Gut Preparation - Freeze Dried Food

[mylsuhat]

Anyone here do anything to fend off the "Mountain House Sh1ts?"


I use MH as an example but after days of eating Peak it's the same thing, my gut isn't used to eating that kind of stuff.

Not sure of it's added sodium levels, some sort of preservative, etc but my backcountry bathroom breaks get sloppier and sloppier as the week goes on.


I guess I could start eating one or two a week leading up to the trip.

Any tips are welcomed lol

 

[Coach Chris]

Haven't had that problem with Heather's Choice

 

[Poser]

I start taking a probiotic supplement at the beginning of the summer when I'll do a lot of backpacking and take it through November. I've noticed that it takes awhile for the body to adapt to it, so I wouldn't wait until a week before your trip or season. Since I drink apple cider vinegar a few times a day at home, I take a ACV gel capsule 2-3x a day, including first thing in the morning, while out on multiday trips.

Also try upping your pre biotics leading up to the trip or season. If you can do dairy, Kefir is great: Komboucha, Yogurt, cottage cheese can also help. I'd add that in weeks in advance, though, not days.

For the field, the best you can do practically in terms of an active culture is aged Gouda. You can also try some drink supplement mixes.

Your gut PH balance is going to change once your diet dramatically changes. No way around it. I've found that if I pregame it a good bit and then do what you can while out in the field as far as maintenance, I tend to be much better off than by taking no deliberate action. It definitely not the same as my normal day-to-day, but I've had past trips where I got wrecked and it sucked. I've since learn to avoid that.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Don't put extra hot sauce in the MH chili-mac. Or don't eat them at all. Those do not agree with me.

 

[TaperPin]

I’d just eat what you’re going to take at home and change it so it agrees with you. Are you pumping water through a filter or using purification tablets?

 

[taskswap]

Anyone here do anything to fend off the "Mountain House Sh1ts?"

Yeah. Don't buy Mountain House. They're notoriously full of soy and other fillers and that's what gives you the gas. It's not the fact that it's dehydrated. It's ingredients you're not used to eating so much of. Soy is the worst for many, but you'd be surprised how much powdered dairy is in a lot of these things too, to give them flavor, and if you don't drink a glass of whole milk at dinner every night, that can affect you more than you think.

I've had really good luck with Peak Refuel. Others here can comment on other brands, but they get my vote.

Be careful of your snacks too. You'd be surprised how much evening gas can come from your lunch. MH nukes me in about 30 minutes but too much dried fruit and Slim Jims at 2pm can be just as deadly, it just takes longer to happen. It was while researching all this that I discovered I need to be on a "low FODMAP" diet - I'm highly sensitive to certain fruits, especially. I don't really eat dried apples, craisins, and so on at home very much. But guess what most trail mixes are made out of? Turns out I'm sensitive to oats, too - which I almost never eat at home, but that's your base for most trail bars and snacks...

The absolute BEST thing you can do is either:

- Eat the same things you eat every day at home. Just find a way to make them portable.
- Start eating what you're going to eat on the trail at home, but a week before you leave so you can adjust to it.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Taskswap has a very good point. I OD'd on some dried apricots a few years ago on a trip one day. That was bad news. And I believe it was due to not eating them on a regular basis. I guess you need to avoid system shock is what I would do.

 

[Dos Perros]

Buy a little Nesco dehydrator and make your own meals. You can literally dehydrate your leftovers and eat the same food you normally eat when you go hunting.

 

[mylsuhat]

I’d just eat what you’re going to take at home and change it so it agrees with you. Are you pumping water through a filter or using purification tablets?

Water filter, I don't believe it's bacteria issues

 

[TaperPin]

Water filter, I don't believe it's bacteria issues

This will sound weird, but one year after getting huge bags of walnuts and pecans from Costco I started snacking on more nuts than usual - they’re healthy right. A few months later I was ready to go to a doctor to figure out why turds looked so funny and pale green - maybe it’s my pancreas or cancer or something else off webMD- I had no idea it was the nuts causing it. Lol

 

[CodeMonkey]

How often are you eating in the backcountry vs. in everyday life?

Reason I ask is that having the worst shits right after a big meal (some Peak refuels are over 2k calories per bag) if you haven't eaten anything for a while could be a sign of various GI issues.

That specific symptom (and some pain in my upper right side) led to my doc to finding I needed to have my gallbladder removed.

Doing much better now, but I still can't eat a bunch of calories at once so I snack throughout the day.

Currently I am so regular you can set your watch to it, even in the mountains.

I also did a food allergy panel a while back that explained why I should limit dairy. Sure enough, been feeling better since.

 

[Dave_]

Metamucil in the morning and evening. It makes you drink more water also.

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[Jfujan]

@mylsuhat I've been having the exact same issue even with the peak refuels and have wondered why also. Last season I lived off of pepto bismol pills. This year as others have mentioned I'm just dehydrating my own. Been dehydrating leftovers so it's not much work. I'm assuming this should fix it as it's the same things I always eat, which are typically whole foods.