Food, Hunger and Starvation in Disaster Preparation

What about Food?

      In a survival situation, food shortages are common. After the basic necessities of shelter and water, food is the next item of concern. If you don't have a good supply, and sometimes even if you do, hunger and even starvation is something that you must confront. How long has it been since you have been hungry? How long have you ever gone without eating?

      Panic is the first response of many individuals to hunger and the threat of starvation. It is helpful to know how the human body responds to hunger and starvation, how it affects one mentally and physically and how long one can go without food.

      Hunger and starvation have been the subject of carefully controlled scientific and medical studies. The period during and following major wars has been characterized by hunger, starvation and often death by starvation. The second world war saw the destruction of the food production and distribution infrastructure through all of Europe and Asia and affected the rest of the world including the United States. Everywhere the allied armies went, they encountered populations with their infrastructure damaged and unable to sustain them. They also encountered prison camps with large numbers of critically starved prisoners. They also took prisoners who had to be fed. The war effort quickly turned from fighting to providing relief in the occupied areas.

      To assist in this effort, a research project was conducted by the University of Minnesota in 1944-1946. The researchers carefully monitored all of the physical, physiological and psychological characteristics of the volunteers as they went through the process of starvation and rehabilitation. The experiment was conducted in three phases; twelve weeks of control period, twenty four weeks of semi-starvation, and then twelve weeks of rehabilitation. During the control period, the subjects were given 3,492 calories. During the period of semi-starvation the calories were decreased to 1,570, and during the period of rehabilitation they were re-increased to normal levels. The semi-starvation diet consisted of typical foods available to Europeans in the famine areas. This included cabbage, turnips, rutabagas and small amounts of meat and grains. During the 24 weeks of semi-starvation at 1,570 calories per day, the volunteers lost about 25% of their body weight on average.

The Biochemistry of starvation

      When one consumes fewer calories than needed to maintain their normal metabolism and activity, the body extracts the balance from its own tissues. The body stores energy in glycogen, fat and protein tissues. Fat can be metabolized into energy for use in the muscles but the nervous system requires glucose (blood sugar). Glycogen is a type of starch that is stored in the liver and muscle tissues. It can be readily and quickly converted into glucose for quick energy and to provide the needs of the brain and nervous system. Unfortunately, the glycogen reserves are relatively small. When they are depleted, the body must obtain glucose by breaking down and metabolizing protein from muscle mass and internal organs. The nervous system can obtain some of its energy needs from fat metabolism, but not all. Some glucose is required. As hunger progresses to starvation, the loss of body mass accelerates with the individual losing both fat and muscle mass.

      As starvation progresses, the stomach atrophies. This diminishes the sensation of hunger but it also diminishes thirst. This can result in dehydration.

      Vitamin deficiencies also develop as a result of starvation. These result in anemia, beriberi, pellagra and scurvy among other conditions. Common symptoms resulting from these conditions include diarrhea, skin rashes, edema, irritability, lethargy, bruising and bleeding and generalized pain.

The Body's Adaptation to Starvation

      As the calorie intake drops below the calorie expenditure, the human body makes several adaptive changes. Aside from catabolizing its own tissues, the body also reduces its base metabolic rate to burn fewer calories. This results in a drop in body temperature. An individual that is running a calorie deficit is likely to feel cold and will often need to wear an extra sweater to be minimally comfortable. This response has been seen in long distance hikers. After being on the trail covering long distances daily for weeks at a time, the hiker will find the need to wear an extra layer of clothing as compared to a fresh hiker who is beginning the hike.

      There is a "thrifty gene" that is more strongly expressed in indigenous populations than in industrial societies. Indigenous cultures obtain food from the immediate environment. It is usually less dense in calories and not as abundant as the food available in industrial societies. Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804-05 with the Mandan Indians of North Dakota. It is reported that while the white expedition was huddled in their shelters in sub-zero weather, the natives were out actively hunting and consuming about half the food of the white men. The "thrifty gene" prompts the body to be extremely efficient in digesting and absorbing nutrients, to use the nutrients with optimum efficiency and to store body fat at every opportunity. The storage of body fat is a survival mechanism.

      There is a side benefit to the slowing of metabolism that results from calorie restriction. It extends ones lifespan. The regions of the world where individuals frequently live to ages of 120 to 160 years have several things in common. First, the food consumed is local basic foods not processed and refined foods. Second, the total calories consumed are significantly less than the average western diet. Third, there is often a famine period when food is scarce between the end of winter and the first spring harvests. Fourth, the soils in these areas are generally well mineralized with important trace elements. In animal experiments, calorie restriction has produced a doubling of the life span. The trade off is that calorie restricted diets do not provide the energy necessary for athletic or physically strenuous lifestyles.

How Will Reduced Calories Affect You?

      Have you ever done a fast or gone without food for several days. Individuals respond differently and if you have never had the experience, you might consider doing so just to understand your physical and mental response. If you add lack of food to a panic situation, the results could be more challenging. If you remove some of the unknowns beforehand, you can reduce your future panic level.

      After one misses a meal or two, the blood sugar drops. How this affects an individual can vary from minimal effects to severe. Some individuals become irritable, confused, irrational and prone to poor judgment when their blood sugar drops. Some make mistakes or have accidents. Some become abusive, cranky and combative. Whether the response is severe or nearly non-existent, stress makes it worse. Prolonged semi-starvation produces significant increases in depression, hysteria and hypochondria.

      After a few days of food deprivation, food becomes a compulsion. Individuals fantasize about food, think about it constantly to the exclusion of all else. In the right environment, they will fight over food without thinking or hesitation. The sex drive is reduced and becomes virtually non-existent. Interest in physical activity is also quickly diminished.

      The research has shown that mental function is not generally impaired except that thinking might be a bit slower. Vision is unaffected as long as there is no critical deficiency of vitamin A or other vision dependent nutrients. Hearing, however, is heightened and there is a lowered tolerance for noise.

      In a very short time, physical weakness becomes noticeable and becomes progressively worse. This is partly because of the general lack of calories to perform work or physical activity, and partly because of the progressive loss of muscle tissue as the body catabolizes its protein for energy.