Vitamins?
Posted by severalsmallducks@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 69 comments
My wife and I were talking over dinner about vitamins. I take some pretty generic multi-vitamins, and it got me thinking about longer term health in a crisis situation. While there are other more important things, I started considering expanding my preps, seeing how they can have a shelf life of \~15 years of they're stored properly.
Obviously, vitamins shouldn't be used as opposed to a varied, healthy diet. But in a situation of food insecurity and/or impaired variety, about $100 could buy a stash that could last about four years of taking one per day, which would help long term health and resilience.
What are your thoughts?
Signal_Brain_933@reddit
Absolutely. Top of the list in a major SHTF situation. If you have enough of them, they’d also make a great portable bartering unit too!
Hadaka--Jime@reddit
Look up what happens when you get scurvy. Simple vitamin c deficiency. Think it won't happen during SHTF?
Place yourself in that boat. Trading during SHTF won't happen but let's say it does. Here is your saved up $100,000 in bars. Your family is DYING from scurvy. Would you trade those bars for a bottle of vitamin c?
So just buy what you're going to need & use, & FORGET the dumb scam "gold & silver" delusion & buy, plant, or produce what you'll need.
churchillguitar@reddit
Yea, some multivitamins would be good, but you need to have a good balance in your diet for many vitamins to work well. For example, vitamin D doesn’t metabolize well without sufficient potassium and magnesium in your diet. So you may just be pissing it right back out. In which case, piss in the compost so your garden can use the nutrients, at least 🤣
KTeacherWhat@reddit
The times of year that I'm taking vitamin D do not line up with the times of year I wanna be pissing outside.
Emotional_Art_99@reddit
Bucket inside to catch and store, when outside dump it out on the compost or other designated spot ;)
Big-Growth-4674@reddit
Usually I think people are supposed to get get vitamins and essential minerals from food, sometimes I’ve taken a multi and just not to take too many. I think there’s better quality supplements and ways of doing things, like chelates. I use a vitamin c packet about once a day. Seems to be effective.
Food-Forest-Plants@reddit
Learn how to forage, vitamins are available everywhere. Start with dandelion, plantain or whatever grows in your neck of the woods. It's fun. Unless you live in a region with severe winters of course. But you may then preserve your weeds dry or brine them.
severalsmallducks@reddit (OP)
I live in a city in Sweden, meaning I not only have ways to go to the nearest wood, but we also got pretty harsh winters where foraging is not an option haha.
Food-Forest-Plants@reddit
Look for everything pine needles! There are a ton of videos what to do with pine needles, and you'll find it in any city park. I'm originally from Germany and the traditional winter vitamin C was Sauerkraut (I hated it!).
KTeacherWhat@reddit
My understanding is Sweden gets an abundance of dandelions though.
severalsmallducks@reddit (OP)
We do! And i get you, having the skills is probably absolutely viable.
KTeacherWhat@reddit
If you live somewhere with severe winters, you can still benefit from a lot of those. Plus, learn to identify your evergreens well, and you're set for winter.
JRHLowdown3@reddit
We have stinging nettle everywhere, plantain also.
Untrusted1@reddit
I’ve always wondered how good the OTC vitamins actually are. Or at least if the labels on the bottles aren’t taking the piss. I just have a hard time thinking that one of those little vitamins can give a person 100% of all those vitamins and minerals.
Chemical_Log_5936@reddit
Look at Life Extension 2 per day vitamins. They give over 10000% of the daily recommended value for some of the vitamins like Vitamin B.
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
The daily amounts for are measured in micrograms or milligrams depending on the vitamin, and the exact amounts of each are printed on the back. The vitamin total weight is usually over a gram.
Undeaded1@reddit
I often stress to people who stock pile rice and beans to keep a large rotating supply of vitamins on hand. Also a plan for some type of fat, as that is also a key ingredient to basic healthy survival. (I keep and use tuna in oil)
infospongue@reddit
Foraging.....
Nettle and pine needle tea. More labor intensive are acorns.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/health/nutrition/health-benefits-of-nettle-tea
https://www.tea-and-coffee.com/blog/pine-needle-tea-benefits
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/can-you-eat-acorns#nutrition
You could store dried garlic flakes. Taste, nutrition, medical use.
northernpanda@reddit
I believe this is a case of good being better than perfect.
Having a buffer supply of essential vitamins and minerals as part of a deep pantry rotation and to supplement your family in times of less, seems like a great idea.
I would suggest adding some electrolytes to this stash as well.
severalsmallducks@reddit (OP)
Sounds like a good idea, cheers.
Due-Succotash9722@reddit
They won’t replace food quality, calories, protein, fat, or actual variety, but in a longer disruption where your diet gets repetitive, they seem like a pretty cheap safety net.
I’d probably focus on a basic multivitamin first, then maybe vitamin D depending on your climate/lifestyle, and electrolytes before getting too fancy with a cabinet full of supplements. Also worth rotating them like food, because even if they don’t instantly become dangerous after the date, potency can drop over time.
Not the most exciting prep, but for the cost and space, it makes sense to me.
Hard_Luck7@reddit
I’m with you. In times of long-term crisis, when your diet is compromised, multivitamins can be very helpful. Also, some form of iron supplement can help prevent anemia, since access to meat would be difficult in almost any disaster scenario.
fenuxjde@reddit
When I was in school for nutrition, this topic came up often. You are absolutely right, that a healthy and varied diet is infinitely more important than supplements, as without quality whole foods your body wont be able to pull anything useful out of the mv. In a dire situation though, you could probably take one mv, broken in half, twice a day with food. That would be an optimal way to get some benefits and reduces many of the problems that come from mv when taken with poor diet.
UsernamesSuck33@reddit
Good to know. How important do you think it is that you break it in half in this situation? Is that just to hasten digestion while you actually have food in your stomach?
fenuxjde@reddit
Because studies pretty consistently show people excrete about 75% of the contents of a mv.
If you break it in half, you're gaining more from it, both in terms of how quickly your body can break it down, but also in how little lasses through.
Opheliattack@reddit
How does that work
50 divided by 2 = 25 -75%=6.25 per half
50-75%=12.5
joeberwalkie@reddit
I think you have to think of it more like the body can only absorb a certain amount of a vitamin at a time, so if you take the whole thing then 75% will go right through, where if you take half your body will still absorb the same amount each time, and less will pass through. at least thats how I understand it
CowsNeedFriendsToo@reddit
It’s due to surface area. It’s the same reason fancy bars use giant ice spheres for whisky instead of smaller ice cubes. The larger ice size melts slower.
Donexodus@reddit
No, it’s a lack of tranport enzymes and coenzymes
Donexodus@reddit
This
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
Yeah will a multivitamin you are taking a whole days worth in one meal, but you are also taking in an excess. Also water soluble vitamins absorb easily but the body can't store them, so it's best to have them with every meal.
fenuxjde@reddit
I'm really not sure what your math is mathing, but basically you absorb more taking a smaller vitamin more often than taking one large vitamin once per day.
Lancifer1979@reddit
I crush mine into fragments between two spoons. I figure more exposed surface area means easier breakdown. I mean, we’re supposed to chew our food before we swallow.
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
Multivitamins break apart in your stomach pretty quickly, they are powders held together by a water soluble binder.
KimBrrr1975@reddit
I prefer to know and understand the plants of my area and how to use them well. If I was trying to stock everything possible to avert random issues, I'd need a much bigger house. I've also seen vitamins after being in storage for a couple years, still sealed, and they are not something I'd want to take 😂
If the situation is such that I would need to survive in a bunker for 5 years, I'd give up before that point.
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
Always better to know how to obtain something yourself. It's like learning how to stitch vs knowing how to put a bandaid on, the bandaids are nice to have but you should know how to deal with not having them.
chi_lawyer@reddit
Reliance on a single strategy for critical micronutrients -- whether that strategy be foraging or multivitamins -- seems unduly risky. It's not an either/or situation.
KimBrrr1975@reddit
depends on where you live and your knowledge. Stuff is available even in deep winter to stave off things like vitamin c deficiency if you know what you are looking for. But I also live in a forest/wilderness, and can get those things out my backdoor (literally). Therefore, for me, it's not a worthwhile use of space to stock up on a ton of vitamins. I'm not planning for the end of the world, I plan for the things that actually happen where I live. Power and water outages from storms, and things like that.
AmosTali@reddit
Yeah, my normal multivitamin and other over the counter supplements are in my deep pantry rotation system. As are a plethora of OTC medications.
severalsmallducks@reddit (OP)
Same, I realized most OTC pain meds are pretty cheap to buy online, so we got a pretty decent stash.
kaydeetee86@reddit
Not a huge Amazon fan, but it’s been really helpful for prepping!
severalsmallducks@reddit (OP)
I barely use Amazon, use local online retailers!
canoegal4@reddit
Plant herbs
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
Full List of Herbs With the Most Vitamins and Minerals
canoegal4@reddit
Great list!
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
Yeah the ads suck though, would be nice to have them all in one table.
canoegal4@reddit
A local christian herbalist in my area made an entire book for people. But she doesn't put her things online and it's very very thick. It has a lot of that kind of information in it
Greasystools@reddit
Get some moringa seeds and grow them. They are the nutritional supplement powerhouse that everyone should grow. Vitamins are expensive and moringa is self replacing
Fheredin@reddit
Even with a modern diet you can't actually get all the nutrition you need from food. The soil most crops are grown on is quite depleted, and farmers rely more on Nitrogen fertilizers and irrigation than on soil quality, so the food the plants produce is nutrient-sparse.
Also, taking one a day is probably a very minimal. Quality supplements can be quite expensive, but the multivitamin I am currently taking is a 4X a day affair.
More_Dependent742@reddit
I am also in the contingent where I need more of some vitamins than are naturally occurring even in a varied diet (as told to me by my doctor). Selenium, D3 (even in summer, which is weird), and I need crazy amounts of magnesium if I don't want my varicose veins to cramp. And biotin for nails. I'd wager that some of it is booze-related, to be fully honest, but I don't know.
As others have mentioned, you're better off with taking less than 100% RDA, because everything over what your body needs, you pee out and it's gone. So in SHTF, this translates to taking half tablets at double-length intervals (say) and see how you go from there.
Even if you are not in the vitamin-taking contingent, you should absolutely have them for SHTF. When the WHO gets the word out that vitamin D seems to lower the effects of COVID, which they did, you take them at their word (I don't think "Big Vitamin D" is a thing, so it would be one hell of a weird conspiracy).
Oh, and side note: if it's looking like SHTF and not just Tuesday, save all that vitamin pee if you can. You're going to need to recycle it into your salad crops if you ever want to see those vitamins again! Also, free nitrogen. As a bare minimum, make it a household rule that all urination takes place exclusively on the compost heap.
shortstack-42@reddit
Multivitamins just aren’t necessary. I have a stash of both D3 and Mg because I have been diagnosed deficient and do need them daily. In a food deficit or ration scenario, a multivitamin MIGHT be helpful, but you’d most likely need far less boost than the average available dose. Just plan your pantry prep with nutrition as well as calories in mind. Why overspend and overcomplicate?
severalsmallducks@reddit (OP)
Idk a full year supply would cost me around $25 and not take much space at all. Of course it shouldn’t replace a varied diet, but seeing how vitamin deficiency can be an issue in everyday life a crisis situation is not going to make it better.
No_NewFriends_2021@reddit
I just think of back in the day issues like scurvy… vitamin c may be best. Vegetables and fruits may be hard to come by
Comfortable-Story-53@reddit
Don't forget potassium iodide.
b18bturboek9@reddit
I not only keep a good stock of vitamins but also whey protein/mass gainer. It's kind of a good meal replacement if times got tuff but it's also a high calorie mix with water or milk.
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
Protein mix degrades fast, I've even had an unopened container go bad before it expired.
symplton@reddit
I keep mine in the basement and it lasts me more time for sure! Variable temperatures are what hasten their demise, from my experience.
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
Not variable temp, but the more time spent at higher temps, and the higher the temp the faster it degrades.
fenuxjde@reddit
Protein powder is a very bad idea if you're starving, you'll actually die faster if you consume protein isolate calories over nothing. Like a lot faster, about 20%
Protein powder is good if you're working out and need macros. It is terrible for survival and meal replacement and why it even says so on the bottle.
b18bturboek9@reddit
I did not know that lol thanks for the heads up
bugabooandtwo@reddit
Some vitamins are a good idea...and they don't take up much space. And the best part....the mental game. Even if you only get a pithy amount like 5% absorption, just the act of taking one (like a sugar pill) helps you feel like you're doing all you can. Works especially well with kids, too.
Winter_Persimmon_110@reddit
Make sure you have a source of C. That's a big one. Don't need scurvy.
TroutDoors@reddit
Multivitamins are always a good thing to have on hand. In a crisis situation, they can supplement a limited diet for sure.
Paranormal_Lemon@reddit
If you get multivitamins get the coated ones. The B vitamins go off first and you can tell by the smell and color. I have some generic Centrim coated vitamins that are a couple years past expiration and when I break them open the color and smell is the same as when I bought them.
Mineral supplements last forever.
polyamy74@reddit
We keep an excess of Juice Plus+ and rotate through as we use them as part of our daily plan. I would think you could do the same with green and red powders used to supplement now and be available later. They are all just ground up freeze dried fruit and veg. Or better yet, if you have a freeze-dryer, make some yourself. Especially with fruit and veg you don't particularly like to eat but that are full of nutrients.
silasmoeckel@reddit
Regular and prenatal are in the long term preps. 6 Years worth on the prenatal 30 on the rest and heavy to account for degradation.
A lot of other OTC's like allergy meds. Stand alone vitamins C especially. It's just a bucket a year for my family of 5.
Tasty_Impress3016@reddit
They may degrade over time. They may not be as good as a whole varied diet. They are 10,000 times better than having nothing at all. In a crisis situation that is my criteria. I feel the same about stocking protein powder and fiber supplements, and oils, and dried eggs and potatoes, and a hundred other things. Having some is infinitely better than having none.
Miss_L_Worldwide@reddit
That's a really good idea and one I haven't seen discussed very often.
CyclingDutchie@reddit
I agree. I have a years worth of Multivitamines, exactly for this reason.