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Review of SurvivAmino – a Survival Protein Supplement for Your Bug Out Bag

survivamino-pills-1A few weeks back I was asked if I would review SurvivAmino, a survival protein supplement designed with preppers in mind and, specifically, for your bug out bag. Initially, I was hesitant to do the review because I wasn’t sure how in the world I was going to review a bottle of pills!

Eventually, I agreed and wound up deciding that the only way I could review these was to take them for a week and report how I felt. But, I wasn’t just going to add them to my diet… I was going to remove as many protein sources during that time as I could from my diet and see what happens. After all, that’s the entire purpose of these pills, right!?

So, I cut out all meat, seriously cut back on dairy and eggs, didn’t eat a thing with beans (my wife appreciates that), and avoided nuts (I don’t eat many anyway). I started this a little over a week ago and began supplementing with SurvivAmino pills instead. Now, the directions say to take 5 pills with each meal but I don’t like taking pills and often don’t follow directions so with most meals I had 2-3 pills but occasionally choose to consume 4 at dinner. And so I did this for a week straight without fail.

The question, obviously, is how did I feel? Well, I can’t report that I felt wonderful or vibrant with energy and I wasn’t really expecting to. However, I was concerned that I would feel bad, sluggish, maybe have digestive problems, or something like that because I did seriously alter my diet; I’m happy to report, however, that I had none of these problems and actually felt quite normal. 🙂 In fact, I even started exercising again near the end of the week.

Now, this isn’t a complete protein source but it does cover the essential 8 amino acids (the building blocks of protein) as shown below:

survivamino-pills-2

… and according to their product description “SurvivAMINO™ is an innovative formula consisting of pure amino acids, taking care of your protein needs in a fraction of the space and weight.” I’m not sure how to verify that but I did find this interesting review that attempted to compare the protein you would get from SurvivAmino versus cans of tuna fish and I was surprised at the conclusion:

“SurvivAmino claim to contain as much protein as four servings of pemmican and twenty times that of canned meats. That’s a little vague for me so I’ll assume a bit here. A can of tuna fish usually has 19 grams of protein so does that mean that each serving of SurvivAmino has 380 grams of protein. I just tried calling them to get some clarification and was sent to voice mail. Serving size on these pills are five pills per serving and recommended three times a day. That’s 15 pills a day with bottle sizes of 100, meaning roughly six days per bottle, four bottles per month. It would take 12 bottles to make a 90 day supply which costs $495. Doing a little math and using the body builder motto of consuming 1gram of protein per pound of weight per day and using an average weight of 200 pounds I get 11 cans of tuna per day. I use tuna for it’s cheapness and compact protein. Tuna being the cheapest canned meat you can get comes out to $990 for three months if you get them for a dollar a can and it also means storing 990 cans of tuna. In that way one box of SurvivAmino wins out.”

What else I liked about these pills is that they “contain no fat, sodium, sugar, yeast, gluten, soy, corn, wheat, rice, GMO, preservatives…” and more. As near as I can tell it’s just essential amino acids with some wax coating. Considering we’re trying to get away from much of the aforementioned ingredients, this was a huge plus.

I should also point out that these pills are solid and not capsules or anything that I think might degrade easily. Though I couldn’t find anything that suggested how long they could be stored (in years) I would assume if you choose to vacuum seal them (or in mylar) then they would last for years on end so long as they’re kept out of extreme temperatures.

As for cost, one bottle costs $45 while a case of 12 costs $495 which is a little less than a 9% discount if purchased in bulk. The thing is that a single bottle will last one person almost a full week if consumed as directed, so if you have a family of four and only want to sustain yourselves for a 72 hour bug out then you would need two bottles. If you’re like me and are willing to cut back on the dosage then maybe one bottle will suffice. That said, in a true bug out situation where my body is taxed, my mind is stressed, and I’m tired, I think I would choose to consume as directed.

Since I like the idea of compact protein in my bug out bag I’m going to order two bottles and call it good!

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Damian Brindle

My latest book, The Survival Blueprint: How to Prepare Your Family for Disaster, can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJ49Y5X4

Comments

15 responses to “Review of SurvivAmino – a Survival Protein Supplement for Your Bug Out Bag”

  1. Dave

    Are they chewable or meant to be swallowed?

    Reply
    1. Damian Brindle

      The site to buy them doesn’t even exist any longer, but if I remember right they’re NOT chewable.

      Reply
  2. Parker

    Amino acids aren’t meant to actually replace protein. What they do is increase muscle protein synthesis. You still need to be taking in actual protein.

    Reply
    1. Jan

      Hey Parker,

      Protein isn’t usable in your body until it is digested into amino acids. Any protein source in the world breaks down into a combination of the 20 basic amino acids. They do a lot more than muscle protein synthesis, every enzyme in your body is a protein made from a sequence of amino acids. All organ function and essentially every reaction in your body is dependant on amino acids. (Interesting to note that organ failure is the primary cause of death in most starvation studies)

      Sure there are other things in whole proteins, some vitamins, minerals like iron etc but you can get them from a variety of foods. If those other things can be gotten from other foods, why do you need protein? For the only thing that protein uniquely has, the amino acids it breaks into which are necessary to run your body.

      Hope this helps,
      Jan

      Reply
  3. Marilyn

    Lisa you clever girl! You found a way to get your amino acids and it comes in chocolate! Have you tried to make a smoothie with it yet? That was my first thought.

    Reply
  4. Marilyn

    Hi Jan,
    Thanks for posting the link on making bone stock. What a lot of good information! I first started making a version of bone stock when I lived in San Francisco and would go crabbing. Once a week I would toss in the chicken carcass that I had nibbled on earlier in the week, my crab shells, tops off of the carrots, green bean stems and other leftovers like beef bones, egg shells, etc. and pressure cook them along with rice into the best dog food ever. It was fed to my roommate’s black Lab and she had the most beautiful glossy coat. I would freeze it in small batches and feed it to her as a supplement to her commercial food. Now that I am thinking of how to best provide for my furry pals if an emergency presents itself is by adding more pet food option recipes that I can prepare ahead and can or have the ingredients available and can as the freezer fails from loss of power. One of the suggestions I ran across was to boil their leather chew strips and that would render a wonderful “gel”. I think it was actually noted as useful to humans in the article I read but my brain translated it to DIY canned pet food ingredient. I’m not sure I am ready to consume their leather chewies for myself yet. I was glad to see the article you cited talked about chicken protein in particular and how heat deteriorates it as this was very new to me. It has engaged my brain to do more research on this problem of long term stewing and heat deterioration and canning. I’m wondering if by canning the loss of integrity might be diminished? I’m sure there are many things out there on this topic. You have my mind working!

    As a side note, since I must eat gluten free, another thing in my pantry that I use for a soy sauce substitute is a big gallon jug of vegetable and soy concoction of liquid aminos. It is made by a fairly well known apple cider vinegar company that is found in health food stores. I will say it isn’t the tastiest soy sauce on the market but it is a great substitution for those of us that must stay gluten free and it will last for almost forever if you have refrigeration. Well, we all know we worry about losing refrigeration in an emergency so that may not be the best choice in the long run. I still prefer the taste of the “fully leaded” version but it makes me very ill which makes it easy to go gluten free. There are many ways for us to improve our nutrition and overall health if we just pay attention and are willing to make the changes. But the bottom line is this, we all need to make sure we get out essential amino acids on a regular basis for optimal health.

    So Jan, I am hoping your product is gluten free and has no food dyes in it so that I might give it a whirl.

    Reply
    1. Jan

      Marilyn,

      Sounds like a great addition to your pets diet. Plus you know they won’t complain :).

      The heat vs. protein quality is a big rabbit hole that I’ve been venturing down myself for a bit. I want to do a bit more due diligence before I render judgment but the opinions range from ‘no effect’ in some camps to ‘coagulating’ amino acids and rendering them indigestible in the other camp (mostly raw food enthusiasts). There is also a group of foodies that is a big fan of cooking with low heat for flavor as well as nutrient reasons (check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sous-vide).

      I’m actually gluten free myself since NYE 2013. Big fan of Bragg’s when I cook Asian. Totally agree with the idea that paying attention and making the necessary changes is the keystone to health. Food can be our medicine or our poison depending on what we make it. In a survival scenario it’ll be important to be proactive about health because doctors might not be around to help. Part of what we’re doing with this product and trying to do with future products is provide people with options which are both practical for preparedness and optimal for health.

      Proud to report that the product is gluten and food dye free. It is also free of fat, sodium, sugar, yeast, soy, corn, wheat, rice, GMO, preservatives, excipients, dairy and animal products. We take a strong stance on purity coming from a background in biotech and pharmaceuticals and source our amino acids from a company that does most of it’s business with medical companies.

      Jan

      Reply
      1. Marilyn

        Hi Jan,
        Again, you are giving me more insight and fun links to follow. Thank you for that. I’m so happy there are no food dyes as this is a very recent allergic reaction I am having the joy of experiencing for the past two and a half months. Actually there is no enjoyment to dealing with hives. I have taken myself off of the Prednisone as I hated the side effects. What I did notice while taking the Prednisone was it had decreased my ability to digest effectively. Not so bad if you want to knock off a few pounds but very bad if you need to have life sustaining medications work at their highest performance. It is the same with what we eat. We have to be able to digest it and I am pleased you are knowledgeable and willing to share you knowledge in these matters. Your product will be something I will adding to my plan very soon. Gluten free rules!

        I don’t know if you have tried the Sous-vide type of cooking or not but when the cooking competition shows came into vogue a handful of years ago was when I first heard of the Sous-vide method. As a home cook I couldn’t justify the cost of the machine but came up with a similar idea to try when traveling by car that worked out. I had to leave at an extremely early hour and would be picking up some more passengers as we progressed on our journey. Not wanting to eat breakfast before the sun was up I came up with the idea of vacuum packaging eggs and placing them in a water bath that brought them to the desired temp. Next, I preheated a run of the mill cooler like we all have with slightly warmer water. Then I tossed the water and put the temp regulated water along with the egg mixture into the cooler. This only took about ten or fifteen minutes to accomplish. Gluten free bagels were wrapped in foil and placed on the engine. About an hour later when I got the pickup point for my passengers we had perfectly scrambled eggs and warm bagels to go with the thermos of coffee and sliced tomatoes and avocados I had tossed in the pack in the back seat. Now that’s a poor girls Sous-vide moment don’t you think? There are ways to make planned travel tolerable. Now, if I can just figure out how to do this if we are in a get out of town in a moment’s notice situation! 🙂

        Reply
  5. Marilyn

    Hi Jan,
    Thanks for a great and informative reply. I certainly did not mean to diminish your product in any way but this was more of anecdotal information that had come to me through various readings in the way of nutrition and natural health information, and of course Dr. Oz. 🙂 There was a recent time when I refused to consider eating gelatin because I thought it was of the junk food variety. i had probably been served it too many times in unappetizing ways in institutional settings. Now I find a way to make sure my pets and I consume it on a regular basis. I offered it only as an alternative that might be far more readily available in an emergency situation, for example, if you are packing up various foods to take along you might consider gelatin. It also has a few other uses in that it can be used as a substitute for an egg when cooking which could come in handy for camping or other egg rare situations. Of course, one should always do their own research and come to their own conclusions because I am not a nutritionist, just someone who is trying to go a more natural route to good health through a better diet than what I grew up eating. You are right in saying not all things are created equal and I will admit the grocery store options are probably the lowest common denominator. I just wanted to invite everyone to be curious about finding a way to add it to your diet if they had been as scornful of it as I had been. I am not going to name any certain product but the one I use for myself and pets as a regular supplement is found in health food stores and is a good quality powder from a pastured and grass fed source. However, I must also say that I will now whip up one of those “granny style” gelatin concoctions that we recall from our youth and not be as scornful of it as I once was. It will make your cottage cheese, pineapple, Mandarin orange, whipped cream and coconut salad a whole lot tastier and perhaps entice the little ones to try it once in a while. I am one of those people that on some days need a little encouragement to eat the recommended fruit servings. It was just one more thought to add to our list of things to consider. And I laughed aloud at the thought of running through the desert with a turkey tucked under my arm. I appreciate you taking the time to give us a more thorough explanation of exactly what your product can do. Seeking reliable knowledge is the reason that we all join these blogs and sites. Besides, we get to meet interesting people like yourself. I look forward to reading and learning more each day.

    Reply
    1. Jan

      Marilyn,

      Thanks for a great and informative answer! I agree that it’s very important for people to educate themselves and do their own research, especially preppers. Gelatin is very useful in a number of situations – it’s actually very popular among college athletes with joint problems. I actually had great success with using collagen when I dislocated my shoulder a few weeks ago. If you’re interested in gelatin you should look into the benefits of making bone broth (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cooking-with-bones/#axzz2cdJ7ok52). It’s an easy way to get nutrients from something most of us throw away.

      Anyways, I know this product is totally new to the prepper scene so it bears a bit of explaining which can get complicated. But like you said it gives us the opportunity to have intelligent discussions about the different options that we might have. Gelatin was never on my radar for survival purposes until now so I have to thank you for adding that!

      Cheers,

      Jan

      Reply
      1. Jan

        dislocated my shoulder a *few years ago. Not writing this from a sling 🙂

        Reply
  6. Lisa Goff

    There is a product called Vital 18 sold in some health food stores, an amino acid thick liquid made from algae. Comes in Chocolate Butternut and another flavor. Has 18 amino acids and very invigorating for me. Take early in the day because it will keep you awake at night, you seem to require less sleep and have more energy. Thanks

    Reply
  7. Marilyn

    Re: SurvivAmino,
    You probably already know this but gelatin, flavored or not, contains all of the essential Amino Acids except L Tryptophan which is found in turkey and is the Amino Acid that makes you feel relaxed and sleepy after a big turkey dinner. I picked up some packages of flavored gelatin just today at Kroger for 37 cents per package. I recommend avoiding the ones with sugar substitutions under all circumstances unless you are diabetic. The gelatin powder can be consumed dry or in a hot or cold water solution. Just a thought on how to have something cheap and easily accessible on hand for your BOB that might not have the problems with transporting pills that you would need to take large daily doses. I am sure what you reviewed is a good product but I am one for the easy answers. If you don’t want to carry gelatin they also sell gelatin capsules in the health food stores and that would also be a different delivery system. It is good to have choices. But in my world a 37 cent answer is usually one that I try first. I don’t think powdered flavored gelatin expires. Thanks for teaching us and sharing your knowledge.

    Reply
    1. millenniumfly

      Marilyn, thank you for that and I did NOT know it!

      Reply
    2. Jan

      Hey Marilyn,

      This is Jan from Vitality Sciences. Wanted to point out that there are significant differences in gelatin and our product.

      1. L-tryptophan is one of the eight essential amino acids. Without l-tryptophan you can run into serious problems like pellagra, anxiety, depression and even food cravings. This is related to tryptophan being a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Also I might add it’s easier to store and move SurvivAMINO than a turkey! If you don’t have the eight essential amino acids you don’t have complete protein and you’re setting yourself up for deficiency which can show up in days to weeks.

      2. Not all amino acids were created equal. Just because something shows up in a chemical assay doesn’t mean that it’s absorbed by your body. Example: refugees around the world are fed protein fortified diets with a ‘complete’ amino acid profile, yet are suffering from diseases of amino acid deficiency like pellagra because the amino acids they are getting are not usable. Our formula is 99% efficient and comes from the same manufacturers that provide amino acids for post-operative IVs in hospitals worldwide.

      3. I can’t say whether anyone has tested gelatin in a total deprivation scenario, but I can say that we have researched this formula ranging from top level athletes to 28 day total deprivation desert crossings and it’s held up with flying colors. If the SHTF I wouldn’t want to be taking risks on protein, which can make the difference between life and death in a span of weeks, with something that hasn’t been tested but that’s just me.

      Reply

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