The concern of balanced nutrition is extremely important in healthy living before, during, or after a traumatic event, or emergency, not just for the consumer of the food, but for us too.
HumanitarianInfo.org states "Emergencies are often characterized by a high prevalence of acute malnutrition
and micro nutrient deficiency diseases, which in turn lead to increased risk of death among the affected population and in particular among vulnerable groups."
As you can see, starvation, or lack of food is often times not the problem, but rather, malnutrition (which does include starvation), and Mico Nutrient Deficiency Diseases (MNDD) is the real culprit. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) "malnutrition is characterized by inadequate or excess intake of protein, energy, and micronutrients such as vitamins, and the frequent infections and disorders that result"
It's important to see that problems arise in both inadequate AND excess intake of proteins and vitamins.
The meals we produce are as nutritionally balanced as can be attained with dehydration. We incorporate healthy vegetables into our meals which provide vital nutrients not obtained from rices, beans, barley, lentils etc. We aim to minimize sodium, as this can lead to health problems in an environment where water may be scarce or rationed already. We include fiber in our meals to avoid problems you may see in MRE's or other "instant" meals.
It is our recommendation that you research your own health needs if you have specific diet restrictions.
We also recommend an investment in high fat foods which store long term. Both dehydration and freeze drying are inadequate methods of storing fats and oils, as both of these will become rancid even in an oxygen free environment. Fats are an extremely important part of your diet, helping both brain and nerve function. We suggest peanut products as one of the best if not number one, for fat and extremely healthy vitamins and minerals.
A pound of chicken breast contains 18g of fat, while a pound of peanuts contains 223g. In the worst case scenario of a medium-long term situation where your meals will be exclusively form food storage, fats will be a much smaller portion of your diet, than most of us are accustomed to. 4 ounces of peanuts will give you more than 100% of the daily recommended intake of fat. Peanut butter is the easiest way of obtaining a peanut product that has a medium term shelf life. Whether you have experience or not, home canned boiled peanuts (pressure canner required) are an easy and fun way to keep essential fats in your food storage.
