Military survival: a physiological assessment of soldiers using wild plants for food during survival and evasion.
Field studies were undertaken to investigate if wild plants alone can be used as food to supply the necessary quantities of carbohydrates during survival and evasion. In these situations, attention must be drawn to the physiological effects of hypoglycemia and the proper utilisation of the adipose tissue as energy in conjunction with minimizing the breakdown of proteins. The results show that it is possible to collect wild plants daily within 4 h with a carbohydrate content which amounts to at least 2 MJ. This will be enough to maintain the blood glucose concentration at the initial value without a simultaneous gluconeogenesis, and will prevent the production and excretion of ketone bodies. The studies demonstrate that plants are a good source of food in survival situations, allowing the survivor to perform hard and prolonged physical work during periods of restricted food intake. The study is part of a military survival project which forms the basis of a new military survival training program.
Källman
S
S
National Defence Research Institute, Department of Human Studies, Stockholm, Sweden.
D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008889:Military Personnel; D010945:Plants, Edible; D013534:Survival; D013548:Sweden
D001786:Blood Glucose