# Cooking Rhubarb!



## vikee (Feb 5, 2000)

The discussioin on Experience is interesting as it always is. I take many prescription medications so I avoid products that can't be taken at the same time as my medication.Years ago I lived on a farm and in the summer we had fresh rhubarb. I used to cut the stalks into chunks and aded sugar put in a pot and slow heat it till it was all mushy. Then I would make rhubarb pie. I loved this and found that if I ate this durning the day I had normal BM. So I then started cooking and eating this mushy stuff like applesauce and it helped constipation.I have read that lots of rhubarb root is dangerous. I wonder if this is true of cooking and eating fresh or frozen rhubarb?Does anyone know if rhubarb can be purchased all year? Where? How? Is eating lots of freshly or frozen cooking rhubarb dangerous?I have a small area for a garden. I will try to grow (maybe freeze) rhubarb!!!Any thoughts would be appreciated!!Thanks, Vikee


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## Suki1 (Mar 30, 2003)

Hi VikeeI'm going to get to the bottom of this Rhubarb Root thing, and find out for sure. I just wanted to tell you that you can take your meds 3 to 4 hours after you take "Experience".I remember as a kid taking a stalk of Rhubarb, dipping it in sugar, and eating it. What memories!Suki


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## Suki1 (Mar 30, 2003)

O.k Vikee...here is a wed site for you http://www.rhubarbinfo.com All I did was key in "Rhubarb root"in one search engine and a whole bunch of stuff came up on it.Suki


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## Tiss (Aug 22, 2000)

Information on the net is hard to trust. ALoe vera is touted as a miracle cure that SHOULD be used daily, something that probably shouldn't be done. Senna is also touted as being the 'natural' cure for bowel problems. No wonder there are so many of us hooked on 'natural cures'. I'm cutting my Experience in half and so far I'm OK. But then again, my body is filled with all types of fiber everyday, metamucil caps, citrucel caps, prodiem, and 1000mg of magnesium. I think now that the darkened color my Dr. found on my colon during my last colonoscopy must have been from the Experience and I was taking only 1 capsule a day. Or maybe it was from the aloe vera-a couple of teaspoons a day. I would like to know once and for all if everything I'm taking is safe or not!!


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## vikee (Feb 5, 2000)

Suki, Thanks for the web site. I too typed in Rhubarb with different other words and also got lots of sites. I'm still reading and trying to get useful and factual information. I will post anything I feel is useful here. Feel free to do the same.Tiss, I know what you mean by accurate information on the Internet. It may give me some leads and then there are scientific type books on Rhubarb.I really would like to find a site that would mail order fresh or frozen Rhubarb year round. Then all I would have to do is ccok and eat it. There may be dangerous toxins associated with eating this every day. I'm not sure what part of the plant has Oxilate Acid, which in excess may not good. After knowing what is in the part that is cooked (stem) I can make a more informed decision!This is a big project for me since it is time consuming. Will find this thread and post here if I find anything about eating Rhubarb every day. I will not use the root and the leaf is toxic and dangerous. It's the stalk that is used in most cooking.Vikee


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## vikee (Feb 5, 2000)

Sorry, double post!


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## vikee (Feb 5, 2000)

I found the following information on Rhubarb. Sure hope it helps someone. For me eating the cooked stem part of the plant seems OK. I did not research the Rhubarb Root pills etc. http://sis.agr.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_p...sci=comm&p_x=px


> quote:General poisoning notes (Government of Canada):Rhubarb (Rheum rhaponticum) is a perennial cultivated plant that persists around old farm sites. The plant contains oxalate crystals, which have been reported to cause poisoning when large quantities of raw or cooked leaves are ingested. Anthraquinones (glycosides) have been implicated more recently in the poisoning. The stalks are widely used as preserves and are also eaten raw, without problems. The toxic content is much lower in the stalks. Humans have been poisoned after ingesting the leaves. Human poisoning was a particular problem in World War I, when the leaves were recommended as a food source in Britain. Some animals, including goats and swine, have also been poisoned by ingesting the leaves. Children should be taught to eat only the rhubarb stalks, preferably under supervision (Robb 1919; Cooper and Johnson 1984)


Poison Information http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/rhubarb-poison.html#TOC84


> quote:Rhubarb contains oxalate, which have been reported to cause poisoning when large quantities of raw or cooked leaves are ingested. The poison in rhubarbOxalates are contained in all parts of rhubarb plants, especially in the green leaves. There is some evidence that anthraquinone glycosides are also present and may be partly responsible. It is not clear as to the exact source of poisoning from rhubarb, possibly a result of both compounds. The stalks contain low levels of oxalates, so this does not cause problems.


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