malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Dec 10, 2022 13:13:01 GMT 10
The human body isn't designed to survive on only one food, but, If faced with the one food, potatoes would probably be as good as anything.
"Cecil Adams, the erstwhile columnist, claims to have run the numbers with his assistant and found that a whole lot of potatoes and milk would get you most of what you need – with the exception of the mineral molybdenum. But you can get all you need of that by also eating a bit of oatmeal."
How many ? Research done in the 1950's seemed to suggest that around 5 average sized spuds would do an average adult, at least for a while. And, while the humble potato has all the amino acids that we need, it does lack some vitamins and minerals, hence the need for a multi vitamin tablet.
Add in an orange or lemon, or vitamin C tablets, or a good multivitamin supplement, water, and you should survive, at least until you could get out and forage.
The humble spud grows almost anywhere, in any ground, and is a good survival food, last a long while, can be shredded or sliced and dried, and is cheap. It is filling and sliced potato chips done on a BBQ is a easy, quick meal to make up.
Other foods to consider are: Rice. Rice can be purchased in bulk at very low prices and has a shelf life of over 10 years, when stored properly.
Beans. Beans have a solid reputation as a survival food due to their complete nutritional profile.
Grains.
Salt, Sugar & Raw Honey.
Yes, it will be a boring diet, but no one has said survival would be easy.
Us, we will be pigging out on Pizza !
Sometimes I talk to myself and we both laugh.
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Beno
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Post by Beno on Dec 10, 2022 14:17:18 GMT 10
I’ll be surviving on meat and associated organs if i could pick only 1 thing.
I read somewhere that during the lean times in Ireland the hard working peasants ate large amounts of potato. This was due to the fact they needed to to extract as much nutrition from them as possible to avoid starvation. They are low in many nutrients so had to each much more despite maxing out other nutrients such as carbs etc. Liebigs law of the minimum states you can only grow as much as the most limiting nutrient will allow [he was talking about plants] but this also applies to animals to a certain degree too.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Dec 10, 2022 15:01:39 GMT 10
Id forgotten about Ireland and its fixation with potatoes.
Makes sense though.
Once in a while someone amazing comes along. Here I am.
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moopere
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Post by moopere on Dec 11, 2022 1:25:15 GMT 10
Yeah I'd go with the meat option as well. To do that right as Beno says you have to eat the organs as well. I've been casually watching some of the stuff floating about the interwebs re: carnivore diet for the last few years. I've not done my own research but if you can believe what people testing this diet have to say then you don't need gobs of vitamin C to stay healthy as long as you reduce or cut out most plant food. I can't remember as I write this post this evening, but theres something in plants that causes your body to just chew through vitamin C and if you don't get it, but continue to eat a plant based diet then you end up with scurvy, and worse! I must say, I do love a spud, boiled, baked, fried, mashed,chipped  I love em. Too much carbs for me these days though so I've had to give them up. So ...single food in Australia? Well, probably rabbits or fish I guess. I used to eat a lot of rabbit as a nipper. I wonder if you could actually live on them if you ate them every single day though? |
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norseman
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Post by norseman on Dec 11, 2022 8:09:14 GMT 10
Slightly off topic, however I recently discovered a YT Channel "Food Around The World" it's predominately about traditional cooking / food in austere and remote rural environments. I think it's quite valuable, the focus is more on the techniques and skills as opposed to actual recipes, well worth it in my opinion.
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Post by Joey on Dec 11, 2022 10:55:34 GMT 10
Chicken and broccoli would be my one food to live off
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bug
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Post by bug on Dec 11, 2022 12:33:07 GMT 10
Potatoes or wheat. Potatoes better nutritionally and ease of preparation. Wheat better for storage. You can live off either for quite some time before your body is too badly affected.
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Post by spinifex on Dec 11, 2022 14:22:40 GMT 10
Twisties.
Or ... other people.
Fuzzy Logic vageuly indicates that people would contain all the nutrients people need to survive.
The excellent documentry Soylent Green delves into the merits of such a diet.
Or ... Anchovies.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Dec 11, 2022 16:56:39 GMT 10
Potatoes are easier to grow than whet or rice.
Welder...(Noun) A person who fixes s..t you cant.
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bug
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Post by bug on Dec 12, 2022 9:30:10 GMT 10
Potatoes are easier to grow than whet or rice. Welder...(Noun) A person who fixes s..t you cant. Wheat is easier to store than potatoes. |
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Post by Stealth on Dec 12, 2022 12:07:43 GMT 10
Hmmm... Probably beans. Navy most likely. High calories for the size, plenty of micros, better macros than a lot of plant based foods.
I'd stay away from pure meat personally. After having done it for a short period doing an elimination diet I know from experience that a significant lack of fibre is a BAD TIME. You can 'grease the works' to a certain extent with fats if your meat is a fatty source, but most wild game is relatively lean and wouldn't provide enough to keep you regular by any stretch of the imagination.
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Post by ausprep130 on Dec 12, 2022 12:51:21 GMT 10
Hard to survive long term on just one type of food.
Sure you might survive for a time, but long term you will succumb to a deficiency of some type.
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Dec 12, 2022 15:10:17 GMT 10
Vietnamese backpacker, the long legged, blonde, female variety.
I could survive on just those for years.
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rosebud
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Post by rosebud on Dec 16, 2022 14:34:05 GMT 10
My first thought was potatoes. I grow Purple Congo potatoes, which I think would be the best variety to use because of the purple colour of it's flesh, which supplies resveratrol, good for arteries, blood circulation and blood pressure. It also provides an antioxidant called anthocyanin.
A grain of some sort would also be an option, because it can be sprouted for extra nutrition.
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Post by Stealth on Dec 16, 2022 15:33:37 GMT 10
My first thought was potatoes. I grow Purple Congo potatoes, which I think would be the best variety to use because of the purple colour of it's flesh, which supplies resveratrol, good for arteries, blood circulation and blood pressure. It also provides an antioxidant called anthocyanin. A grain of some sort would also be an option, because it can be sprouted for extra nutrition. You make a good point rosebud, my first thought was Amaranth because it can be used as a grain itself or ground into flour for bread, and has a decent amount of protein compared to other plants. Heaps of great micro nutrients, and grows like a weed in the right climates. The grain can also store quite well if treated to good conditions. I have some red amaranth seeds in storage ready to go as soon as we can figure out our garden layout. The problem is that amaranth seeds is that they are high in oxalates which can cause kidney problems and more if eaten in excess. If it was your only source of nutrition that could be problematic. But sprouting it and consuming the sprouts might mitigate some of that problem. |
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tactile
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Post by tactile on Dec 16, 2022 18:03:44 GMT 10
From memory foods high in Calcium & VitC eaten together helps with Oxalates.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2023 12:54:36 GMT 10
Can't live on rabbit alone as you will get protein poisoning.
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Post by spinifex on Mar 15, 2023 17:16:09 GMT 10
In all seriousness ... Pumpkin.
Can eat the growing shoots (for the vitamins and fibre in greens), the orange flesh (starch/carbs+ vitamins) of the fruit and the seeds (oils and trace elements). It would have to be one of the most diverse range of nutrients and a fair amount of energy in a single plant AND the fruits store for many months.
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malewithatail
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Post by malewithatail on Mar 15, 2023 17:27:19 GMT 10
Add some honey as well, and its easy to keep bees. Gear can be simple and the need for foundation wax and frames to replace those that break is minimal. A hand spinner is adequate for a few boxes, and electric ones only use minimal power from a solar system. Uncapping can be as simple as a scratcher to puncture the cells, or a electric uncapping knife isn't expensive nor does it use much power. A steam uncapper can be run from a small wood fire, or electric boiler for a bigger operation. Mead is always a good trade as well !!
Pumpkin fried on a BBQ in slices like potato chips.......
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