Carbohydrates

Hi
The only wild-forage carbohydrate with which I am familiar are bullrush roots (aka cattails). I'd love to launch into the Québec forest and survive on a wild foraging diet, but I hesitate due to a perceived lack of carbs. Might you have any suggestions or substitutions?
Thank you
Linnéa

Fruits and berries can be good sources of carbohydrates. In my area, rye is a high carbohydrate food that is easy to gather in large quantities.

I eat a paleo-informed diet, so in my own life, I consider carbohydrates to be optional.

Carbs are not essential. I have been on a very low-carb diet for three years to control my blood sugar (which it does beautifully) and, more to the point of your plan, many long-distance and endurance athletes use this ketogenic diet to keep their energy supply steady through prolonged exertion. The top researchers in the field are Phinney and Volek, and their book "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance" might be relevant to your plan. You would, however, need to have a plan for obtaining protein and fat.

I'm on a low-carb diet too, but if I was trying to survive on what I could forage I'm pretty sure I'd go hungry if I turned down all available sources of carbs. Fat isnt' easy to find unless you hunt or fish.

I'm not familiar with what is available to forage in your region, but I'd be looking for nuts, fruits, seeds, chestnuts, that kind of thing.

Take the climate zone into account!
Diet for living is an intermediate between what is available and the body's reaction.

We are made for quick carbs like fruits, but only when we were living in some tropics full of fruits all year long.
+ animal products.

Other carbs came later on in man's history, to adapt going north, going cold.
Grains are ideal for keeping.

Then also, animal products go up when you go colder.
You cannot make any profit of what is food for reindeers.
So they eat it, and you eat the deer.

So, how can you live on forage only appart from little time and your own body reserve?

After foraging for 18 years I have come to the conclusion that primitive humans had to eat animals in order to survive in northern regions. This was not an easy realization to make for a hardcore vegan (at the time).
While wild greens and fruits are extremely nutritious, 95% of them are low in calories. And if they have calories (berries and nuts) they are in only season for a short amount of time and there is not enough of them to go around.
In the Pacific Northwest where I live, you'd have to eat insects at the very least if you wanted to survive the winter. The other alternative would be to gather your things and migrate south.
Just my 2 cents...

Anywhere oaks grow, the acorn has been and can once again be a major player in providing carbs......

Sergei, you are so right. Sources of fat and protein have been prized through all cultures for millennia, and have been necessary for survival to live outside of tropical zones.
I'm curious: you say that you realized this even though you were a hardcore vegan. Do you eat meat now? Would love to know more about your current diet.

Heather Ward wrote:Sergei, you are so right. Sources of fat and protein have been prized through all cultures for millennia, and have been necessary for survival to live outside of tropical zones.
I'm curious: you say that you realized this even though you were a hardcore vegan. Do you eat meat now? Would love to know more about your current diet.

It's true I'm no longer vegan. I eat eggs and meat in addition to lots and lots of fresh fruits and veggies. And I've been experimenting with bug eating for the last five years, though to be honest, they are still hard to swallow. I'm actually working on a new project at the moment where I will be going in depth about my diet in a documentary called "I Want Abs." Here's the Kickstarter page if you're curious: webpage
I also plan to write a serious blog post about this in the coming months. I haven't written to much about it yet because I've been formulating an opinion about it for the last few years.

Sergei, I am truly impressed. I do think that insects are probably the greenest form of meat that there is, and many cultures eat and enjoy them, but I can't bring myself to try. Just can't seem to do it(knowingly. I'm sure that I've eaten a number of them unknowingly.) What did you try first, and what are you eating now? I scoop up some squash bugs for my chickens, so I guess I'm a secondary consumer to a small degree. I will be quite fascinated to see what you do with this. Keep us posted!
Has anyone else tried entomophagy?