John D McCann - Stay alive! : emergency food to sustain energy

As with all aspects of survival (as you are learning), there are often strong opinions in various directions, and the need for food in a survival situation is no different. Opinions range from not needing food at all to highly technical dissertations on the advantages of various macronutrients for various situations. I am not a nutritionist and wont pretend that I am. I tend to lean towards needing less than more, and will explain my reasoning and hopefully provide you with food for thought (no pun intended... or did I...). You will ultimately make your own decision, and the more information you have, the more informed that decision will be.

Keep in mind that, in todays world, the majority of people who get lost or stranded in the wilderness are found within a few days. This book, as we have explained previously, is about those first few days. So a discussion on the long term requirements of food in a survival situation is beyond the scope of this book. So lets discuss various aspects of short term survival as it relates to food.

In a survival situation, food is not as important as shelter, water, warmth and other survival necessities we have discussed. Many people, when not in a survival situation, eat more than the body needs, and when they do that it is turned to fat. The majority of people, at least in the United States, have enough body fat to last more than a few days without eating. It may not be pleasant, and it might nag at your mind, but you can live without food for a few days.

When you eat you require water. When you have a limited supply of water to consume, you should consume less food. All food requires water for digestion, and if you eat without drinking, your body uses the water already in your system, increasing the process of dehydration. If you have plenty of water to consume, fill up on it, as it can make your stomach, at least, feel full.

Even though you can go longer than you think without food, it doesnt mean you will maintain your energy level. In a survival situation, we need energy to perform various tasks, so lets look at the energy equation.

The body changes calories from food into energy. Basically, a calorie isnt a tangible thing, but a unit of measurement. A calorie is the amount of energy necessary to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. What a lot of people dont realize is that the labeling of food in the U.S. does not mean calorie when they say calorie. Are you surprised? A food calorie is actually a kilocalorie (kcal) which is actually 1,000 calories. The word calorie is sometimes capitalized to show the difference, but usually is not. Therefore, for the rest of this discussion, when I say calorie, I mean kilocalorie.

There are six major nutrient groups: water, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Water is important and transports nutrients to our cells, carries away wastes, etc., but it does not have calories. The nutrients that provide calories to our body carbohydrates, protein and fats are referred to as the macronutrients.

A food that encompasses all three macronutrient groups would obviously make a good survival food. However, for a short duration survival situation, carbohydrates with their intrinsic sugars provide quick energy. Even though it dissipates quickly, it can give that boost you need. A candy bar (like a Snickers) or food bar (like a Clif bar) takes up little room in a survival kit, yet provides that necessary energy boost when other food isnt available or preparation is precluded by the weather or other circumstances.

I read over and over on survival blogs that in a survival situation, protein and fat are vital nutritional needs, and therefore you should be eating all the bugs you can find. They dont indicate how long of a survival situation, but it must be longer than a few days.

Proteins, although vital in the grand scheme of things, rob your body of water and accelerate dehydration, so if you are short on water, avoid proteins. Your body also uses more energy to process proteins, and we are trying to gain energy here, not lose it. If you have plenty of water, and are not in a hot climate, then indulge in proteins.

Fats contain the most calories, but take the longest for the body to process. For long term survival, go for the fat, but dont look for quick energy here.

Your best bet in a survival situation is to have survival food with you. Depending on the size of your kit, carry something, even if it is only a candy or food bar. Maybe supplement it with a small bag with a cup-of-soup, bouillon cubes, instant oatmeal, an emergency ration, etc. It is easier to reach into your kit and get something to provide energy than to expend energy looking for something in your surroundings. Well discuss emergency food that can be carried in your kit later in this chapter.

If you need to search for food, you are already behind the curve. But if it happens, you will need to collect food available in the environment around you. Depending on where you are, you might not have the selection you desire.

There is always a lot of talk about edible plants. I dont disagree about foraging edible plants, but you need to know what you are doing. I am a firm believer in learning before needing. Do yourself a favor and spend time with a wild food expert and learn those basic edible plants that you will be able to positively identify when you need them. Many military manuals talk about the universal edibility test and it has been regurgitated in many survival manuals. Dont believe it. It talks about putting just a small amount in your mouth and wait to see what happens. If you do this with poison hemlock, which we have a ton of around my area, you wont have to wait long you will be dead! Dont put anything in your mouth that you cannot 100% identify as edible. Qualified edible plant instructors are listed in the back of this book.

In regard to fishing, hunting or trapping, stay with small prey. I would rather eat several small fish than wait for the big catch. The same goes for animals. A squirrel may not look like much, but for short-term survival, we have already established that you dont need much protein and fat. Smaller animals are easier to clean and there are no leftovers. Keep in mind that in a short term survival situation, you dont have time to preserve meat. Eat what you get and move on. If this was a long term situation, I would have other advice, but this book is about the short-term.

Coffee bags, tea bags and Emergen-C Dietary Supplement mix are easily carried in a kit.

Emergency food and rations

With a mini kit, you wont have much room for emergency food. Carry at least some bouillon (either cubes or packets depending on the configuration of your kit). Use this as a simple soup broth, or to hide the taste of some of the things you might catch and cook. Sugar is another item that can be carried in cube or packet form. Use it in a hot drink or as an energy booster. Salt is another item that could be carried. It helps those taste buds with certain foods, and can replace salt loss due to dehydration.