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Eating Snow For Survival Is It Safe Or Not

Many people ask the question - is snow safe to eat? The answer is Yes and No. It depends on the situation you are in at the time. Eating snow in itself is not harmful if you live in a clean, unpolluted area. But it can kill you if you eat too much snow under the right conditions.

 

We grew up eating snow. When playing all day out in the snow we never took breaks to go inside and get a drink. We just ate snow. It was available and easy to grab on the go. And it never harmed us one bit. We also had snow cones which are cups of snow flavored with sugar water and some coloring. This was a nice winter treat.

 

Snow is simply frozen water particles. It is essentially frozen rain. As the drops start to form, they gather up together and freeze. When they get heavy enough, they fall from the sky. This is frozen filtered water. Eating snow is actually, in most cases, cleaner than rain water. This is because rain droplets will gather up any dirt and dust particles they can, especially after they have fallen onto the ground. When snow falls, it stays put. The freshly fallen snow on top is generally the cleanest you can find.

 

Some people are squeamish about eating snow due to the idea that there can be some harmful dirt or bacteria in it. If you feel this way then you can boil snow and then drink it as you would with contaminated water.

 

And this brings us to the next part. In a survival situation eating too much snow can kill you. Not from bacteria or dirt. But rather you can lower your core body temperature when eating too much cold snow and die of hypothermia.

 

If you are quite active at the time then feel free to eat snow along the way. Fresh snow is a refreshing treat. But when at camp or during the evening you should not eat fresh snow. Rather heat it up over the fire or on a camp stove. Never put it close to your body to warm it up. This can have the same effect as eating snow. It will lower your body temperature and could kill you.

 

When you heat snow up though, it turns into pure water. And a nice, warm cup of water after a day in the harsh, cold environment sure can taste good. It warms you up inside and can save your life. Both by raising your temperature and by preventing dehydration.

 

So there you have it. Yes you can eat snow and it can save your life if you are careful not to overdo it in a survival scenario.

 

You can watch today's video here: Watch the video now  Can You Eat Snow For Survival ~ Yes & No ~ Learn More

 

While you are over there please subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow our daily videos as we strive to become self sufficient and off the grid on a budget.





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Troy Reid

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