Does anyone have information regarding an exceptionally potent Vitiam or Energy Pill suitable for a PEK?
Thanks,
Al

A collector friend once showed me a WW2 survival kit. There were the remains of 60 year old tablets to keep the user awake for E&E. They were barbituates! High dose vitamens will merely make your urine yellow. The body takes in so much and discards the excess, or worse, becomes toxic from some or cannot absorb others. Energy is like those barbituates. Like a sugar rush, you are racing your engine on high RPMs with an empty gastank. Pack Fruitcake <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Benzedrine?

The only - legal - "pill" I can think of would be the STAY ALERT® fattigue chewing gum. It's basicly just a chewing gum where each bit contains 100mg of caffeine. It's got a NSN number BTW.

Thanks for your response. I am not really talking about bennies or anything else that serious; just something for energy that takes a lot less space than the 400+ calorie bars I have in my main pack.

Eating an orange perks me up.

Realistically, you can't really get much of a pick-me-up in something the size of a tablet, except maybe caffeine. And even that doesn't seem to work all that well. It prevents sleep sometimes, but doesn't really make you alert.

If you're talking about mental alertness, you might try DMAE from a health supplement store like GNC. It's used by us ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) folks when we need to pay attention. It's fish-based, and really does seem to work.

Sue

Amphetamines, like the aforementioned Benzedrine, reportedly do a hell of a job perking you up (no personal experience though <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />). However, I wouldn't want anyone going to jail because of the contents of their survival kit.

I thought that went without saying.

Sue

Thanks Susan, I appreciate knowing about the DMAE. What I am really loking for is quick ENERGY. Due to a medical condition, I run out of gas real fast.
Al

What about nicotine gum? Some of the EMS guys on nights or extended hours use this.

On 20/20 the had a segment on provigil (modafinil). They said the Army compared provigil and caffeine and found caffeine to be just as effective as provigil. I have a whole bunch of stay alert gum and am going to get some more. I don't like the cinnamon flavor, and it's a bit bitter. I wish they had spearamint flavor to counter my dragon breath as well.

Nursetim:

Thanks for your reply. Been out of the country for a while and just now checking the forum. I do have some Stay Alert Gum but have not tried it yet.

I am a fan of Emergen'C vitamin drink mix. I have been using this stuff for a few years as a supplement to my daily vitamins when I am working alot, sleeping little and especially when I am going to be cold and wet alot.

It works wonders, helps keep me healthy and provides more sustained energey than any other supplement I have tried. I can't take it within 3 hours of going to bed otherwise I won't get to sleep (I can drink a ton of coffee right up to bed time without the same problem...)

I don't leave home without it, I always have at least 2 packages per day I plan on being gone and a ready supply in my locker at work, truck kit and 14-day deployment bag.

And no, I am not affiliated with Alacer just a happy customer

Alan:

Where do you purchase it?

Al

Most CVS and GNC stores carry it

I finally found a really good answer to my original question; it is a product called Clif Shot energy gel. This natural performance enhancer comes in a 2.5" X 3.5" thin package that will easily fit in my PEK. This "goop" as the mountain climbers and pro bike riders call it, has all the ingredients that I am looking for and in a form that is perfect for my needs. You can check it out at clifshot.com.

Regards,

Al

Now THAT sounded like a hidden comercial, or?;)

If you are looking for maximum calories in a small space, it is hard to beat dark semi-sweet chocolate. It doesn't melt as readily as sweet chocolate yet has more calories, has a very long storage life, and is always palatable. Armed forces around the world often incorporate it into various emergency kits for good reason. It has more calories per ounce than the various goos that are sold for "quick energy" and a lot more pleasant to consume.

the best one i have heard of is to take a tub of chocolate
cake frosting
but if you can find it "romneys kendal mint cake" is my
favoritie..your not left with that "need a drink of water"
mouth that chocolate gives you...

I looked up the Emergen-C drink at http://www.yearstoyourhealth.com/supplements/vitamin_c/mixed_berry_vitamin_c.html and it looks quite good, actually. There are some vitamins, including several sources of Vit. C, plus some other vitamins, and some potassium, magnesium, calcium, etc. Fructose is the sweetener, and the flavorings are natural. They seem to come in 36-packet containers, at $.50/pkt from a random look online (I was here: http://www.yearstoyourhealth.com/supplements/vitamin_c/mixed_berry_vitamin_c.html )

The Clif Shots are rather expensive for what they are: brown rice syrup, with various flavors and various additives (mind you, none of them look like they're seriously bad news). But at a dollar per 100-calorie dose and a possible shelf life of only a year or so...

But if you don't mind shopping around at your local health food stores, there is something more reasonable: Pure Brown Rice Syrup.

Brown rice syrup is a sweetener derived by culturing cooked rice with enzymes (usually from dried barley sprouts) to break down the starches, then straining off the liquid and cooking it until the desired consistency is reached. The final product is roughly 50% soluble complex carbohydrates, 45% maltose, and 3% glucose. The glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream immediately, the maltose takes up to one and a half hours to be digested, and the complex carbohydrates take from two to three hours, providing a steady supply of energy. Rice syrup has a shelf life of about a year, and once opened, should be stored in a cool, dry place. (from Wikipedia)

A 21-oz bottle has approx 2600 calories, providing about 21 1-oz doses of 125-calories each. It also contains (per ounce): Sodium: 11mg; Potassium: 101mg; Carbohydratess: 32grams; Sugar: 20grams; plus small amounts of Calcium, Thiamine, Niacin, Folate, Magnesium, Riboflavin, Vitamins B-5 & B-6.

Sweet Dreams Organic Brown Rice Syrup, 21 oz for $5 (about $.25/1-oz dose) at ShopNatural http://www.shopnatural.com/Merchant2/mer...;Category_Code= (found through random Google search).

[BTW, Bjarte, here at ETS, products are frequently endorsed (or not), or simply put up for opinions or thoughts. This is usually regarded as entirely separate from blatant advertising from the source.]

Sue

Unless you are planning for LONG (months long?) survival situations, vitamins are pretty much unnecessary. For example, you don't get scurvy, beri beri, ricketts etc. for a really long time. Despite the bizillion claims out there that megavitamins are helpful or needful, you would have a hard time finding good enough research to support putting vitamins in a short-term survival kit. There are exceptions that arise with certain major medical conditions (Crohn's disease, for example) and medications that predispose some people to vitamin deficiencies. Probably best to discuss the issue with your doctor if you have a significant medical history or are taking prescription medications.

As far as energy pills go, I would ask "why?" Adrenaline works pretty good in the short term. For the longer term, sleep works equally well. In a survival situation, I would think you would be better off dealing with injuries, getting camp set up, and then settling down into a camping-style routine with lots of naps and relaxation. That's pretty much what they taught us in survival and SERE schools. The problem with go-pills is that they have significant potential for degrading your performance. The US military has some experience using go-pills in combat, but they are trying to sustain days-long performance for individuals who absolutely cannot take a nap. Even then, last I heard, Naval Aviation (the community of which I was a member) still refuses to use go-pills under any circumstances due to concerns about side effects and performance degradation. Anyone is welcome to correct me if I am wrong on that. So, that leaves you with caffeine pills which I think are pretty mediocre.