qwert, you're right but obviously my statement wasn't meant to be so absolute as to call anything containing carbon "carbon." We do call certain chemicals by whatever aspect of their name is important to us, regardless of form or what they're bonded to, but that's not really even relevant to this thread and you are correct.
As for the psyillium it can prevent diarrhea or CAUSE diarrhea depending on how much/what else your eating. I don't see where in a survival situation it would be needed(unless there is a medical reason for it)
Also right, but I am a firm believer that getting ~40g fiber or a bit more really improves energy, especially on low-calorie diets. Most MREs are energy-dense, meaning high-fat and high-carb, but I would prefer to be high-fiber, high-protein, high-fat in survival situations. The long and short of the situation is that I would prefer my body lose fat than muscle if I am in "starvation mode," and fewer net carbs if you're on a drastically low-calorie diet means you are less likely to lose muscle.
My body type also does better (cleaner, more-balanced energy) with fewer carbs and more calories coming from protein and fat...but very few protein and fat foods actually contain fiber, so I choose to use psyllium.
Ancel Keys' study:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancel_Keys
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment
In the study 32 conscientious objectors were on a 1500ish-calorie per day diet of, basically, high-carbohydrate low-fat and low-protein foods. They starved pretty severely...
Another study under somewhat different conditions, but similar, put subjects on a diet of "all you can eat within reason" of high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb, and they averaged about 1500 apiece with VERY different results. I'm currently looking for it.
On dialup so I won't parse the links but here is a good breakdown of what I'm talking about, including the second study:
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blo...fat-loss-why-a-calorie-isnt-always-a-calorie/
