by Cody Lundin
A relaxing fast where you are sipping a tall glass of lemon water can in no way be compared to a wilderness emergency, but it will give you some answers, at least physiologically and psychologically, about how your body deals with a lack of food. The last thing you need in a survival situation is more unknowns, so anytime you can cut down on the fear factor with simple training and hands-on experience, go for it.
Not unlike the knife argument, food in short-term survival is hotly debated. Some people feel you should fast unless you’re capable of harvesting at least your basal metabolic rate in energy or the amount of calories burned doing absolutely nothing. Their argument is that nibbling on little bits of food here and there inhibits the body’s response to fully switching over to its reserves. Basal metabolic rate requirements vary widely based on age, sex, muscle and bone weight, and height, so pinning down how many calories you burn sitting on your butt can be a challenge. As an interesting side note, fasts lasting more than 14 days cause the body’s BMR to decrease by 21 percent as the body becomes super-efficient with its resources.
Other folks prefer the take-what-you-can-get method, such as a friend of mine who teaches military personnel. After marching around in blazing desert heat for a few days with a Special Forces team, a cottontail rabbit revives the whole crew and they’re ready to go. One desert cottontail doesn’t go far between eight Navy SEALS but he swears by it nonetheless. Granted, the physical conditioning of this kind of soldier is vastly different from what most people have achieved. Medical research has found that ketone production may come to a screaming halt after eating only 150 grams of carbohydrates per day, so the choice is yours. All in all, there’s only one way to know how your body feels under the stress of not having food and that’s to try it out for yourself.
That said, consider carrying a couple of high-energy snacks in your survival kit. Most everyone at some point or another has “hit the wall,” having burned up their available carbohydrate supply. A little kick of simple sugars and carbohydrates might be all it takes to help drag your tired butt out of a potential deadly scene. More important, working at less than 60 percent of your maximum exertion level uses more fat than carbohydrates, thus helping prevent depletion. If available body carbohydrates are drained, heat production starts to fail and you become hypothermic much faster. To use your remaining fat reserves, carbohydrates must be added. Take heed, as these last few sentences have no doubt killed hundreds of people.
Since psychology plays such a paramount role in the world of staying alive, having the psychological comfort of a take-along snack might help calm inner panic, helping the survivor focus on something other than fear. Your food stash might be well spent helping others in your tribe as well. Take note that I’m referring to a snack you happen to have with you. Regardless of psychology, for the vast majority of people, haphazardly grazing on wild edible plants is an entirely different thing. Unless you have the necessary training to positively identify the edible plants in your area, leave the plants alone! As we have discussed in minutia, the stress your body, mind, and emotions will be under are extreme. Expect all fine-and complex-motor skills to go to hell in a hand basket, including your cognitive skills. It is no time to gamble with wild plants and the prolonged preparation that many require for edibility. Furthermore, wild edible plants in general don’t taste like pizza, and all foods require water for digestion, especially proteins. If you’re short on water, plan on fasting, even if you have access to a case of Ding Dongs. Although some would argue against common sense and statistical proof until the cows come home, if I were to limit you to only one item during your emergency, and you chose food over clothing or water, you will most likely be removed from the gene pool. Remember hypothermia and hyperthermia?
There are more choices of energy bars than fleas on a pack rat, all promising eternal salvation in the land of balanced nutrition. Many taste like dirty socks. Some threaten to loosen teeth if you dare eat them in the cold. Regardless of which energy bar you choose, make sure it takes into account the following.
Foods contain three macronutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Each group contains a certain amount of kilocalories (kcal), or units of food energy. Each kilocalorie is equivalent to 1,000 calories and is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of pure water 1°C. One pound of body weight equals around 3,500 kcal. At 280 kilocalories a pop, that’s nearly 13 Snickers candy bars! The largest energy reserves are found in the largest parts of the body, principally muscle (around 28 kg) and fat (15 kg). On an average, your body contains around 1,200 kcal of carbohydrates, 24,000 kcal of protein, and 135,000 kcal of fat—a veritable bonanza of stored energy!
Survival rations, in their truest sense, should not be considered substitute meals. Their main focus is to provide the survivor with sugar in order to minimize catabolism and dehydration in order to increase survival time. Ideal survival foods possess all three macronutrients—fats, carbohydrates, and proteins—which metabolize at different rates within the body. Fats contain the greatest amount of kilocalories at a whopping 9.3 kcal per gram. Carbohydrates come in second with 3.79 kcal per gram, then proteins with 3.12 kcal per gram. While fats are packed with calories, they take awhile for the body to metabolize into the simple sugars or glucose required for energy. In addition, fats are not well tolerated as an energy source at high altitudes. If your trip involves time spent in thin air, plan on substituting extra carbohydrates for some of the fats and proteins, as carbohydrates are already partially oxidized and require less oxygen from the body to convert into energy—up to 8 to 10 percent less! More than any other nutrient except water, a reduced carbohydrate intake depletes muscle glycogen stores, causing endurance to suffer. For short-term survival (one to three days), a lack of calories is not nearly as important for performance as a lack of carbohydrates. Simple sugars and carbohydrates provide fast energy because they metabolize very quickly and are required for the body to be able to access its stored fat deposits. For the long term, however, if not accompanied by certain complex carbohydrates and proteins for stabilization, this quick source of energy leaves your body just as quickly. The result is the infamous sugar crash similar to the one experienced after ingesting a half-gallon of butter pecan ice cream in one sitting.
Proteins are not ideal survival foods, especially in hot climates, for several reasons. If water is scarce, proteins should be avoided, as the metabolism of protein depletes body-water stores. Protein metabolism produces urea, a toxic compound excreted by the kidneys. The more protein you eat, the more water the body devotes to the production of urine in order to rid the body of urea. Eating quantities of protein in a limited water situation hastens death through dehydration long before starvation. However, in a long-term survival scenario where starvation is a possibility, the body consumes protein anyway by catabolizing muscle tissue. Unlike proteins, the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats, to a certain extent, contributes to body-water stores up to 12 to 17 ounces per day depending on the type of diet. Furthermore, the metabolism of protein produces a higher metabolic rate, thus it uses more energy and creates more heat. Regardless of the seeming contraindications, use common sense and adapt to your particular situation. Proteins are a wonderful thing in cold, low-elevation environments that have plenty of drinking water available.
Developed in 1981, the Glycemic Index (GI) is a numerical system for measuring how fast carbohydrates in various foods trigger a rise in blood sugar or glucose. Foods high in fats and proteins don’t cause blood-sugar levels to rise nearly as much. The higher the GI number, the greater the blood sugar response. In general, a GI of 70 or more is high, 56 to 69 medium, and 55 or less is low. Until the early ‘80s, scientists assumed that only digested simple sugars produced rapid increases in blood sugar levels. In truth, many simple sugars don’t raise glucose levels any more than some complex carbohydrates, as not all carbohydrates act the same when digested. Foods producing the highest GIs include several of the starchy goodies people comm
only devour, including breads, breakfast cereals, and baked potatoes. Even table sugar is low on the GI list in comparison. Low glycemic foods include beans, barley, pasta, oats, various types of rice, and acidic fruits, among others.
Consuming food with a high GI, such as a chocolate-covered powdered donut with glittery purple sprinkles, will cause your blood sugar to go through the roof. In response, your pancreas releases insulin in an attempt to combat rising sugar levels as your body indulges in a sweet-toothed overload on par with the office Christmas party. Proteins contain glucagons. These guys swim around the bloodstream trying to stabilize the blood sugar, helping to prevent the crash your body experiences by consuming simple carbohydrates or sugars alone.
The moral of the story is that the survivor should, if possible, carry a food source containing simple sugars and carbohydrates that jump-start the body immediately. This same food should also possess longer-burning carbohydrates for short-term energy, and fats for sustained long-burning energy. Proteins, with thought given to their disadvantages, should be present as well, thus stabilizing simple sugars and carbohydrates and helping to prevent the crash, as well as providing the body with extra, long-burning fuel.
A perfect example of food combining is “pemmican,” an American Indian staple that possessed all three macronutrients: berries for simple sugars and carbohydrates, meat for protein, and fat for fat. All three elements were prepared and mixed together to create the ultimate aboriginal trail food.
15
SUMMARY
While proofing the final edits for this book, yet another needless heartbreak story hit the news.
An out-of-state couple drove their rental Jeep down a seldom traveled road in February into one of southern Utah’s famous National Monuments—a road that even locals considered barely passable in the best of weather.
As they were simply on a day trip, they brought with them no extra clothing, gear, or food other than a packet of Skittles candy and some sunflower seeds. They told no one where they were going and when they expected to return and drove past the open visitor center to the monument.
Hours later, a snow storm buried their Jeep up to the frame, transforming their day trip into a six-day wilderness survival episode. The 26-year-old male was discovered sunburned, wet, and stumbling down a road by local ranchers. His 27-year-old female companion died of hypothermia. Due to a classic case of lack of preparation, one more family mourns the untimely death of a loved one.
No one plans to find him or herself in a survival situation. That’s part of what makes survival situations so terrifying. While there are no guarantees in life, let alone in the wild world of survival, advance preparation for any outdoor excursion is priceless.
The verbosity in this book doesn’t mean diddly unless you practice what has been preached, although I’m in no way insinuating that you must become a survival psycho in order to make it out alive.
I realize that you might eliminate certain survival-kit components and add others specific to your needs, and I encourage you to do so. Don’t carry what you don’t believe in!
Although this manuscript is cram-packed with technical detail, always remember the sacred art of simplicity. As with most anything involving nature, regardless of prior training, common sense will carry you far. The wilderness is not for you or against you, she just “is” and it’s your job as a survivor to adapt to her. If you find yourself in a life-threatening emergency, calm yourself the best that you can, consider your options, and TRY. Your life is precious. As long as you’re warm to the touch and have breath in your lungs, never give up and always remember to “Party On!”
16
THE AMAZING
“THE DRAWINGS AND PHOTOS
ARE REALLY COOL BUT I’M
TOO LAZY TO READ
THIS BOOK” CLIFF NOTES
1. Statistically speaking, what will kill you first in the outdoors is your core body temperature becoming too cold (hypothermia) or too hot (hyperthermia). Watch the weather before your trip, and be prepared for extremes.
2. The two easiest ways to regulate body temperature in hot and cold weather are adequate clothing and water. Pack extra clothes and stay hydrated!
3. As part of your preparation before heading into the outdoors, leave a game plan with two people you trust, which can be forwarded to Search and Rescue personnel if needed. This game plan should clearly state, in as much detail necessary, where you are going, when you will return, who is in your party, what you are driving, and why you are taking the trip. Stick to the plan you create!
4. Make sure the transportation you use is in good working order and contains emergency gear.
5. Have on your person a quality survival kit relevant to the environment and know how to use it.
6. Know how to signal for rescue quickly and efficiently.
7. Don’t take unnecessary chances, rest often, calm down, and maintain a “Party On” attitude!!
If it’s COLD outside
• Reduce heat loss: get out of the wind, off the cold ground, and remove wet clothing.
• Put on dry, insulative clothing and seek or make shelter. Pay special attention to protecting your head, neck, and torso.
• Build a fire if necessary. Gather extra wood for the night.
• Drink your water (hot if possible with a few dissolved hard candies or sugar). Clear urine means your body has enough water.
• Eat high-energy foods (carbohydrates) throughout the day.
• Get familiar with your area and “make camp” early before it gets dark.
• Rest and conserve your energy unless you are performing vital tasks or exercising to keep warm.
• Maintain a calm, positive attitude.
• Be prepared to signal rescuers at all times.
If it’s HOT outside
• Reduce heat gain: get out of the sun and off the hot ground.
• Protect your body with light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. Pay special attention to the head and neck.
• Wet your clothing if water is abundant.
• Don’t move around during the heat of the day.
• Drink your water! If water is plentiful, force yourself to drink until your pee is “clear.” Clear urine means your body is fully hydrated.
• Get familiar with your area early and “make camp” before it gets dark, even if you plan on moving during the night when it’s cooler.
• Rest and conserve your energy.
• Maintain a calm, positive attitude.
• Be prepared to signal rescuers at all times.
The Gotta-Have-It Stuff
The survival-kit components described in this book are listed on the next page for your convenience. Whether you carry these items or a hybrid of your own creation, a bare-bones kit for dealing with a short-term survival scenario must contain the following ideas. Don’t get caught up in the specifics like a certain brand or type of knife. Think instead about the general qualities the cutting-edge (knife) has and make sure it effectively meshes with your overall needs, environment, and skill level. Aside from clothing, water, signaling devices, and a “Party On” attitude, the following ideas are not presented in any set-in-stone order because the order will be dictated by your particular scenario.
Must-Have Concepts
for a Short-Term Survival Kit
• Adequate means to regulate body temperature for your environment (clothing).
• Adequate means to create potable water to regulate body temperature for your environment.
• Multiple, effective means for signaling for rescue. (Signal mirrors don’t work on cloudy days or at night.)
• A “Party On” attitude.
• A cutting edge.
• Methods to create and sustain fire.
• Cordage (string or rope).
• The determined willingness and know-how to use what you have to its fullest potential.
Survival Kit Components in Cody’s Kit
• Two h
eavy-duty freezer bags.
• Tincture of iodine 2%.
• One condom (non-lubricated).
• Regular space blanket.
• One roll of dental floss.
• Colored surveyor’s tape.
• Pea-less, brightly colored plastic whistle.
• Paraffin-coated, strike-anywhere kitchen matches in a brightly colored match safe.
• Disposable butane lighter.
• Magnesium block fire starter with hacksaw-blade striker.
