Surviving Antarctica

Antarctica is one the harshest environments on the planet.

What humans eat effects how well they cope with the environment.

The food store at Rothera Research Base

When people go out on expedition to Antarctica, they try to put on weight. The reason for this is that Antarctica is so cold that the body has to work way harder to keep itself warm and alive. It burns way more calories. There have been lots of scientific studies done on exactly how many calories are burned.

• Pulling a loaded sledge while skiing = more than 7000 calories per day 
• Travelling by skidoo = 3350 calories per day
• Working mainly inside buildings = 2750 calories per day

Now, that is a lot of calories that have to be eaten every day. And its not like you can just order several pizza's to go. This huge calorie requirement is something Scott and his part vastly underestimated when they undertook their journey to the south pole. They only estimated that they needed 4500 calories per day. But actually, that number was 3000 calories short of the real number! If they had made it back, they would have lost 25kg and have been emaciated.
More worryingly, in such an extreme environment, you do not just lose fat. Muscle mass also decreases as the body metabolises it to try and keep warm.

A block of Pemmican, and tins of pea flour
and Colmans mustard, taken with Scott to Antarctica.

But not enough calories wasn't the only thing you have to get right. Finding the right balance in macro nutrients is just as important. Scott thought that protein was the most important thing to eat, and the rations they took along with them consisted on pemmican (ground beef mixed with fat) and biscuits. However, nutritionists now know this wasn't the case. Fat is an important source of energy. It has twice the amount of calories than carbohydrate. It also provides important fatty acids to help the body move. It can also be stored in the body, which is why polar explorers put on weight before they go as well as working out to build muscle. The stored fat can be used as a fuel source. That is why fat can make up 60% of the diet of someone working outside in Antarctica.

Nowadays, food in Antarctica is a lot more balanced and varied. At bases and research stations, that have access to full kitchens and larders, and can make all sort of tasty meals from fresh bread to shepherds pie. But fresh food is still very difficult to come by. Because it takes several days, sometimes longer to get food from a county to Antarctica, fresh food like eggs and salad will go bad. Al the food that arrives needs to be frozen, tinned freeze dried or have a really long shelf life.

When out camping and away from the ships or bases, food becomes a little less varied. It will consist of a daily ration of dried, easy to cook food. Either you can eat it straight out of the packet, or you add boiling water to a freeze dried meal. These meals can be delicious, but become monotonous after a while, and are not quite the same as sitting down to eat a real dinner.