I was in AK afew years ago and shot a caribou, then went to Homer and did some fishing. The fisherman in Holmer told me that you can starve to death eating caribou meat as there is no nutritiuonal value in caribou meat. So we had to catch more fish to offset the bou meat as I would hate to starve with a full stomach of bou meat. This fisherman (fish salesman) may have been pulling my leg. But just in case I always eat halibut with my caribou to be on the safe side. Any truth to the caribou starvation syndrome?

I've heard the same of rabbits, there is virtually no fat on most rabbits. Therefore indigenous peoples were/are known to eat the entrails also which are rich in fat. I remember reading Sayeeds account of how to cook rabbit Bedoin style in the dirt beside a campfire, interesting. I think it also explains the craving for fat that we all have built into us. Fat and salt are our two natural cravings. Sugar apparently isn't considered an actual craving but is caused by fluctuating insulin levels.

the chef

hey I got some good swamp land for sale in the Sahara

quote:

Originally posted by JohnnyB:
....This fisherman (fish salesman) may have been pulling my leg....

Gee, ya think??

If you get the chance to see the movie or read the book "Never Cry Wolf", you will get the same spiel about fat being only in the intestines of mice. Very lean meat: venison, rabbits, etc. has very little fat and a diet of lean meat will cause you to lose weight. See Adkin's diet. Humans must have a little fat to maintain weight and to stay warm in cold climates. Fish, such as halibut and salmon have oils (Omega 3 fatty oils) in the meat itself. There is even more fat in the skin of these fish which is why bears will often just eat the intestines and skin of salmon and leave the rest for gulls and ravens.

Bottom line - some fat is good, eating lean meat (minus a bunch of starches) will lead to weight loss.

This is a variation on what I have been told by a few people. They have said that caribou meat has little nutritional value since their diet consists entirely of lichens(false...lichens are a major part of the diet in the winter, minor part at other times).

I eat a lot of caribou....meat is meat. Meat is almost totally protein! Caribou can be low fat, but not always. If you shot a big bull early in September he may have 1 1/2" of rump fat, fat on the sternum and mesintary(sp?) fat that is unreal(that is the fat around the intestines, kidneys, etc.). I cooked some ribs last week in a crock pot and needed to laddle the fat off the top so that my wife would eat it.

The Adkins diet did not limit the amount of fat, just carbohydrates. On that diet you could eat pork rinds and the greasiest deep fried(no breading!)meat imaginable and you were fine.

Fat and protein in cold weather is essential. They are calories that take longer to process so they stay with you longer that straight carbs(you don't get the spike and fall off in blood sugar like with simple carbs).

pd

Caribou meat is awesome when they are in velvet.The dog wont eat it when they are in rut.I shot some plump caribou once but it was prerut thank goodness.There have been reports of people starving that got stranded and had only caribou.I have had some caribou that was some of the best meat I ever ate and some that the dog would not eat the scraps from.

Most wild animals have only external marbling. This means there fat is on top of the meat and not inside the muscle tissue like beef. Next time you look at a NY steak look at the amount of fat inside the red tissue. Next time you skin a caribou or deer notice the fat is on top. Most people discard this fat and this is why the wild meat is so lean. It is alo the cause of why wild meat is so dry after being cooked past the "medium" stage.

If you ate nothing but broccoli, you would eventually die of malnutrition. Does this mean that broccoli has no nutritional value?

Caribou meat is superb, if taken pre- or post-rut. (Actually, cow caribou are fine during the rut, it's the bulls that are inedible then.) It is generally pretty lean, and requires other foods to go with it to balance the diet -- if you're a human or other omnivore. Several thousand wolves seem to be doing pretty well on a pretty-much-meat-only diet. (Farley Mowat was a fraud -- ask the Canadians.)

While eating caribou and halibut together may tickle your palate -- it's hardly necessary .

Gotta love gooogle. Quoted from this web site

The only essential nutrient which caribou meat lacks is vitamin D. Caribou meat is low in fat: 1 g fat per 100 g portion (cooked). The equivalent value for beef is 23, for veal 12, for chicken 13, for pork 45, and for lamb, 28.If you are interested in protein, the equivalencies per 100 g are: caribou 38, beef 17, veal 19, chicken 20, pork 12, and lamb, 16.

Interesting post. If it's true that there is only one gram of fat/100 grams of caribou meat this could cause some problems for a person on a caribou meat only diet.

It's a bit tough to find the definitive human daily fat requirements.

Most sites suggest a minimum of 20% of your calories should be from fat. 1 gram of fat is 9 calories. So an active man requiring 3000 calories day should have at least 600 calories from fat and as 9 goes into 600 about 67 times this means about 67 grams of fat/day.

67grams of fat would reqire 6700 grams of caribou meat (if the 1 gram/100 gram proportion is correct) or 14.75 pounds. Seems like a bit much even for me. The over 4000grams of protein in that much caribou meat would be excessive even for Arnold and the balance of protein to fat does seem way out.

Fortunately in a survival situation you can eat more than just the meat.

You Could:

1) Crack the bones and eat the bone marrow or boil the cracked bones for soup stock.
2) Eat Organ meat (including brain) which should have a higher percentage of fat.
3) The Inuit feast on parts of the misentery which may be fat rich
4) carefully use and preserve the fat present outside the meat.

and 5: Carry butter or lard in your survival kit

In 1985 I traveled through the far North of Saskatchewan by skidoo. The Dene trappers always had a big supply of dry caribou meat on a rack over the wood stove. It was traditional to coat a piece with lard before eating. Of course I found this somewhat revolting but as usual it appears they knew what they were doing.

Good info to have. Thank-You

Hence the typical Alaska Native traditional practice of dipping dried meat/dried fish in seal oil or ooligan oil before eating it. It may sound revolting to modern Western palates, but try explaining the origins of butter to a traditional Inupiat or Athapaskan...