Water is important to any survival situation. We need it in our daily lives and even more so in a disaster scenario. Please enjoy this collection of infographics that highlight all of the wonderful benefits that our liquid friend provides us.
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In a survival situation, sugar will be a rare commodity, even a form of money or barter item. Knowing this, you can stock up or even better reduce your dependence on it now.
We know that not all sugars are bad for our bodies. Sugars in fruits for example are great for our bodies! The problem lies within the added excess amounts of processed sugars that have been sneaked and forced into our diets… There are so many natural sugars that are found in raw foods that there is no need to be adding extra processed ones!
Unfortunately, most of us have developed a “need” for sugar due to our awful eating habits and desire for “junk foods”. Trust me, the benefits of quitting sugar outweigh the side effects of bad eating habits by far! Once you stop eating sugars that have been processed and stick to sugars in its raw form you will notice that the following things will occur.
YOUR SKIN WILL GLOW
Acne continuously comes and goes. It can be so annoying and frustrating. No matter how many creams, toners, cleansers we may try, the pimples always come back someway, somehow. It is actually our diets that are responsible for the occasional outbreaks. The sugars are breaking through from the inside out. Literally! Once you eliminate the excess sugars from your foods, you will notice your skin will look and feel fabulous!
YOU WILL EVENTUALLY NO LONGER CRAVE SUGAR
As you begin to ditch the sugary stuff from your diet, you will eventually lose the desire to eat them too! The fruits you consume will be more than enough! You may even notice that the treats you once loved like cake and such will become way too sweet for your taste buds and that you may not enjoy them as much as you once did.
YOUR BODY’S FUNCTIONS WILL BECOME MORE EFFICIENT
Your body want lots and lots of fiber and little to no “hard to digest” foods. By removing sugary products from your diet, you are giving your tummy a break as well as time to reset its functions. You will probably end up going to the bathroom a lot more too. This is a good thing by the way! Everything will become more regular and routinely, as things will begin to move smoother.
YOUR ENERGY LEVELS WILL INCREASE
Most of us tend to reach for caffeine, energy drinks, sugary snacks and juices in order to get that extra energy boost throughout the day. This is such a misconception. You only think that you need these. In reality, your body will actually produce energy naturally and more of it without the added sugars. Processed sugars block the body’s ability to keep energy stores at maximum levels. So, what you may call a “pick-me-up” could actually be what is bringing you down… Once you give up this habit, you will notice that you will no longer experience energy level spikes and that the regular mid-afternoon blahs will no longer be a thing.
YOUR WEIGHT WILL BECOME STABLE
When you eat sugars, your body tends to crave even more sugars; whether they are raw or not. Refined sugars tend to be very common in high fat and high carb foods and well, we all know that these kinds of foods are usually processed and packed with chemical ingredients that could be harmful to your health – but sadly, we eat them anyways because they taste good… By eliminating these kinds of foods, your body will not have to deal with all the extra calories anymore. And well, since your body will no longer “want” these kinds of foods, you will most likely eat less resulting in weight loss or no weight gain. There are only good things that can happen by giving up sugar. Do your body a favour and get rid of it. Sugar is a want, not a need.
ARE YOU GOING TO QUIT EATING SUGAR?
Source: Articles | LOWFATLOWCARB.COM
There are a bazillion blog posts around about prepping for flu-season, ranging from stocking-up on Elderberry Syrup ( a good idea) to getting (or avoiding) flu shots to getting hand-sanitizer to wearing an NBC HAZMAT suit every time you leave the house. Take ‘em all with your own grains of salt.
There’s a whole other area of preparations that get somewhat glossed-over. What happens if one of those sneaky li’l viruses actually makes it past all those carefully-crafted barriers, and you actually get sick? It can happen to the best of us.
It’s an unfortunate, but true, Fact of Life that, the older we get, the harder this type of illness hits us. What might have been a 2 day annoyance 20 years ago can KNOCK YOU FLAT ON YOUR BUTT for a couple weeks, now. Not a fun fact, but true. It can be a lot worse if you live alone.
A bit of American History to consider, before thinking “it’s just the flu, no big deal”.
When our European ancestors first came to the New World, our First Nations ancestors all along the woodlands of the East Coast lost about 70-90% of their population within the first 100 years. They weren’t killed off by force of arms, they weren’t killed off by ‘incurable’ things like imported STD’s (despite popular literature) or Bubonic Plague. They weren’t even killed off directly by the imported “colds and flus and sniffles” that they had no immunity against. They died of dehydration. This sounds silly on the surface, but think about it.
If every single individual in the village is too sick (due to lack of immunity) to make the hike to the spring, or the creek, for water, for 5 days, there is a very good chance that no one at all will survive. A little thing like a cup of water a day could have changed our history dramatically.
What does this mean today?
Get an extra case of bottled water, and stick it someplace close to your bed. (You may not want to get up and walk to the kitchen). A case of some electrolyte-replacement drink of your choice is a good idea, too.
Chicken Soup. Yes, “Grandma Penecillin” it does help. Last time I was seriously down with the flu I had a lot in my freezer, downstairs. I didn’t get down there for 6 days. Now, a half-dozen cans of non-condensed chicken noodle soup in the bedroom too (“Progresso” brand, with pop-tops) – you can ‘chug’ them right out of the can.
If you don’t mind your bedroom seeming like your old college dorm room, a small ‘dorm’ fridge and microwave oven right by the bed, in place of the standard “night stand” is not a bad idea. Remember what “Survivorman’ Les Stroud once said, “In a survival situation, 2 of the things you miss most are something hot and something cold”. If you are feeling too sick to get out of bed for a week, and there’s no one around to help you, you ARE in a survival situation, make no mistake about that.
Think you’re getting sick? Get ready, just in case.
Put a couple bags of that soup in your dorm fridge and let them thaw. Make a big pitcher of green tea and fresh ginger root and put that in your fridge too. Better hot, works cold, too. Toss in some bottled water and electrolyte drink, too, you’ll be happy you did.
Plug in your phone next to your bed, and don’t be embarrassed to use it to yell for help if you need it.
Stay well, stay safe, we’re all in this together.
Another Type of Flu-Season Prep to Consider. | The Survival Geezer.
Aside from quenching your thirst, drinking the right amount of water can benefit your overall health in countless other ways. From aiding weight loss to boosting productivity, let’s look at how water can improve your health.
… well, we’re mostly water.
60%
Proportion of water in adult human body (1)
How much water is in … (2, 3)
Blood: 92%
Brain: 73%
Heart: 73%
Lungs: 83%
Skin: 64%
Muscles: 79%
Kidneys: 79%
Bones: 31%
Water’s basic functions include regulating body temperature, flushing waste and moving nutrients through our cells. But what can that mean for some of the most important illnesses and health issues? (4, 5, 6)
Aids digestion
60 million
Americans affected by digestive disorders (7)
Improves circulation
Helps create saliva
Reducing appetite
$60 billion
Annual U.S. consumer spending on weight loss efforts (8)
Providing fuel for muscles
Moisturizing skin
Clears skin of toxins
Facilitating kidney function
1 in 10
U.S. adults with some form of chronic kidney disease (9)
Boosts productivity and ramps up brain power
Preventing muscle cramps and strains
Prevents tiredness
30%
Adults who get less than 6 hours of sleep on the average night (9)
Relieving minor illnesses
About 20% of our water intake comes from foods like fruits and vegetables. That means the rest comes from the beverages we drink. (4)
Good news, then, that water is the most popular beverage in the U.S., recently eclipsing soda for the top spot.
Average annual consumption in gallons (10)
Soda: 44
Water: 58
It’s not all plain water, though. Many Americans are getting their fill of water thanks in part to the myriad “flavored” waters on the market.
People who reported drinking any flavored water in the past week, in millions (11)
Spring 2010: 8.92
Autumn 2010: 8.57
Spring 2011: 8.69
Autumn 2011: 8.13
Spring 2012: 7.68
Autumn 2012: 8.07
Spring 2013: 8.96
1 in 5
U.S. households that buy bottled water and liquid flavor enhancers (12)
These enhancers often contain additives like salt, dyes and other chemicals. A better option is going natural. Don’t like the taste of water? Consider adding: (13, 14)
A few chunks of frozen fruit
Mint ice cubes
A slice of citrus
Mashed berries
Unsweetened fruit juice
Sliced cucumber
Source: Master-of-Health-Administration.com
Sources:
1. http://www.mayoclinic.org
2. http://water.usgs.gov
3. http://www.waterinfo.org
4. http://www.webmd.com
5. http://www.lhj.com
6. http://science.howstuffworks.com
7. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov
8. http://money.usnews.com
9. http://www.cdc.gov
10. http://www.cbsnews.com
11. http://www.statista.com
12. http://abclocal.go.com
13. http://www.everydayhealth.com
14. http://www.shape.com
Drinking enough water is essential for maintaining good health, especially in survival situations. This infographic highlights the crucial role that water plays in keeping our bodies functioning properly, as well as the harmful effects of dehydration and its implications for our overall well-being. Make sure you stay hydrated to keep your body in top shape!
Infographic SOURCE
by Guest Blogger OmegaMan
Many survival books discuss the topic of “Rabbit Starvation”. The purpose of these articles is to remind the survivalist to keep a mixture of fats and proteins in their survival diet….that is to not just rely on the lean meats and proteins of such lean animals rabbit as a sole food source.
In essence, the stress put on a person during a survival situation, along with a lack of diversified nutrients can cause acute malnutrition if one relies on lean proteins as a food source. Common symptoms which take about a week to appear are fatigue, headache and most concerning…diarrhea, low blood pressure and heart rate. This is caused by a build-up of urea and ammonia in the body as the kidneys struggle to digest large amounts of lean proteins.
There are stories of people gorging themselves on large quantities of lean meats alone that their stomachs will become distended.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson the Canadian arctic explorer wrote that the people eat till their stomachs are distended; but no matter how much they eat they feel unsatisfied. Some think a man will die sooner if he eats continually of fat-free meat than if he eats nothing, but this is a belief on which sufficient evidence for a decision has not been gathered in the North. Deaths from rabbit-starvation, or from the eating of other skinny meat, are rare; for everyone understands the principle, and any possible preventive steps are naturally taken.
Remember to eat the rabbits liver and brains to get some needed fat. The diarrhea may not go away until fats are added to the diet.
Remember, the real point is to get an intake of various essential nutrients and not just rely on pure protein from rabbits or any other lean meats. When possible, vary your diet with carbs, grains, proteins and important survival fats.
A little unknown fact is that in Air Force Survival recruits are taught to eat the undigested leaves from the rabbits stomach to also add to their dietary intakes. I am told it tastes like a bitter pesto.
We all worry about dehydration.
Did you know there are extreme dangers associated with a phenomenon called Hyponatremia?
In simple terms this is over hydration and can actually cause death. Generally this is associated with lack of food, and drinking large amounts of fluid during extreme or endurance physical activity. This can cause the body’s salt levels to drop dramatically and cause body cells to swell and leak into the bloodstream. A person can suddenly collapse. Coma or death are genuine concerns.
Let it be known that the symptoms of over hydration are similar to dehydration. Hydrating with water only worsens the situation. Simply put the easiest way to tell the difference between hyponatremia and dehydration symptoms is to look for swelling of the fingers, joints, wrists. Also watch for ring and watch tightness due to excessive swelling.
In patients with severe hyponatremia (serum sodium <125 mEq/L), central nervous system symptoms predominate and can progress to seizures, coma, or death.
Some simple tips: Try to snack from time to time before and during the activity. It usually only takes small amounts of salt found in most foods to rebalance your system. Sports drinks work well. Try to prehydrate before exercising then continue to drink appx a cup of fluid every 20 to 30 minutes.
