Can I feed off of extremely basic elements?
July 5, 2010 9:04 PM   Subscribe

If I get the calories and proportions right, can I live for a few months on just protein, complex carbohydrate, and fiber supplements along with multivitamins and shots of olive oil?

Monotony-relief aside, would topping it off with alfalfa sprouts make a huge difference?
posted by 5ean to Food & Drink (18 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
You could live for a few months on almost anything caloric, assuming you were healthy to begin with, as your body has reserves of lots of things. That's not really a test of whether a diet provides complete nutrition or not. I mean, "protein" is not a monolithic thing, there are nine essential amino acids which means there are complete proteins and incoming, but if you had only a source of incomplete protein for several months you could still survive as your body would just get the lacking amino acids by breaking down muscle and tissue. Also there's quite a lot of debate as to exactly how much of the nutrients in that multivitamin are actually usable by the body -- they're meant to be suppliments, not replacements.
posted by Rhomboid at 9:26 PM on July 5, 2010


s/incoming/incomplete/, damn muscle memory
posted by Rhomboid at 9:27 PM on July 5, 2010


Not to mention that your body is an adaptive creature, not a machine, so if it senses that some necessary nutrients are not being consumed it will go into starvation mode which means rationing and conserving energy for the more necessary functions. After all we evolved over millions of years of constantly being near the edge of starvation, and we're quite good at dealing with it. I mean, you could probably live for a few months on a fistful of rice and a glass of water daily, but that doesn't mean you'd enjoy it or that it would be good for you.
posted by Rhomboid at 9:35 PM on July 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


It's possible in theory but doesn't account for the fact we don't understand a whole lot about nutrition. We do know that vitamins in multivitamins are often not absorbed well, and nutrients tend to be more bioavailable when taken through whole foods (real food) instead of processed foods, supplements, or additives. You wouldn't starve but you'd likely end up with a vitamin deficiency.

(Anecdotally, I have done this when my food budget's run out and it doesn't take long to feel just awful.)
posted by Anonymous at 9:52 PM on July 5, 2010


Yes, you'll be fine.
posted by thirteenkiller at 9:57 PM on July 5, 2010


Yes you could live like that. Alfalfa sprouts wouldn't do much of anything.

Is this just a thought exercise or are you thinking of doing it?
If you're thinking of doing it I'd recommend you add in 1 serving of a "superfood" every day. You'd actually be getting the nutrients instead of just turning your pee neon colors with the vitamins.

You could theoretically go a very long time like that while staying very healthy if you had your macros right.

Tons of long distance backpackers basically live off of protein bars, candy, peanut butter, and olive oil for long periods of time.
posted by zephyr_words at 10:02 PM on July 5, 2010


Tons of long distance backpackers basically live off of protein bars, candy, peanut butter, and olive oil for long periods of time.

What? Do they? Not any I know--there's a lot more variety than that, and if there isn't it's not for more than a week, certainly not a few months.
posted by Anonymous at 10:04 PM on July 5, 2010


You're looking for Nutraloaf, and yes you can subsist on it indefinitely. (Don't miss the A.V. Club taste test!)
posted by ErikaB at 10:25 PM on July 5, 2010


Response by poster: Is this just a thought exercise or are you thinking of doing it?

Might do it for a month. I'm actually tired of emergency food storage options being so high in weight (canned) or high in preparation costs (time and energy).

Note, I think he's not saying he's going to live on just carby food and meat + fiber supplements, it seems he's talking about no real food and only (complex carbohydrate, protein, and fiber) supplements.

Correct. Besides the reason above, there is the old school sci fi allure of a completely artificial diet.

You're looking for Nutraloaf, and yes you can subsist on it indefinitely. (Don't miss the A.V. Club taste test!)

Oh, I like a good nutraloaf but it lacks shelf stability.
posted by 5ean at 10:48 PM on July 5, 2010


Monkeychow!

See also the very similar AskMe from the other day.
posted by Forktine at 11:46 PM on July 5, 2010


Seriously, if you're looking to store something for survival purposes, get some canned liquid enteral feeding supplements. They are the only thing you can count on being nutritionally complete enough to get by on for a month (or longer.)

Trying to subsist on an "artificial" diet is risky. As was said above, there are a lot of components to nutrition that are tricky or as-yet undiscovered. In hospital, even when people are having a lot of trouble with eating regular food, it's still considered a risky move to put them on a diet that consists entirely of enteral feedings or parenteral nutrition. It's only done when it really needs to be done, because it's not something to be messed around with casually.
posted by Ouisch at 11:47 PM on July 5, 2010


Oh, also, I'm guessing the inconvenient "weight" issue of canned supplies is mostly due to them containing water, a.k.a. the most important nutrient OF ALL TIME.
posted by Ouisch at 11:51 PM on July 5, 2010


You might consider fish for a protein source, to mimic the traditional Inuit diet. Stefansson was an anthropologist who wanted to prove that they did not get scurvy and yet ate mostly meat and fish.

From The Straight Dope: "To settle the matter once and for all, Stefansson and a colleague lived on a meat-only diet for one year under medical supervision at New York's Bellevue Hospital, starting in February 1928. The two ate between 100 and 140 grams of protein a day, the balance of their calories coming from fat, yet they remained scurvy free."

They lived.
posted by Houstonian at 12:46 AM on July 6, 2010


You could live on nutritionally complete Ape Food.
posted by atrazine at 2:10 AM on July 6, 2010


Somewhat related, rabbit starvation.
posted by Menthol at 4:38 AM on July 6, 2010


You will survive but my guess is you will feel like shit and be low energy, not super on-the-ball cognitively (poor concentration and memory, decreased alertness), and over functioning at a fatigued level, both mentally and physically. Add more fat (nuts and seeds?), perhaps?

schroedinger, I know two people who backpacked the AT for three months and lived pretty much just on M&M's and Snickers bars.

Most things are possible if your goal is to be alive at the end of a certain period of time.
posted by Rudy Gerner at 6:43 AM on July 6, 2010 [1 favorite]


Ensure/Boost make powdered supplements that you mix with water. You could live on that, and that alone for a month - it's designed to be sufficient as the only "food" eaten.

I think.
posted by insectosaurus at 8:07 AM on July 6, 2010


Good luck with the pooping. Make sure you drink lots of water.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 11:07 AM on July 6, 2010


« Older Where can I volunteer in th MN Twin Cities metro...   |   The Mrs. wants her toes did! Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.