Polar Journeys: The Role of Food and Nutrition in Early Exploration [Paperback]

Robert Feeney (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0912006978 | ISBN-13: 978-0912006970 | Publication Date: November 1, 1997 | Edition: 1

Though the connection may seem unexpected, the history of polar explorations provides rich insights into food and nutrition. The expeditions depend heavily on recent advances in food preservation, and the extreme conditions bring into sharp relief such dietary problems as insufficient vitamin C or an accidental overdose of vitamin A. The author includes a discussion of Eskimo knowledge of foodstuffs and its impact on explorations. He also provides a survey of current thinking about human nutrition and examines nutritional issues for future explorations, particularly in space.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Feeney discusses how polar exploration was influenced by advances in food preservation, shortages or overabundances of vitamins, and lessons learned from Arctic natives. His extensive use of the explorers' accounts helps portray their experiences, and supports his conclusions on the importance of nutrition to their success."--Science

"Using his expertise in biochemistry, Feeney relates the history of polar exploration to the history of the science of nutrition. He discusses how advances in food preservation helped make possible human survival on the expeditions; problems caused by too large or small a supply of vitamins; the valuable lessons explorers learned from Eskimos; and the role of diet in space exploration."--Reference & Research Book News

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 279 pages
• Publisher: University of Alaska Press; 1 edition (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912006978
• ISBN-13: 978-0912006970
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,747,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nutrition on Ice, August 25, 2004

By 

R. L. Rodriguez (Davis CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Polar Journeys: The Role of Food and Nutrition in Early Explorations (ACS Symposium Series) (Hardcover)

Stupidity, arrogance, foolishness - courage, brilliance, vision. The path to scientific discovery is never straight and not always rational. Such was the path to our current understanding of modern nutrition. In Polar Journeys: The Role of Food and Nutrition in Early Exploration, Professor Feeney, a real-life polar explorer and food biochemist, does a wonderful job describing the trial and error (and sometimes irrational) approach to establishing what we now know as "recommended daily allowance" (RDA) or the basic nutritional requirements for human health. Feeney traces the course of nutrition research from early explorers who ventured onto the oceans in small ships for months and years looking for new lands and learning the hard way, the basics of human nutrition. Did you know that ship rats are a good source of vitamin C? Did you know that 165 years after British Navy doctor James Lind found that citrus fruit cured scurvy, polar explorer, Robert Scott, still believed that scurvy was caused by ptomaine poisoning? Did you know that before there was an Atkins Diet, there was the "Eskimo Diet" which consisted of 2900 calories per day - 73% fat, 26% protein and 1% carbohydrate (one of the benefits of the Eskimo Diet was nearly odorless stool). Long before there were Institution Review Boards to oversee human experimentation, explorers were using the Earth's poles as laboratories to test the very limits (and beyond) of human endurance. Hundreds of men gave their lives, often needlessly, to discover that humans need a balanced diet of protein, fat and carbohydrate, laced with just the right mix of vitamins and minerals. If you like food, adventure and a good yarn well spun, you will enjoy this book.