Caving food size vs. energy

Nigelh said:
Flapjacks are very energy dense and offer a good balance of instant release energy in the form of sugar and a longer and slower release of energy through the oats. Wrapped tightly they should survive a cave trip. Maybe MatthewJC will pop along in a bit and share his 1000 calorie recipe...
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The late venerable Jim Bradshaw of KURG used to call this his "Survival Cake".
 
A block of Hartleys Strawberry Jelly contains 1258kJ per 100g and come in 135g packs. That's one of my favourite caving snacks. It survives fine but best stored in an additional sandwich bag incase the packaging does split.
 
I don't really like Mars bars that much so tend to go for snickers, or something flapjack based like a cereal bar, I have often taken pepperami too. Personally I swear by orange lucozade, have a few swigs before starting prusikking for an energy boost.

As mentioned above, Kendal mint cake is awsome and they do a lovely liquorice flavour one too. When I started caving I used to take a bar of mint cake underground and share it out with everyone but I don't do that anymore! It started to hurt my teeth and nobody returned the favour so I realised being selfish was the way forward with food underground!

If I have time to plan ahead and not just stopping at the garage on the way, I take dried fruit mixed with nuts. Apricots, mango and pineapple squashes down quite small. I use good quality zip lock bags, cram whatever I fancy in them and then squash all the air out  ;D
 
CatM said:
If it's purely energy density you're after, give Kendal Mintcake a try. In terms of calories, online sources seem to vary wildly from ~320-600 kcal/100 g (mostly around 360, but they could all just be copying each other!).
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Beware - unlike many of the choccy bars, it doesn't have a waterproof wrapper. I realised my companion in front of me had brought Kendal Mint Cake with him when the stream I was crawling through developed a strong scent of mint.
 
3K of jelly babies and I'm anybody's  ;D

I know the guy who just finished the round the word run  :clap2:, making the new record  :clap2:, unsupported  :clap2:, and on a longer route than the previous record :clap2:.  Anyway, Ill ask and see what he recons powered him through his daily marathon and a half.

Personally I quite like the peanut bars held together with toffee. No idea what the numbers are though.
 
John Cooper said:
>I was recently told this story by Fred Davies. He said it was compressed in a book binding press and was the food they used on the >original Daren Cilau breakthrough when they blasted the constriction at the end of the entrance crawl.

Yes, those are the details I'd forgotten. Fred and Mike Boon. Is the Daren rescue kit still above the door at Whitewalls?

Graham
 
JasonC said:
give me a Crunchie any day....
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Have you noticed that when a Crunchie has done several trips, the inside dissolves and then settles again so you bite into a hollow chocolate shell with a skin of sugar on the inside?
 
You need to be careful not to intake too much simple carbohydrates (sugars)

Many years ago I made the mistake of going walking in North Wales with a packet of fruity dextrose tablets in my trouser pocket. These were just like sweets, and I lack self control. It wasn't long before I was hyperglycemic and seriously struggling to keep walking. If I'd been on an SRT trip, I'd have never got up a rope in that state.
 
It is quite possible you do Ian, a quick look at the Diabetes.uk  site says

Diabetes is a common life-long health condition. There are 3.2 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK and an estimated 630,000 people who have the condition, but don?t know it.

 
Undiagnosed diabetes shouldn't cause much of a problem in the short term - some people report a reduction in energy and stamina in the otherwise 'asymptomatic' period before diagnosis. Obviously, in the long term, it is better to be diagnosed and treated to reduce the risks of complications. People on insulin and some oral agents will be prone to hypoglycaemia and should ensure they carry a supply of glucose or the equivalent. I have caved in the past with several diabetics (some on insulin and some not) without problems though all were aware of the symptoms of impending hypoglycaemia and took glucose appropriately. The problems come with people who don't have symptoms (or fail to recognise the symptoms) of hypoglycaemia - caving is probably not the best activity for people like this!

Very long trips (especially if you are delayed unexpectedly eg by flooding) pose particular risks.
 
martinr said:
ianball11 said:
Does anyone go caving with a diabetic?
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Yes, but I've never managed to eat a whole one
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:lol:

Seriously though (and I confess I've not read every contribution above, so someone may already have made this point) the way the food delivers the energy is quite important. Relying on simple sugars can actually backfire; they cause a sudden increase in blood sugar level which may trigger over-production of hormones which remove sugar from the blood, so the blood sugar level can fall below what it was before ingesting the sugars. This is not what you want!

Eating foods rich in more complex carbs (which first need to be digested, thus smoothing out energy delivery) has much to be said for it. If you must rely on simple sugars - eat them little & often rather than stuffing them down in one go.

I'm quite sure that the original poster is very familiar with this! I only add it in case it's of interest to other readers.
 
Unless you are a diabetic near to death in a well known Northern caving establishment! A slice of Mars bar saved a life and a well known but sadly no longer with us caver.

I'd still be interested in the pork pie v chocolate bar numbers.

AT
 
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