Vitamins?

grease-man

grease-man

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Apr 9, 2006
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I was giving my daughter her vitamin this morning and for some reason I wondered if vitamins might have a place in a PSK? Would they help sustain a person for a short time, or would the difference not be enough to carry some? I read here quite often, but don't remember anyone mentioning vitamins in their PSK. Any opinions are certainly welcome. -Matt-
 
I take vitamins every day. As for being an essential part of a psk, I don't think I could say they were, but they don't take up much space. I don't carry any in my psk, but I do have some in my SHTF supply bag. They would be extremely essential in any number of the crazy end of the world scenarios that people bandy about here, as well as in a psk that you might have on an ocean going vessel. All that being said, an "end of the world as we know it" scenario is not a realistic probability in my book so preparing for it seems like a waste of time, but I do anyway for some stupid, weird, insane, ocd reason. all items in this post are my opinions only...they are not based on any type of concrete fact, but are the results of my reasoning based on my research and feelings...please no flames
 
If you were going to fill that tiny space with something I would suggest hard candy. The current and better survival kits for boats are being stocked with hard candy. The normal thinking is it would take 60 to 90 days for a vitamin deficiency to take effect.
 
Vitamins yup! I carry childrens vitamins because placed situation with very little food there not as hard on ya stomach.
 
i also take vitamins everyday, but i wudnt know if it was worth putting in a psk

but yeah, u got me thinking aswell

with vitamins u'll have more resistance and so must be able to survive longer

altho, i wud make a distic-nction as to where u might be surviving, barren frozen wastelands or shipwreck raft scenarios seem to me like the places where u might need em
 
You won't develop any significant vitamin deficiencies in less than a week. I'd rather carry more matches.
 
A potent B-complex would help convert the meager food you would find/get into energy. A full spectrum enzyme capsule would aid in efficient digestion of stuff your guts may not be used to.

But I would say the space requirements might not make it worth it. If I am putting pills in it I would want them to be water purification tabs.
 
My guess.

It is very close to being pure sugar, though now a days,
corn sweeteners may be in it also. Pure sugar is a known
quantity to medical people and it can usually be digested
by even sick people.
By contrast, milk chocolate has fats etc.

Hard candy keeps better. And you are less likely to nibble on
hard candy than you are with Hershey chocolates or Baby
Ruths. I think pure sugar is better for your kit than is hard candy,
because I have nibbled on hard candies, using up the supply.

Case Study.
Into the Wild (1996) by Jon Krakauer studied the plight of
Chris McCandless who starved to death, even though he
had shot a moose (or caribou) that he only ate a small part
of.
One theory (may not be in the book) is that he ate some
vegetation that disrupted his (liver's?) ability to deal with
any food except sugar. Sugar alone would have healed him,
so that he could then have eaten fats and proteins.
I do not remember the name of this kind of poisoning, but
you can google on key words and find the explanation.
 
I have been wondering this myself. Still lookin for answers, but
here are some thoughts.

Vitamins would probably not keep too well if the kit is stored in a car.
Insulate, store next to water, rotate often.

If there is the prospect that you could secure,
or already have, a large quantity of low quality food;
vitamins really make a lot of sense.

For example, consider a remote hunting/fishing camp where you might get
left or snowed-in. In addition your regular food, you want backup food.
Vitamins + low quality backup food (flour, rice, beans, sugar, Crisco) make
sense. This cheap food can be left or easily throw away.

Most survival situations are short term.
For these, vitamins don't make sense.
 
Here is an alternative to hard vitamins--medicinal tea bags. They have plenty to choose from like immune builders with vitamin c, echinachia, gensing for energy; I like the lemon ginger tea good for a variety of ailments primarily stomach/digestion. I like this tea because it soothes the stomach and if you are indeed lost, the stress/etc can take a mental toll and if say you eat something that does not agree with your stomach this also helps out a little. I like carrying a few of these types of tea bags instead of the caffinated black teas etc. although I do have a couple of these as well for when energy boost is needed (especially in the a.m)

But on the flip side this will bring up the issue of water and if you can heat the water, wheras the vitamins can just be taken. I kinda like the idea of having say a couple of vitamin c in a psk.

Also, Halls makes the Hall's Defense Vitamin C more noticable during cold season, but this fills the vitamin aspect and the hard candy aspect for a psk.
 
If you have eczema or a similar skin condition, you should probably throw a few fish oil pills (omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids) to help prevent potentially serious skin infections while in the wild.

Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.
 
As everyone has mentioned, generally vitamin supplementation isn't going to be an issue for a short-term survival situation. Deficiencies aren't going to occur quickly.

However, if I were going to be spending a lot of time in the far north during the winter and if I had darker skin, I'd probably carry some vitamin D. Although you can produce vitamin D from sunlight, if you've got pigmented skin and you're at a high enough latitude then the winter sun will not be sufficient to meet your vitamin D needs. This is why people became lighter skinned over time as they migrated north.

Vitamin D can be obtained from the environment but sources are few - primarily fish, fresh mushrooms (exposed to sunlight), and eggs.

But again, this just isn't an issue for the short-term survival situation.

For more info check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_d
 
I would take salt instead. It is relatively rare in nature (unless you're at the seashore) and essential for life.
 
Thanks for all the thoughtful responses so far guys. I was hesitant to ask because it sounded so kooky, but once again you guys came through with lots of food for thought!

DiamondDog, I really like the medicinal tea bags and the Halls Vitamin C drops suggestion. Makes a lot of sense. -Matt-
 
There was one person I know of - Paco Kelly - who mentioned that he kept a supply of B-complex vitamins in his survival kit because they would help provide energy. Especially considering the strenous conditions you may be placed in.
 
Most vitamin tablets have WAY more of each vitamin than you need. For water soluble vitamins like C- and under non survival situations- that is not a problem. Fat soluble vitamins like A,D,E,and K can be a problem in high concentrations, but that is not what I am getting at. All of the extra water soluble vitamins that you body cannot absorb and use (your body doesn't store water soluble vitamins like it does fat soluble ones) are excreted. That is why your urine is neon orange when you are taking vitamin suplements. Vitamin suplements are diuretics and that can be a problem in a survival situation. Just something to think about.
 
hlee,
That's a very valuable point about the diuretic aspect of vitamins!
I take a low dosage multi vit&min pill every day, I have not had a sore throat, cold or flu or fever since 2001 so I'm convinced about moderate doses. We eat food saturated with additives and a polluted environment, I feel vitamins do help.In a wilderness situation your diet changes but I think the back up of vitamins is helpful.
 
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