Congratulations – you’re in the process of stockpiling long-term emergency food… or perhaps you’re seriously thinking about it.
But beware: Not all emergency food is created equal.
The long-term food storage you’re going to rely on someday MUST provide enough calories to get you through every stressful day during a major disaster scenario.
Shockingly, many lesser brands of emergency food do NOT provide enough calories – which can get you into real trouble when you need to be at your physical best.
Will Your Emergency Food Give You Enough Calories?
That’s the key question folks who prepare are asking themselves. Or they should be.
So let’s clear the air on calories, once and for all.
Many people think calories are tiny creatures that live in your closet and sew your clothes a little bit tighter every night.
But calories are what you need to survive.
Now, the exact number of calories needed can vary significantly from person to person – depending on height, weight, age, gender, and physical activity.
However, as a rule of thumb the “average” man needs around 2,000 calories a day – and the average woman needs less (around 1,800 per day).[1]
But this well-established 2,000-calorie-per-day guideline (think “Nutrition Facts” on product labels) gets quickly overruled when you find yourself in a stressful situation such as a natural disaster, calamity, or a national emergency.
And if your emergency food is in the low-calorie category (around 1,200 calories per day), it can seriously affect your health and your ability to survive a crisis.
Caution: Some Emergency Food Can Put You in "Starvation Mode"
Health experts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the American Medical Association (AMA) strongly caution against “low-calorie” diets, like ones that average around 1,200 calories per day, because of the long-term negative effects on the human body.
1,200 calories a day (or less) is known as a “starvation” diet – which is just plain dangerous.
According to the NIH research, people on prolonged starvation diets experienced a 5% reduction in lean muscle mass[2] as well as a 20% decrease in the size of their vital organs (heart, brain, kidney, etc.).[3] And it doesn't take long; a healthy person can start seeing these changes in a matter of weeks.
You could also lose bone mass, which can make you more prone to injury.[4]
That’s something you definitely don’t want during a crisis situation.
When disaster strikes or the economy breaks down, the stress you’ll be under (physically, mentally, and emotionally) will be quite considerable.
In those situations, a calorie deficit “starvation” diet of around 1,200 calories a day can be your worst enemy.
A famous study conducted by the University of Minnesota in 1945 proved that going into “starvation” mode will wreak havoc on your body and your mind.[5]
And yet, many of today’s most widely marketed brands of survival food simply don’t measure up on the calorie count. It is critical to check the numbers.
It’s as if they sell “starvation” food – because their daily meals would quickly put you in starvation mode!
Some companies have been known to dangerously cut calories in their meals to as low as 800/day so they could offer lower prices than their competitors.
One major brand even found themselves in court recently – sued in a class action lawsuit for false advertising and making misleading claims about the calorie counts in their meals.[6] Google "food storage lawsuit." You'll find it.
This is why consumers are urged to do their homework and find out exactly how many calories per day you’ll get from the food you’re going to be relying on.
And since your budget might not allow you to buy as much food as you want or will need, it’s best to look for brands that have the highest calories per day and the lowest price per calorie.
According to Medical News Today, the average adult needs 1,600-3,000 calories every day to sustain body weight and maintain physical endurance. Otherwise your body will start to “feed on itself” – burning muscle tissue and heart tissue.[7]
Larger people, males, active individuals, breastfeeding or pregnant women, or those with certain medical conditions typically need more calories each day than other people.[8]
Think about it: prison inmates get more than 2,000 calories a day.[9] Shouldn’t you?
How Much Food Will You Need?
Those who stockpile survival food are usually prepared for a long-term crisis situation – at least 3 months or longer.
But if the pre-packaged meals you’ve stored are not in fact providing 2,000+ calories a day, you’ll need to eat bigger portions – which means you’ll run out of food faster than you thought.
In other words, a 3-month supply might end up lasting you only 2 months, or even less. That's not a sustainable emergency plan for survival.
And remember: you might not be able to buy any more food due to shortages or breakdowns of the supply chain.
This would be an utter disaster for you and your family.
If the crisis lasts longer than you have food for, you could potentially end up starving to death if you run out of food prematurely.
We’ve all seen the pictures of Holocaust and genocide victims, or people suffering during famines such as the Great Potato Famine in Ireland in the 1840s, which caused millions of deaths.[10]
This is why you don’t want to rely on low-calorie foods that will ultimately let you down.
Don’t Be Deceived by Low Prices
Some questionable “preparedness” companies sell emergency food kits averaging around 1,200 calories per day. That’s a starvation diet! They create the illusion of selling food kits for less money than their competitors – because their kits give you so much less when it comes to calories.
It’s important to look to build your emergency food storage plan with kits that average at least 2,000 calories per day.
Consumers who are serious about their survival plan know to count the calories.
Nobody wants to suffer from calorie-deficiency… and/or run out of food long before the crisis is over.
Imagine going 4 weeks or longer without adequate food – while everything around you is falling apart.
It’s not pretty.
But meals that give you adequate calories (2,000+ per day, per person) can definitely go the distance.[11]
Calories count. And they’ll be even more important to you and your family during stressful emergencies.
CALORIES = ENERGY = SURVIVAL
Remember: You can’t live on “stored body fat” for the long haul.
And low-calorie food kits from brands that skimp can’t ever be enough.
Bottom Line?
You need top-quality, calorie-rich survival food that stays fresh for up to 25 years in proper storage. And you want plenty of varieties of delicious foods the whole family will be happy to eat.
With the right high-calorie emergency food, you can emerge from a long-term crisis feeling strong and healthy… with no regrets…
…rather than looking like you just walked out of a concentration camp.
So the choice is clear…
When your life is on the line, don’t be fooled by low prices and “starvation” food kits masquerading as an emergency food plan.
Stock up on survival food – not “starvation” food.
In liberty,
Grant Miller, Preparedness Advisor