Nutritional Deficiencies in a Prolonged Food Crisis

Last week I posted a review of Cresson Kearny’s Maintaining Nutritional Adequacy during a Prolonged Food Crisis.  I strongly recommend printing a copy if you haven’t done so already. 

As you know, I started writing this blog for my children who want the essential information but lack the time to do the research themselves.  Research is something I enjoy; they are gifted in other areas like engineering and heavy labor. 

Anyway, one of the topics that piqued my curiosity first, and which I felt the kids really needed to know and which isn’t succinctly presented in the manual, concerns nutritional deficiencies that will occur when diets are limited and what can be done to prevent such issues.

Years ago I blogged on the essential vitamins and minerals and what happens when deficiencies occur.  (Review those articles for deficiency signs and symptoms as well as rich sources for these essential nutrients.)  But I don’t think there were any timelines for how quickly such issues could arise.  I’m curious about it.

If cells are empty, that information was not provided in the literature.  And the information contained herein is sourced only from the above-mentioned manual.  

The recommendations come from the US recommended daily allowance and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and the World Health Organization.

Nutritional Deficiencies in a Prolonged Food Crisis
	How soon?	US RDA	FAO/WHO	Infants	Children	Pregnant/lactating women	Minimum in a long-term disaster
Vit A[1]	Several months in a well-nourished population	3300 IU in men; 2664 IU in women	2475 IU	½ of the emergency dosage	½ of the emergency dosage	50% more than the emergency dosage	1815 IU for adults
Vit B1[2]			1.0 mg/2500 calories				1.0 mg/2500 calories
Vit B2[3]		1.4 mg/2600 calories	0.44 mg/1000 calories				1.4 mg/2600 calories
Vit B3	5-6 months if person is subsisting on untreated corn		17 mg/2600 calories				17 mg/2600 calories
Vit B6		2 mg					1.5 mg
Vit B9		400 µg				800 µg pregnancy 600 µg lactation	200 µg
Vit B12	Over 12 months
Vit C	1-6 months	45 mg	30 mg	Breast-fed infants will receive enough from mother’s milk.  Others need supplementation			15 mg
Vit D		<22 years, 400 IU	>6 years, 100 IU	400 IU	<6 years, 400 IU	400 IU	400 IU for children <7 years and pregnant women
Calcium	Unlikely to occur in adults within 1 year.	800 mg	400-500 mg	500-600 mg (not breast-fed)	1-9 years, 400-500 mg; 10-15 years, 600-700 mg; 16-19 years, 500-600 mg		400 mg
Magnesium	Rare	350 mg men; 300 mg women	200-300 mg				200-300 mg
Iron	Varies by individual	10-18 mg	10 mg (considered insufficient for vulnerable groups)				10 mg
Zinc		15 mg	5.5-22 mg, based on zinc content of diet				11 mg
Iodine	Several months to 1 year in a well-nourished person	100-150 µg, >7 years		1/8 adult dose	¼ adult dose
Potassium	Unlikely to occur	1.5-2.5 g					1.5 g

[1] If the vitamin A source is plant-based, triple the daily dosage.

[2] According to the authors, thiamin deficiency is not anticipated to be a concern in the US.

[3] It will be difficult to consume adequate amounts of riboflavin on a survival diet of grains and legumes.  The best source of riboflavin is milk.

 

 

Well, that little exercise of creating the above table took a couple of hours, but it was time well-spent.  I think we consume a fairly healthy diet here, so we should be heading into difficult times with adequate reservoirs of the essential vitamins and minerals.  Basic and expanded food storage and gardens should fill needs for vitamins A, B₉, and C as well as zinc.  Sun will satisfy vitamin D requirements.  I feel reassured about what we’ve got planned.  But that doesn’t mean I’m not buying some more vitamins on my next trip to the pharmacy.   

Links to related posts:

Maintaining Nutritional Adequacy during a Prolonged Food Crisis

Dietary Deficiency and Consequences--Vitamin B1
                                                                Vitamin B2
                                                                Vitamin B3
                                                                Vitamin B5, B6, B7
                                                                Vitamin B9
                                                                Vitamin B12
                                                                Vitamin C  
                                                                Vitamin D
                                                                Calcium  
                                                                Iodine  
                                                                Iron
                                                                Magnesium
                                                                Potassium  
                                                                Zinc