Posted on 12/31/2015 4:08:46 PM PST by BenLurkin
The U.S. Army Institute of Environmental Medicine is looking for volunteers (PDF) to eat military food rations for 21 consecutive days for a study of the impact of Meals, Ready-to-Eat, or MREs, on gut health. Researchers want to learn how MREs influence the millions of bacteria in troops' digestive systems.
"Interactions between the millions of bacteria living in our gut and what we eat is a very important factor in gut health, but we don't know how MRE foods interact with those bacteria to impact gut health," Holly McClung, a research dietitian working on the project, said on the Army's website. "Ultimately, discovering how eating MREs influences gut bacteria and gut health will help our efforts to continually improve the MRE."
Much like on the battlefield, one of the main obstacles in the study is finding people to commit to a steady diet of ready-to-eat meals. MREs are generally regarded as tasteless, if not bad, which is perhaps understandable considering the wide battery of requirements they must meet to guarantee shelf life and meet strict nutritional benchmarks.
MREs must be capable of withstanding parachute drops from 1,250 feet, and the packaging is required to maintain a minimum shelf life of 3.5 years at 80 degrees Fahrenheit or nine months at 100 degrees.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Cannibalism, probably. Don’t ask what the mystery meat on the spit over the fire is.
If you get the ones you are more apt to like, they are not bad at all. i would not want to live on them forever, but they are not bad.
Reminder to buy talcum powder.
I think WKRP were flying domesticated turkeys ;-)
-JT
I think you’re right.
ohthehumanity...
-JT
Absent additional fiber, bricks come to mind. I mean, real bricks.
Eat MREs for 21 days = Don’t crap for 30!
ping
Do they still have cornflake bars?
Winner, winner, MRE chicken dinner.
The wild ones sure can fly.They roost in the oak trees in our woods.
My husband’s Dad used to hunt them, and husband says that they are excellent eats - he says they’re all dark meat!
-JT
MREs can’t be worse than ramen noodles.
As a devotee of Ramen Noodles when I’m lazy, I suggest that you throw a raw egg in, stir it around, add some minced garlic and pepper flakes - maybe even some ginger - and let it cook until the egg is done and all thread-y in the soup.
Ramen noodles are one of those ‘survival’ foods that can be goofed-up to be really satisfying :-)
-JT
Let Congress try it first or Moochelle. They’ve earned the honor, ya think?
Can’t get enough volunteers in the military???
Ha, ha! Actually, I kind of like ramen noodles now and then. Don’t know what’s in those little flavor packets, and it’s likely better not to know!
I usually pitch the little packets, and use my own stuff for flavoring. Experiment! It’s not like they cost much to waste ;-)
-JT
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.