Preparedness Proteins
More Articles Related to FoodRecent events throughout the world have shown the wisdom of having on hand a reserve of survival food for yourself and family should normal supplies be cut off for any length of time.
Complete Proteins are Necessary for Survival
In order to prepare for food shortages during man-made or natural disasters, many survivalists have created preparedness caches of survival foods to be consumed only when needed.
An important consideration when it comes to choosing your survival foods is that the foods you consume on a daily basis must constitute "complete proteins", which are also known as the “essential amino acids”. These are the amino acids that your body cannot manufacture from the food you eat but are required for day to day function.
If you do not consume the complete array of amino acids necessary for human health on a regular basis, over time your body will deteriorate as it consumes itself; in effect mining its tissues for the nutrients it needs to survive. Not a pretty thought is it?
The nine essential amino acids that must be supplied by the food in your survival preparedness cache include:
- isoleucine
- leucine
- lysine
- threonine
- tryptophan
- methionine
- histidine
- valine
- phenylalanine
Foods obtained from animal products usually constitute the complete array of 9 amino acids necessary for survival. Meat, eggs, fish, fowl, milk, cheese, insects; in short pretty much anything that walks, swims, flies, wiggles (or its young) will supply your body with all the amino acids you need to survive. This is why they are sometimes called “complete protein foods”. And this is why during a survival situation it is important you do not allow anything that moves to escape your cooking pot (see Survival Foraging on the Move).
Some problems with animal foods are that they tend to spoil quite easily, are sometimes difficult to store for long periods of time in a survival preparedness cache, and are often relatively expensive or difficult to acquire when compared to other foods.
In contrast to animal products, most of the foods derived from plants rarely have the complete array of the 9 essential amino acids you need to survive. For example, rice is quite high in the total amount of amino acids it contains, but misses out on several of the 9 required by the human body. For this reason, from the perspective of getting enough of amino acids in your diet you cannot survive indefinitely on rice alone like you could on beef.
Plant Based Essential Amino Acids
Fortunately for us, nature has provided a means to obtain the complete amino acid array we need to survive without having to consume any animal products at all. This is done by mixing and matching. What some plant based foods lack in amino acids, other foods have. For example, eating just beans or eating just rice will result in not obtaining all the 9 essential amino acids you need to survive. However beans and rice complement one another so that by combining them into the same meal you will receive all the amino acids you need to maintain health.
To the survivalist looking for ways to store large amounts of food in a preparedness cache, this information is golden. Dried beans and rice are relatively inexpensive and can easily be stored for long periods of time. There are many other plant based food combinations that provide all 9 essential amino acids. And a good thing too, or you may have found yourself eating beans and rice for a full year straight.
Many societies throughout history have hit upon the right food combinations that together provide the complete amino acid set necessary for survival. For example beans on corn tortillas in Central America, soybeans and rice in the Far East, cornbread and pinto beans in southern US. When laying in your preparedness food supplies you would do well to emulate those who have successfully figured out the correct combinations necessary for health and survival.
Examples of Foods High in Amino Acids
- Grains include wheat, oats, rice, barley, and corn.
- Seeds and Nuts include almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
- Legumes include peanuts, soybeans, lentils, peanuts, and a wide variety of beans.
Food Combinations for the Essential Amino Acids
In order to find the food combinations that give you all essential amino acids for survival, study the chart provided in this Survival Topic. Those foodstuffs connected by the green arrows are reasonably good combinations while those connected by red arrows are excellent.
For example, beans (a legume) when combined with rice (a grain) are an excellent source of the complete array of essential amino acids. Combining rice with nuts is still a good combination, but not optimal as compared with the beans and rice combination. Therefore if you have these kinds of foods on hand you can optimize your diet by making food combinations according to this chart.
If you add some milk products, in the form of powdered or canned milk or long lasting cheeses, your options are increased. For example a glass of milk with a whole wheat sandwich is an excellent combination for obtaining the essential amino acids.
Planning for the preparedness survival foods you will stock is not at all difficult once you understand the basics of nutrition and storability. With the information provided here I urge you to consider plant proteins as your primary source of the essential amino acids necessary for survival.
Washington, DC
I lived in Brazil for a few years, and had beans and rice just about every day for lunch. Though what accompanied it always changed, beans and rice stayed the same. I have developed a love of beans and rice. Keep garlic powder and salt with black beans, and eat them with rice. Delicious!
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Philadelphia
Look into Hemp Seeds. They are one of the best proteins for Humans second only to termites. They are better than beef and you can get them in health food stores such as Whole Foods. Plus, they are full of Omega Fatty Acids.