for protein intake.  In a survival/wilderness situation it would be very difficult unless you were a guru botanist, nutritionist and had the ability to store food stuffs long term.  I guess it also would depend on what climate you lived in, time of year, rainfall conditions, current health condition, etc....  Eskimos minus meat= dead eskimos.  To sum up, it might be possible to live without meat in the wild but in most instances probably not.    Homo sapiens and their ancestors would not have made it this far without the intake of meat protein.  I for one, am a meat eater to the end!!!!!  I like veggies too

[Kegan]

Very cool. One thing though, we'd be dead without meat. You can get sustenance from plants but you'd starve to death eventually. On the other hand, you could survive on meat. You have to eat every part of the animal to do so but you will get what your body needs. Any way im still at it. Getting skinny but feel good. I broke once for a veggie pizza with a friend. But it was worth it. =) still busier than hell and definately not getting enough protein but it shows how long the body can last on a minimal diet. Or better put how many times we eat for pleasure rather than sustenance. One more week and im going to start eating some organic produce like rice and veggies but im gonna continue this wild thing for the rest of the year. I know ive been promising more pics just keep forgetting to take them. Also the diet has been pretty damn boring. Ill put up what i have tonight. Peace

I saw a nature special or somehting about some Inuit eating habbits, and they took it in both extremes- all meat and no meat. They had two guys who knew their stuff (modern setting though). The meat guy ate just about everything you could think of- including certain... er... "organs" that I'm sure gave very little nutritional value, nearly as much as they made the camera guy sick . However, the no-meat guy got pretty sick, I don't remeber from what. He had to eat such a rediculous amount of nuts and what not that he wound up messing his digestive system up. By the end of their study, the meat guy was perfectly fine. The no-meat guy didn't look so good though . I think the test was like three months or something- I have to look for that show.
I think an individual person could survive on the right combination of fruits, vegetables and grains in the wild.  Beans, acorns, and oils from acorns would be a necessity for protein intake.  In a survival/wilderness situation it would be very difficult unless you were a guru botanist, nutritionist and had the ability to store food stuffs long term.  I guess it also would depend on what climate you lived in, time of year, rainfall conditions, current health condition, etc....  Eskimos minus meat= dead eskimos.  To sum up, it might be possible to live without meat in the wild but in most instances probably not.    Homo sapiens and their ancestors would not have made it this far without the intake of meat protein.  I for one, am a meat eater to the end!!!!!  I like veggies too

[DanaM]

Ok jamie I found a nice purslane I missed while weeding and tried it raw MMMMM good Wife wouldn't try it though
I only ate a couple bites just to see how it sat in my system but I will be eating more now that I know its good tasting and good fer ys

[jamie]

good stuff eh dana. has a nice crisp taste

[DanaM]

good stuff eh dana. has a nice crisp taste

Yup its good but next time I think I will rinse the dirt off

[jamie]

extra minerals and it builds up your resistence to tetnus and ecoli. =)

[DanaM]

jamie I work in a sewage plant, I get exposed to all kinds of little nasties and my immune system is cranking, haven't had a cold or flu in years

[jamie]

forgot about that. that'll kick your immune system into overdrive 

[ricktrojanowski]

jamie I work in a sewage plant, I get exposed to all kinds of little nasties and my immune system is cranking, haven't had a cold or flu in years

Dana, what a way to jinx yourself.  You probably have a sore throat as you read this.

[DanaM]

Rick I could probably drink water from New Yorks harbow and not get sick Might grow an extra appendage but not get sick