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Fascinating Herbs: Herb Stories > Jerusalem Artichoke
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The Jerusalem Artichoke Story
When is an artichoke not an artichoke? When it's a Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)!
Helianthus
is actually a member of the sunflower family, and just to add to the
confusion, this delightful yellow flower comes not from Jerusalem but
from America where it grew wild along the eastern seaboard from Georgia
to Nova Scotia. The Native Americans called them sun roots and
introduced these perennial tubers to the pilgrims who adopted them as a
staple food.
The history of its
name has been traced back to the 17th Century. The explorer Samuel de
Champlain discovered the plants growing in a local vegetable garden in
Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1605. He thought they tasted like artichokes
and as such he brought them to France. A few decades later this
'artichoke' had reached Italy where the word for sunflower, 'girasole'
was later corrupted into 'Jerusalem'. So by the mid 17th Century
Jerusalem Artichokes were known across Europe and even rated a mention
in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Over
the years it became a staple food in times of famine, its capacity for
appetite control doubtless an added benefit. It was also used as a food
during the Second World War as it was not subject to rationing. Its
effectiveness in supporting appetite control was well known to Bioforce
founder Alfred Vogel who recommended the use of the herb in tincture
form (Helix Slim) for just that purpose in his seminal work, The Nature Doctor.
Jerusalem
Artichoke works by increasing the elimination of toxins from the body,
balancing blood sugar levels (preventing hunger and cravings) and as a
prebiotic, supporting the good bacteria in the bowel.
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