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> The human body cannot live on carbs alone for five months Is this true?

by trgv 9y ago

danielvf 9y ago
It’s correct. For a long time diet was the limiting factor on the length of see voyages. Terrible things happen to you if you don’t get Vitamin C for example. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scurvy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scurvy
defen 9y ago
Lysine and threonine (essential amino acids) would be a problem if you were only eating oats, rice, and pasta (assuming it's made from wheat)
astura 9y ago
The rest of the sentence explains it further, >there are eight amino acids from protein and fats (11 for dogs) that the body cannot synthesize, without which you will die in a couple of months. Those are called essential amino acids, and they are indeed essential for life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid As far as I know though they are just from protein, not from both protein and fat.
aaron695 9y ago
I also question this. Wouldn't a small bottle of the correct vitamins allow you to live healthy and for very long periods on carbs? The real poor live on rice and very little else for years. Surly carbs and vitamins pills are enough?
- scott_karana 9y ago
  Rice and beans is a common staple of some poorer diets; it's much more balanced than just rice.
- astura 9y ago
  Which is why the author followed it up with "I’ll assume they also had some Centrum Silver and canned sardines on board that they didn’t talk about that kept them from dying." Centrum Silver is a brand of multivitamin. Sardines, being an animal product, is what's called a "complete protein" - one that contains all essential amino acids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_protein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_protein Some plants are complete proteins as well, such as soybeans. To clarify though, amino acids are not vitamins though, they are a component of protein.
  - aaron695 9y ago
    OK. But I don't see the issue. I'm sure they also had hygiene products and things as well. I don't think it's unusual to not mention them. You only need these things in trace amounts. Anyway I think any non vegetarian would pack canned or dried meat. I see the issue with the dogs but they bought dog food and fed human food to the dogs (Why they used a whole years worth) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/28/rescued-women-sailors-not-properly-prepared-hawaii-tahiti https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/28/rescued-wome...
pvaldes 9y ago
I'll assume that they had fished also. if you find yourself in similar troubles remember that green algae growing in the ship are also vegetables. I ate Ulva and Enteromorpha and both make a passable salad if taken from a non contaminated source of water, cleaned of sand and debris, and boiled.

> The human body cannot live on carbs alone for five months Is this true?

by trgv 9y ago

> The human body cannot live on carbs alone for five months Is this true?

It’s correct. For a long time diet was the limiting factor on the length of see voyages. Terrible things happen to you if you don’t get Vitamin C for example. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scurvy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scurvy

defen 9y ago

Lysine and threonine (essential amino acids) would be a problem if you were only eating oats, rice, and pasta (assuming it's made from wheat)

astura 9y ago

The rest of the sentence explains it further, >there are eight amino acids from protein and fats (11 for dogs) that the body cannot synthesize, without which you will die in a couple of months. Those are called essential amino acids, and they are indeed essential for life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_amino_acid As far as I know though they are just from protein, not from both protein and fat.

aaron695 9y ago

I also question this. Wouldn't a small bottle of the correct vitamins allow you to live healthy and for very long periods on carbs? The real poor live on rice and very little else for years. Surly carbs and vitamins pills are enough?

scott_karana 9y ago
Rice and beans is a common staple of some poorer diets; it's much more balanced than just rice.
astura 9y ago
Which is why the author followed it up with "I’ll assume they also had some Centrum Silver and canned sardines on board that they didn’t talk about that kept them from dying." Centrum Silver is a brand of multivitamin. Sardines, being an animal product, is what's called a "complete protein" - one that contains all essential amino acids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_protein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_protein Some plants are complete proteins as well, such as soybeans. To clarify though, amino acids are not vitamins though, they are a component of protein.
- aaron695 9y ago
  OK. But I don't see the issue. I'm sure they also had hygiene products and things as well. I don't think it's unusual to not mention them. You only need these things in trace amounts. Anyway I think any non vegetarian would pack canned or dried meat. I see the issue with the dogs but they bought dog food and fed human food to the dogs (Why they used a whole years worth) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/28/rescued-women-sailors-not-properly-prepared-hawaii-tahiti https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/28/rescued-wome...

pvaldes 9y ago

I'll assume that they had fished also. if you find yourself in similar troubles remember that green algae growing in the ship are also vegetables. I ate Ulva and Enteromorpha and both make a passable salad if taken from a non contaminated source of water, cleaned of sand and debris, and boiled.