Is Spam the Perfect Food or What?

[Finn]

Can man live on Spam, alone. Well OK plus water and maybe a good multi-vitamin, and water?

A can of Spam for breakfast, lunch and dinner would provide
3240 calories (288gr/2592cal fat, 126gr/630cal protein)
10.5 gr salt.

While not the cheapest source for calories, Spam has the big advantage of being calorie dense, i.e. you can pack a lot in the trunk of the car.

So other than maybe getting constipated and having coronary artery disease is there any reason to think that Spam isn't the world's perfect food?

[Cool Hand]

You must be a fan of raging farts as well. Spam is not allowed in my home. I killed the last can that came in here with a single high powered shot to the heart.

[Doginit]

Not allowed in mine either...it was the farts that killed it.

I keep some in the store room for camping trips with my
son. Nothing like a thick slab fried up crisp...then
a good ole farting contest around the campfire.

Doginit

[MikeK]

I'm not even sure Spam is actually food. And if it is, I'm not entirely sure it's edible. But I do keep some around just the same. Now and then, I try to make something creative from it. I usually regret it, but sometimes I nail it and you don't have to choke it down...too hard.

[Hairy]

Originally Posted by Finn

A can of Spam for breakfast, lunch and dinner would provide
3240 calories (288gr/2592cal fat, 126gr/630cal protein)
10.5 gr salt.

Spam is good, but 73 grams of salt a week would make sure you dont survive long.

[TxHills]

It's not allowed here either. I grew up poor and had to eat way too much of it. Can't stand it to this day. I'd mix dirt and water and eat that first...maybe with an earthworm for some protein...nah, probably not. There's just too many other things that actually taste good to stock.

[Averageguy209]

Spam and hawiians are a match made in hell lol I went to a buddys luau(sp) party they had pig and a ton of traditional foods and these little things spam on rice like sushi

[Ezra]

Looking recently for a cheap but tasty meat source,I suddenly remembered I used to love spam as a kid,especially spam fritters for school dinner.I really enjoy the taste and I haven't eaten it in years.I've got some in my stocks now as I find it filling,satisys a meaty craving,is cheap,and well,I just like it.Haven't noticed any wind problems with mine?

[jandlms]

As a lad I was told that SPAM actually stood for "SPoiled hAM" . Nothing about SPAM has changed my mind about the meaning. NASTY STUFF!

[Still here.]

You dont get the benefits of the nutrients & calories if you throw it all up. All you have then is Spams brother (potted meat) laying on the ground.

[Averageguy209]

My mom and i cant stand it but my dad loved it Id eat it if i had to

[2.0Dogs]

Oven Roasted Turkey Spam. Yeaaaaaaaaaaa!

[shadowman]

I read once where spam was fed to some islanders, they asked what tribe of people it was made from.

[SurviveIt]

I don’t eat very much spam at all. However, I think its fine for short term survival. If I was hungry, that spam would taste like a Sunday dinner ham for sure. The only way I like it now is very thinly sliced then fried like bacon. I always get the reduced salt kind.

Note to self: try and recycle flatulence during a disaster for fuel later.

[Finn]

Originally Posted by Hairy

Spam is good, but 73 grams of salt a week would make sure you dont survive long.

Well 10.5g/d is certainly more salt than I currently eat. And would definitely increase the water needs. But I don't think it is deadly. Just not healthy. High salt intake is associated with increased risk of stroke and heart attack. But in TEOWAWKI scenario, I think I'd be willing to accept an elevated risk.

It is possible for people to consume many times the USRDA of salt. Attached is an article on Japanese salt intake from 1987.

In 1954, Dahl reported that the AVERAGE salt consumption of an adult person in the Akita prefecture was as high as 30g/d and that the high incidence of hypertension was correlated...

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/45/5/1271.pdf

If the average was 30g/d, many would have been consuming way above that average. Plus an adult in Japan tends to weigh less than an adult in the US, and I believe that salt toxicity is proportional to body mass. This is why salt overdose is more dangerous for children.

A high incidence of hypertension is not the same as "not surviving long."

I have never had farts from Spam. But I imagine without roughage, that constipation could become an issue.

I do think that saltier food does result in an increase need for water to balance out the salt. This could be problematic if water is in limited supply (very likely). But on the plus side you're not losing any water to steam while cooking like you would with cooking rice and beans.

Three cans weigh about a kilo. For a whole day, that's not bad.

Spam has far fewer fleas than most rats and squirrels, and doesn't run as fast.

*** NO COOKING REQUIRED ***

[Hick Industries]

Eating spam is only a little better than eating the neighbor's dog. They sell canned beef and chicken on the same shelf in most supermarkets so there is no reason to abuse your self.

[texdoug1]

What is it's shelf life?

[cranky1950]

I keep some spam in preps and rotate it to boy scout can drives. Though I admit I sneak a can of it once a year or so. Spam is fun, but usually I pay for eating it later that day. Bacon is more fun than Spam and if I'm gonna make myself sick I want maximum entertainment value.

[Raven]

I like Spam, personally. I like the taste. Like it even more when you put it in a hot coal bed and let the can swell up. Tastes really good by the campfire, imo.

[Richh56]

5 years past experation date is standard shelf life.

it is ok, I can eat it. I think pork chops are worse, but i prefer pizza.

LOL