From: Barbara Lamar (blamar@satx.rr.com)
Date: Sun Apr 13 2003 - 09:33:14 MDT
gts wrote:
> Strange thing about tomatoes: they are not truly natural (Paleolithic)
> fruits. They did not exist in Europe or Africa until the original European
> American explorers imported them. They did not exist even in
> Italy, despite
> all the supposed spaghetti sauce in which we think Italians have always
> drowned themselves.
I believe you're misinterpreting the idea behind the "Paleolithic Diet." The
fact that a particular plant family or genus did or did not exist in Africa
or Europe during the time pre-humans and humans were evolving into our
present form implies little about whether or not that species is healthy to
eat. Tomatoes are members of the Solanaceae family. Although the genus
Lycopersicon ( containing various species of tomatoes) originated in South
America, there were numerous members of the Solanaceae family in Africa and
Europe during Paleolithic times, most of which are poisonous, some of which
are good as food (Solanum macrocarpum, for example).
Another well-known member of the Solanaceae family (also, interestingly,
known as the Nightshade family), Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade), was
apprently around in abundance when the human species was new, but that
certainly does not mean you'd want to cook up a mess of the fruit for
dinner.
Barbara
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