What is the most calorie dense food in the world?

Fat is 9 cals per gram
Protein is 4 cals per gram
Carb is 4 cals per gram
Alcohol is 7 cals per gram

From this info, it would seem that a diet of purely alcohol and fat would be the most calorie/weight efficient.
However, your body runs on carbs. Your brain runs on carbs. Try to feed it fat and alcohol and it will not be happy.
Yes, through gluconeogenesis the body can convert other macronutrients into fuel, but this process uses carbohydrates. And just because your body CAN do something doesn't mean it'll be working very well.

I take it this is regarding trying to pack the most calorie dense foods for hiking?
 
dawsonbob said:
Wow, Bushy, some days you just can't win, no matter how much you meant to help.
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Did not mean bushman5 specifically:foot:. In general see a lot of nutrition mistakes being made in the outdoors and everywhere else for that matter.

I have nothing but love for my fellow outdoorsmen:D
 
Sunbird said:
Did not mean bushman5 specifically:foot:. In general see a lot of nutrition mistakes being made in the outdoors and everywhere else for that matter.

I have nothing but love for my fellow outdoorsmen:D
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I agree; a lot of nutrition mistakes are made, and lord knows, I've made my share.:D As Bushy pointed out in a later post, some labels are really confusing.

I'll just stick to bacon cheese rolls and peanut butter cups. They may have no true nutritional value, but they're yummy.:D
 
I found some 1970-80's survival packs at work. They contained a olive drab foil pack (Armed Forces?) about 1X2X4" and the label said it contained 3500 calories. I have no idea what was inside the pack, but the label said to break off a small piece and chew it.

BB
 
beef is right, pure fat is the highest calorie dense food. so lard, butter, oil, all the same pretty much. some people can survive on little to no carbs like the inuit but im not sure how they dont go through a mind bending ketosis.
 
I got you beat boys........
pork-brains-in-milk-gravy-3500mg-ch.jpg

yyyyyuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmm
 
wyattT said:
beef is right, pure fat is the highest calorie dense food. so lard, butter, oil, all the same pretty much. some people can survive on little to no carbs like the inuit but im not sure how they dont go through a mind bending ketosis.
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I'd say that that of their ancestors, those who were able to deal with a zero carb high fat diet survived. Those that couldn't cope with it just died! Thus the Inuit remaining have no problems with it :)

I know you're not suggesting this, but when I hear people say "The Inuit can survive without carbs so I can too" they're missing the whole survival of the fittest within a specific environment issue.

Hunting/ Primitive lifestyle while undergoing ketosis? I couldn't manage it. Grumpy, fine motor skills fail, no concentration. Nu uh.
 
Sunbird said:
Did not mean bushman5 specifically:foot:. In general see a lot of nutrition mistakes being made in the outdoors and everywhere else for that matter.

I have nothing but love for my fellow outdoorsmen:D
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we're good man....i made a comment about labeling on food a few posts back!

:D:D:D
 
Energy dense food that is quite palatable? I'd say chocolate! Basically chocolate is fat + sugar. For hiking mix nuts, raisins & chocolate and you have a very energy dense trail mix that can keep you going.
 
Fat is 9 cals per gram
Protein is 4 cals per gram
Carb is 4 cals per gram
Alcohol is 7 cals per gram
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Spot on. If you want the most cals, straight fat is the way to go.
 
brain matter is almost exclusively fat, that's why you're supposed to eat the brains and eyeballs along with the meat of a rabbit and other varmint-to prevent protein poisoning from lack of fat intake. Easiest way to do it is crack them on the head real well with a solid stick and drink the cranial fluid out the nose.
 
hollowdweller said:
I've been on a vegetarian diet since first of the year trying to lose some weight and I can't tell you how good that looks:o:rolleyes:
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I feel for you- there is no amount of ahem.... to get me to go veggie (we didn't survive a 10 000 year ice age by eating the wooly carrot:p

sodak said:
My sympathies. I do this almost every Lent and it's a real adjustment. I know, I know it's good for you, and there are lots of great veggie dishes to make and eat, but still....

Sometimes, you just gotta have meat! :D
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:thumbup:


PayetteRucker said:
MRE Pound Cake, lol... I use lefse, Norwegian potato flatbread made from unprocessed goat's milk, riced potatoes, and malted barley wheat. I don't know it's calorie/fat content but it's quite alot.
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I've never heard of lefse that way before- sounds good- especially with margarine and sugar! My mom had a boyfriend who would put ketchup on it:barf:

savagesicslayer said:
I got you beat boys........
pork-brains-in-milk-gravy-3500mg-ch.jpg

yyyyyuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmm
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I actually did retch at that one when showing it to my wife, that is just nasty. How can you call milk in brains gravy?!?! And I only noticed what it was made of after Juli pointed it out to me, I was fixated on the 1100% cholesterol, heart attack in a can.
 
nemoaz said:
Spot on. If you want the most cals, straight fat is the way to go.
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yes, the difference is not all of those calories are instantly processible. Much fat isn't metabolised instantly and goes through your system before you start to starve and your body begins to consume itself...
 
pitdog said:
Useless fact : Polar bears need 18,000 calories a day from fat just to survive !!!
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My ex-girlfriend should be making out ok then. :D I thought she was over-doing it. She was setting me back a small fortune. On a serious note, I have subsisted on peanut butter for much of my time on this earth. It is calorie packed perfection. A jar of Skippy and a spoon ( and some water to prevent choking ) is all you need to survive. -DT
 
If you want something that tastes great while packing a lot of calories, crack open a jar of Nutella.
 
PayetteRucker said:
yes, the difference is not all of those calories are instantly processible. Much fat isn't metabolised instantly and goes through your system before you start to starve and your body begins to consume itself...
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This is an interesting point as is the ketosis arguments, which I find fascinating. First, what do you mean by goes through your system? Universally, most hetertrophic animals are designed to be extremely efficient at assimilating fat that is ingested. For mammals, fats are usually digested and assimilated with an efficiency of about 90-95% of intake. This is why it takes you 3 days to have a poop after eating spare ribs whereas wheat bran cereal can go through your system in 4 h.

At the same time, metabolically, the biochemical machinery for fat utilization and the efficiency at which energy is liberated varies depending on the nutritional balance of the animal. The reason why carb-free diets work in terms of people losing weight is because in the absence of carbs the body must utilize less efficient biochemical routes (somebody already brought up the term gluconeogenesis) to process the fat. This inefficient process is used so that the body can supply the brain with ketone bodies and glucose synthesized from glycerol (a component of neutral lipids) and/or breakdown of certain amino acids.

The caloric value of fat when utilized for glucogenesis is much less than its caloric value when utilized under conditions when the body has adequate carbohydrate supplies to meet its daily needs. So all said and done, those folks recommending the chocolate or Fat plus a small amount of sugar are also correct in terms of delineating a high energy diet if you consider this as a long term diet choice. Mary Poppins said it best - 'A spoonful of sugar makes the triglycerols go down' (you should be singing the song in your head as you are reading this)....Or it went something like that to my recollection.
 
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