What makes space food healthier than MREs?

[szputnyik]

NATO countries usually give their soldiers field rations which are superficially similar to modern space food, without all the microgravity adaptations. Essentially meals individually packed in pouches, which are edible for years, called MRE (Meal Ready to Eat).

Fresh food products are only available to astronauts for a few days after a supply shipment, since the ISS has no refrigerator, but MREs are only to be eaten for a week maximum, if I remember correctly, and after that, doctors recommend the soldiers to eat real food from the field kitchen, a canteen or other sources.

What is different in space food that allows it to be consumed for prolonged intervals?

[sal_vager]

Not sure about space food but MRE's are really designed for when you need a very high caloric intake, such as when you are expending a lot of energy (fighting a war).

A friend of mine says they back you up something cruel if you eat only them for too long

[78stonewobble]

Not sure about space food but MRE's are really designed for when you need a very high caloric intake, such as when you are expending a lot of energy (fighting a war).

A friend of mine says they back you up something cruel if you eat only them for too long

I'd imagine a highcalory diet would definately do that to you.

But seems reasonably enough that you wouldn't need the same high energy intake in space for the vast majority of things.

[Idobox]

Also, MRE are simply not designed to be eaten everyday. They are made to be light, sturdy, long conservation, cheap and keep you alive for a few days if you get cut from support, so the people who design them probably don't pay too much attention to things like saturated fats, vitamin and mineral content, and will put a lot of things that make you operational quickly while not very healthy in the long run, in particular sugar and fat.

[TechnicalK3rbal]

Not sure about space food but MRE's are really designed for when you need a very high caloric intake, such as when you are expending a lot of energy (fighting a war).

A friend of mine says they back you up something cruel if you eat only them for too long

They used to give you a laxative gum. That was interesting...

Is "Space Food" still freeze dried, or do they not do that anymore? That would be the main difference.....

[Seret]

I've not eaten American MREs, but the ration packs we used to eat in the field were perfectly ok to be eaten for as long as you like. In reality most people would supplement them with extras of their own but that was just due to personal preference and creature comforts. There were a lot of calories in a 24 hour ratpack, I can't remember how many exactly but it was enough to keep big guys going all day marching long distances with kit and digging holes.