[pct-l] Re: raw food diet, calorie requirements

Food preservation and storage is one. Stopping enzyme reactions are key to stopping food spoilage. So if
dehydrating neutralizes the"raw" benefit, even below 105 degrees (which extends the drying time and
therefore degrades oxidizing vitamins like C, and could prmote mold, etc. growth), I think it would be hard
to do a long hike raw. You'd be carrying lots of encapsulated water weight.

Destroying pathogens is another reason. While meats and dairy are the most quoted culprits for food
poisening, there are plenty of nasty bugs hanging out on vegetables. Any disease related to poor handling of
human waste can show up on fruits & vegs. Then nuts and grains are also subject to exposure to rodent and
insect byproducts during storage & shipping. Washing can only do so much - and you need clean water.
</paranoia>

Lastly eating raw could be hazardous to those long distance hikers who never wash their pots between meals.
These folks must have digestions of cast iron to be alive at all. I still remember watching someone make
vanilla pudding for dinner in the pan where they had made tuna & Lipton for lunch. Actually, it didn't taste
too bad.

Speaking of Jardine, I got the impression from reading his book and website that he has always had a lot of
health problems. He seems obsessive about germs. I on the other hand has eaten the damndest things abroad
(was that rat in Mexico?) and stayed healthy and happy. That included a dinner in Morocco that left everyone
else puking, etc.

Katt

Richard Winterstein wrote:

> Someone should acknowledge that there are
> some advantages to eating cooked food, besides the psychological comforts,
> which admittedly one could be weaned of as a hypertension patient loses the
> taste for salt or a vegetarian convert the taste for meat.  Of all the
> advantages I could name, probably the most important is that it makes it
> possible to eat certain foods which may otherwise be unpalatable, inedible,
> or difficult to digest.

* From the PCT-L |  Need help? http://www.backcountry.net/faq.html  *

==============================================================================
To:            "PCT-L" <pct-l-digest@backcountry.net>