Extra-Dietary Nutrition & Supplementation (Vitamins)

[dudeijuststarted]

I definitely did some damage out there. Had gotten sober about a year prior and developed a sugar addiction which was greatly exacerbated by the trail, beat my thyroid up by the time I got home. I have other friends that were much more disciplined who's guts are were still wrecked for a year or two afterwards. I'd definitely recommend a multivitamin (Centrum) and a probiotic (even if its just a kombucha or greek yogurt when you hit town.) If you are sane and responsible and follow basic nutrition guidelines (go see a nutritionist and tell them what you're burning daily calorie-wise!) you will turn out fine. Try to avoid dollar store foods as much as possible in your plan. Also check out "Green Vibrance" and the like. You can bounce-box it or buy the packets and get some phytonutrients/probiotics while out there in the woods.

[Siestita]

Vitamin shortages may not afflict backpackers, but getting enough protein along the trail to replace heavily used muscle tissue could be problematical for some. The original poster lists beef jerky as one of his stable trail foods. But, according to nutrition labels, some popular forms of jerky consist mostly of fat rather than protein. Also, if you calculate the amount of protein that your body needs while hiking (perhaps 60 grams or more) and subsequently try to obtain that from jerky alone you could develop distaste for the stuff.

Each ounce of the most promising jerky available in my local supermarket contains 10 grams of protein. The prospect of eating six ounces of jerky every day does not appeal to me. So, instead of carrying jerky, in recent years I've taken some foil packets of tuna, chicken, or salmon on trips. In combination with nuts and a little cheese, those packets have provided me with protein. But, because their contents contain substantial amounts of water, the foil packets are heavy. In other words, they are not as "nutrition dense" or ultralight as some other foods.

I'm starting to experiment with using two other protein sources, ones that Andrew Skurka recommends on his web site. Twenty of the 28 grams in an ounce of whey powder are protein. I have obtained acceptable results here at home mixing whey powder with breakfast cereal and NIDO powdered whole milk. And, I like using dehydrated refried beans in a Skurka recipie that also includes rice, cheese, and Fritos.