The Sunchoke or Jerusalem Artichoke

Sunroot or Earth Apple has Prebiotics and is Good for the Pancreas

Dec 30, 2008

The Jerusalem Artichoke is a little-known, North American tuber that is said to be able to heal diabetes, and it may be one of the most overlooked health foods.

From Acidophilus to Wolfberries, the health market today is saturated with foods and supplements said to heal all forms of disease and yield good health, vitality, and a long life. Yet despite the abundant health market, there remain other, little-known foods that can go a long way toward promoting health. One of these is the Jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke.

What is a Jerusalem Artichoke?

Despite the name, the Jerusalem artichoke is not an artichoke nor is it native to Jerusalem. "Sunchokes" are tubers, the root of Helianthus tuberosus - a small yellow sunflower common to North and Central America.

Also called an earth apple, sunchoke, sunroot, topinambour or topinambur, the Jerusalem artichoke is actually a member of the same botanical family (Asteraceae) as the everyday artichoke. It is used commercially as a source of fructose and, in some parts of the world, to make liquor.

The sunchoke looks like a knobby, odd-shaped root similar to a ginger root. It is usually steamed or baked, but can also be sliced or grated and served raw in salads, chutneys or salsa. It has a sweet, nutty flavour and the texture is firm and crisp. Wisegeek.com compares the Jerusalem artichoke to "a cross between a rutabago, potato, sunflower seed and water chestnut."

What's more, the intriguing sunchoke stores starch as inulin – a carbohydrate that is safe for diabetics and may even heal diabetes – and they are rich in prebiotics, good for the intestinal tract.

What is a Prebiotic?

Prebiotics are a specific kind of "functional food" that supports the growth of healthy intestinal bacteria.

Prebiotics are indigestible to the human digestive tract, so they reach the intestine without being broken down. Dietary fiber is a prebiotic. So are certain kinds of carbohydrates – including the inulin found in Jerusalem artichokes (Note: this is not a typo – inulin is a complex carbohydrate and is different from insulin).

Prebiotics may be paired with probiotics (live bacteria such as acidophilus and lactic acid bacteria that live in the intestines and promote good health) but they are not the same thing. Prebiotics such as the inulin in sunchokes actually "feeds" the probiotic bacteria.

Prebiotics should be used in small amounts at first or they may cause gas, especially for people used to a very processed diet.

Sunchokes, the Pancreas and Diabetes

Sunchokes are sometimes mentioned in cookbooks as a substitute for diabetics to use instead of potatoes, because the Jerusalem artichoke tubers store inulin instead of starch.

Starch breaks down to glucose, affecting blood sugar much more than inulin, which only breaks down to fructose in the colon. As a result, sunchokes have a very low glycemic index and barely affect blood sugar levels.

Less mainstream sources tend to describe sunchokes as healing to diabetics and those with any kind of pancreas problem. The website sunchoke.org promotes a "sunchoke diet" which is said to "cure diabetes."

While these kinds of claims have not been substantiated, research on the unique nature of inulin suggests that the Jerusalem artichoke is worth adding to a healthy diet. High in healthy prebiotics, low in its impact on blood sugar, the sunchoke is a superfood of a tuber.

Reference

Madison, Deboarh: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Broadway Books, New York, 1997.

The copyright of the article The Sunchoke or Jerusalem Artichoke in Holistic Nutrition is owned by Victoria Anisman-Reiner. Permission to republish The Sunchoke or Jerusalem Artichoke in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.