"Healthy" Survival Food Storage.

[Kruel J]

True, you dont want to store just 3 months of noodles and nothing else. But the vast majority of nutrition deficiencies are not going to happen on the short term when emergency food would be used.

The vast majority of people do not have vitamin deficiencies or other significant nutritional deficiencies at baseline. Many of us eat pretty unhealthy as it is, but even a lot of junk food is fortified. So scurvy, beriberi, rickets, pernicious anemia etc are going to be many months away.

So what most people will need during SHTF is a lot of calories and clean water.

So looking at my storage which is mostly mountain house, eating any of those for 2-3 months is not going to cause any significant health issue that normally would be attributed to a "unhealthy diet"

What is they have diabetes or heart disease? Or even pre-diabetic. That covers something like 3/4 of us.

 

[bolus]

What is they have diabetes or heart disease? Or even pre-diabetic. That covers something like 3/4 of us.

When you start to get into those details it is going to be quite variable.

You'd have to consider what is the survival situation you are planning for? short term emergency like hurricane or full societal collapse and the apocalypse?

Then you have to plan for what is your condition and how bad is it

• A type 1 diabetic is going to need to prioritize insulin over everything else. If society collapses and there is no one stocking pharmacies and no power for refrigeration of insulin, what you have to eat wont matter.
• For Type 2 diabetes, how bad is it? in SHTF situations people are going to likely be highs stress, high activity and burning a lot of calories. Short term diabetics can always eat less as a way to control sugar. But during an emergency, higher sugars are not as bad as not having water or any food Sure, you dont want to just store cans of sugar for emergencies. .
• Heart disease is also going to depend on how bad it is. Most of the freeze dried and emergency food has a lot of salt in it. Camping food also has a lot of salt.

The time course and condition are going to really influence how you plan.

I'm borderline diabetic. My survival food plan is any calories from any source of food and water for short term (2-3 months). If things are so bad that food is not available in 2-3 months that means that the world is so bad that diabetes is the very least of my worries.

So.... it really depends on what you are planning for and what condition you are planning for. But survival food planning is usually not focused on long term nutrition but instead surviving for at least a few weeks.

 

[Kruel J]

When you start to get into those details it is going to be quite variable.

You'd have to consider what is the survival situation you are planning for? short term emergency like hurricane or full societal collapse and the apocalypse?

Then you have to plan for what is your condition and how bad is it

• A type 1 diabetic is going to need to prioritize insulin over everything else. If society collapses and there is no one stocking pharmacies and no power for refrigeration of insulin, what you have to eat wont matter.
• For Type 2 diabetes, how bad is it? in SHTF situations people are going to likely be highs stress, high activity and burning a lot of calories. Short term diabetics can always eat less as a way to control sugar. But during an emergency, higher sugars are not as bad as not having water or any food Sure, you dont want to just store cans of sugar for emergencies. .
• Heart disease is also going to depend on how bad it is. Most of the freeze dried and emergency food has a lot of salt in it. Camping food also has a lot of salt.

The time course and condition are going to really influence how you plan.

I'm borderline diabetic. My survival food plan is any calories from any source of food and water for short term (2-3 months). If things are so bad that food is not available in 2-3 months that means that the world is so bad that diabetes is the very least of my worries.

So.... it really depends on what you are planning for and what condition you are planning for. But survival food planning is usually not focused on long term nutrition but instead surviving for at least a few weeks.

Good info and post. I was thinking longer term situations based on his 30 day challenge. I think he was even talking about extending it but I could be wrong. Survival situations are different and as pointed out we can measure them differently in terms of food needs.

 

[Kruel J]

I suppose it also matters what kind of food the prepper usually eats. I try to eat well, so I'm not going to go with a bunch of junk as my first choice.

 

[arakboss]

True, you dont want to store just 3 months of noodles and nothing else. But the vast majority of nutrition deficiencies are not going to happen on the short term when emergency food would be used.

The vast majority of people do not have vitamin deficiencies or other significant nutritional deficiencies at baseline. Many of us eat pretty unhealthy as it is, but even a lot of junk food is fortified. So scurvy, beriberi, rickets, pernicious anemia etc are going to be many months away.

So what most people will need during SHTF is a lot of calories and clean water.

So looking at my storage which is mostly mountain house, eating any of those for 2-3 months is not going to cause any significant health issue that normally would be attributed to a "unhealthy diet"

Water is most important. If you are planning on surviving by eating dried foods that need lots of water to prepare, then water becomes even more important.

Most apartment/condo dwellers like myself, won't be able to store much water. That means water treatment options will be necessary. They should be practiced while things are normal to make sure they work. It would be a bad situation to find out your water treatment plans are a failure after the SHTF. We practice all kinds of emergency preparedness and water filtration should be included, IMHO.

 

[Member 53328]

Cannibalism.

The solution to overpopulation and world hunger.

 

[P7M13]

What about blood sugar crashes from all the processed sugars and starch? That's not sustainable energy needed to survive SHTF situations.

Twinkies. Lots of twinkies. Engorge youself on them at the start, then go pillage the neighbors' "healthy stores" and blame it on Hostess.

If you plan on gardening you better have lots of water stored up. My wife has been using 4 to 5 gallons a day to water some marigolds she planted out by the front door. She has become rather attached to them, so I think I will have to harvest and eat them at night when she is sleeping.

I thought marigolds were repugnant to slugs.

 

[Koda]

Cannibalism.

The solution to overpopulation and world hunger.

as long as your not down to your last leg...

 

[Soli]

Pack good quality multi-vitamins in your SHTF stuff if your preps don't cover needed nutrients and that's a concern.

As Bolus and others have said, timeline is everything. We prep for an environment of higher than we're used to physical activity with the stress of fear/danger. That demands calories, all else is secondary. If the timeline in that environment is so long that we'll develop a nutrition deficit or lifestyle disease, we'll deal with that later.

 

[bradsteen]

I think the biggest issue isn't "eating healthy" so much as finding ways to balance out meals so they aren't 99% sodium and carbohydrates. My top picks would be:

Canned fish like tuna and salmon, and canned chicken. Low fat, high protein.

Canned salsa - great way to make canned meats a bit more palatable, and it's relatively healthy depending on which brand you get.

Canned tomatoes. You can find them with relatively low sodium, and they give you a bit of Vitamin C and Vitamin A.

Canned baby corn. Fat free and low in calories.

Canned olives are pretty high in sodium, but also provide calcium, iron, and Vitamin E, so the tradeoff seems worth it to me.

Canned beans of all varieties, because dry beans are a bit more labor intensive, and you might not have the time to prep them properly. Obviously it's good to have dried beans as well, since they last longer.

Canned corn. Decent way to add some substance to a meal, plus it's got some fiber.

Canned peas for fiber and protein.

Jackfruit - it's low calorie, no fat or cholesterol, and can be used as a substitute for pulled pork. You'll want to add some other protein to the dish, but not a bad thing to augment the menu with.

Canned mandarin oranges or tangerines, in water.

Canned pineapple, because it's delicious.

Applesauce, but read the label and make sure the only ingredient is apples.

Dried fruits, like apricots, raisins, etc.

And +1 to @Soli - multivitamins would be a really good way to make sure you're getting the right nutrients in spite of a less than ideal diet.

 

[Burt Gummer]

What is they have diabetes or heart disease? Or even pre-diabetic. That covers something like 3/4 of us.

@Kruel J Type 2 diabetes is easily reversable by 98% of people if they have the discipline to cut out sugars and processed foods.

Most doctors (drug pushers) will not be honest with you about options because you are a lifetime profit generator if they can get you locked into pharm drugs. Doctors know NOTHING about nutrition, using FOOD as medicine. Just treating symptoms with drugs that cause more/worse issues down the road. The FDA/gov't/pharms are all in bed together and have been for a very long time.

As for Heart Disease, it is NOT caused by "High Cholesterol" that is a lie and myth so pharms can pitch their #2 for profit drug - statins and the food industry can sell you cheap, toxic oils.

INFLAMMATION is the #1 enemy of Heart Health.

The best thing you can do for your heart is both the above + stop consuming 'vegetable' and seed oils entirely and go back to eating healthy fats.

I am living proof of the above as I took my Heart Attack risk BW marker from 2.8 (1-3 scale) to .6 Resting heart rate from 72 to 44. Lost 70 lbs of fat in my late 50s. Most of all if you care about your heart, skip the 'injections.'

More on the NWFA Nutrition Forum How doctors lie about the statin numbers. I called out a Kaiser useless doctor that STILL wanted to pitch me stations and his response? - "Oh, you know about that""