Stocking Up on Essentials as a Strategy for Healthy Life Extension

By Nils Osmar

The information in this article is not intended as, and should not be taken as, medical advice. Interventions like exercising, dietary changes, and taking medications and supplements can have both benefits and side effects. Please consult with a medical professional about any medical concerns.

Stocking up on food and other essentials is sometimes conflated with hoarding, and is put down and even ridiculed for that reason. But it can be part of a strategy for long-term survival. Every time there’s a war or other conflict in the news, and we see people suffer because the essentials are not being replenished, I’m reminded of this.

I learned about the value of stockpiling from my parents, who were homesteaders in Alaska. We lived in a house in the wilderness that was an hour away from the nearest grocery store when I was growing up. The roads were gravel in those days, not paved, making it a challenge to make grocery runs. So they’d go into town, buy supplies — which included things like canned food, TP, paper towels, and cleaning supplies — use it up over the next few weeks or sometimes months, then make another trip in for supplies. They supplemented the canned food by buying fresh when it was available and growing their own vegetables, but even after the roads were paved and the trips into town became easier, they never lost their habit of stockpiling.

We weren’t rich — money was very tight actually — but we were rarely short on food or other essentials.

Stocking Up Versus Panic Buying

Early in the pandemic, some people did panic buying, purchasing more than they could possibly use. Many went overboard, buying huge quantities in a way that depleted store shelves. The media’s response was to shame them for it and suggest that stocking up was stupid, shortsighted, and somehow harmful to other people and to the economy. But there’s a difference between stockpiling and panic buying.

Stocking up on essentials in between crises doesn’t strip the store shelves or deprive anyone else of essentials. We can build stockpiles gradually. It’s also a good way of economizing.

For example, stocking up when an essential item like dish soap is on sale and readily available helps us individually, is beneficial to the store we buy it from, and — assuming it’s not during a crisis time when shelves are being emptied — has no harmful effect on the community. Waiting for a crisis and then stocking up is shortsighted; doing it gradually when things are plentiful is laying a good foundation.

Things that people might consider stocking up on include their dietary staples. In my own case, I eat lots of sardines (which are rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and omega 3 fatty acids), so I keep a few cases of sardines in my pantry. They don’t take up a lot of space, but having them gives me some protection in the event of a supply chain problem. I buy both the little tins and also ones that are stored in glass containers, which reduces contamination from the container. So I’m covered in terms of my needs for protein if there should be a supply chain issue.

Some people might ask what this has to do with longevity, or with anti-aging and life extension. My answer would be that if our goal is living long, healthy lives, we need to factor basic life support into the equation. Wars and natural disasters unfortunately happen. They’re not always predictable. Stocking up doesn’t give us full protection; other awful things can happen during war, even if we’re not in target areas, like air and water pollution; but it might make the difference in our getting through difficult times.

Food Security Is a Longevity Issue

For those of us focused on life extension, we tend to spend a lot of time thinking about supplements, exercise protocols, and biomarkers. But there’s a more fundamental variable that often gets overlooked: the chronic stress that comes from not knowing where your next meal will come from — or from worrying about supply chain disruptions that could undermine the individual practices we’ve built our longevity strategies around.

The research on this is telling. A review of studies across multiple countries — including the U.S., Korea, Denmark, and Ethiopia — has found that people living in food-insecure households consistently report higher levels of perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety compared to those in food-secure households. A large-scale Indian study of over 72,000 adults aged 45 and older found that food insecurity was strongly associated with depressive symptoms, insomnia, cognitive decline, and even increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Chronic stress triggered by food insecurity increases the release of glucocorticoids — stress hormones like cortisol — which in turn promote depressive symptoms and accelerate cognitive decline. For those of us who understand the role of chronic inflammation and stress in aging, this connection is telling. Anything that chronically elevates cortisol accelerates biological aging.

Perhaps the most striking finding for our community comes from a Health Affairs review: researchers found that food-insecure seniors had limitations in activities of daily living comparable to food-secure seniors fourteen years older. Put another way, food insecurity functionally ages you by over a decade. We spend enormous effort trying to shave years off our biological age through supplements and protocols — and meanwhile, the simple security of a well-stocked pantry may be one of the most underrated interventions available.

The converse is also true. Knowing that you have three months of essentials in your home creates a kind of psychological armor. It removes a background hum of vulnerability that most people don’t even realize they’re carrying. In longevity terms, that reduction in chronic low-grade stress may be as valuable as many of the supplements we take.

Communities That Illustrate This Connection

The practice of thoughtful stockpiling isn’t new, and some communities have built it into their culture in ways that we can learn from.

The Latter-day Saints

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called Mormons) have one of the most well-developed cultures of household food storage in the modern world. Their emphasis on food storage dates back to the mid-1800s, when it began as a practical survival measure for members migrating westward across the country. During the Cold War era, church leaders encouraged families to maintain two years’ worth of emergency supplies. Today, the recommendation is more practical: start with a week’s supply, then gradually build to three months or longer.

The church’s guidelines encourage members to be wise in their storage practices and not to go into debt to build up food reserves all at once. Members are encouraged to shop from their pantries and buy storage items systematically when items are on sale — cutting costs while building reserves. In a financial or other crisis, they can reduce or eliminate grocery shopping for a period, freeing up cash for other essentials.

The modern LDS approach has shifted away from apocalyptic thinking. Food storage is now framed primarily as preparation for ordinary adversity — a job loss, a health crisis, a regional weather event — rather than end-of-the-world scenarios. This in line with the practical approach I’m advocating. It’s not about fear. It’s about intelligent preparation.

Switzerland’s Model

Switzerland offers a fascinating example of what preparedness looks like at the national level. The Swiss government recommends that every household maintain a stock of drinks and food for at least seven days, along with everyday necessities like batteries, candles, and hygiene supplies. But beyond household recommendations, Switzerland maintains mandatory national food reserves — stockpiles of essential foodstuffs held by private companies under government mandate — sufficient to provide every person in the country with approximately 2,300 calories per day for three to four months.

This system has deep roots. During World War I, Switzerland experienced serious supply disruptions due to lack of preparation. That experience led to the creation of a federal food office and a culture of preparedness that has been maintained ever since. During the Cold War, reserves were expanded to cover twelve months of supply. Even today, with globalization and international trade, Switzerland — which produces only about half the food it consumes domestically — maintains these reserves because it understands that supply chains can be disrupted.

The result? Switzerland consistently ranks among the top five countries in the world in the Global Food Security Index. Their preparedness isn’t paranoia — it’s a rational policy that contributes to national resilience and, by extension, the health and longevity of their population.

Interestingly, the Swiss do live longer. Switzerland’s average life expectancy is 84.38 years, consistently ranking among the top three to five countries in the world. World Population Review They’ve been in the top three in Europe for over 20 consecutive years. IamExpat The number of Swiss centenarians has surged dramatically — from 377 in 1990 to 1,888 today — and demographers estimate that one in two children born after 2000 will live to 100. I’m not claiming that their national food, security policies or their emphasis on individual preparation are the sole reason for this — I’m sure there are many factors — but the correlation is interesting.

An Ancient Practice

Stockpiling for survival is one of humanity’s oldest strategies. The story of Joseph in Genesis — advising Pharaoh to store grain during seven years of abundance to survive seven years of famine — is an interesting example.

Ancient civilizations in Egypt, China, and Greece all maintained elaborate systems of granaries and food preservation using techniques like drying, salting, and fermentation. Medieval European cities developed communal granaries and rationing systems. The practice of storing food during times of plenty to survive times of scarcity is not a modern invention — it’s one of the foundational strategies that allowed civilizations to persist.

What’s changed in the modern era is not the principle, but the tools available to us. We now have freeze-dried foods, vacuum-sealed packaging, glass storage containers, and a sophisticated understanding of nutrition and food safety that our ancestors lacked. We can stockpile more effectively than any previous generation, if we choose to. Yet we also have a population that sometimes appears to assume the food comes from grocery stores” and has drifted away from preparation for emergencies.

A Practical Approach for the Longevity-Minded

What might thoughtful stockpiling look like for someone who’s focused on anti-aging and life extension? Here are some principles:

Stock what you actually eat. The LDS community learned this lesson: there’s no point storing 800 pounds of wheat if your family doesn’t eat wheat. Build your reserves around foods that are already part of your diet. If you eat sardines regularly (as I do), keep a few extra cases on hand. If rice and beans are staples for you, store more of those. Your emergency food should be an extension of your normal diet and the foods you eat with an eye on longevity, not a departure from it.

Prioritize nutritional density over calories. Most emergency food recommendations focus on caloric survival — rice, sugar, flour. (I’ve seen the survivalist websites which advocate stocking up on foods like chips and sweets, which kind of misses the point.) People focused on longevity might consider stocking nutrient-dense options: canned wild-caught fish, nuts and seeds, dried legumes, quality protein powders, and canned or dried below carbohydrate fruits and vegetables. These provide not just calories but the micronutrients that many studies suggest support long-term health.

Stocking up on supplements. If you take supplements that are part of your longevity protocol, might consider consider keeping an extra month or two on hand. Supply chain disruptions can affect supplement availability as easily as food. Having a buffer means your protocol doesn’t get interrupted by external events. In my own case, I’ve been focusing on stocking up on the supplements that have the strongest evidence of profound anti-aging benefits, such as:

high quality fish oil (rich in both EPA and DHA)
low-dose lithium
astaxanthin
creatine (essential for both brain and muscle)
vitamin D3 with K2
magnesium glycinate
NAC with glycine (which, when taken together, increase glutathione and have been found to reverse many of the hallmarks of aging).

Others’ tops choices of course may vary. I still take some other supplements, but more esoteric ones associated with wild claims but fewer clearly-established benefits would not be the first ones that I would stockpile.

Rotate your stock. Stockpiling doesn’t mean buying food and forgetting about it. Use the “first in, first out” principle: consume the oldest items and replace them with fresh purchases. This way nothing expires or goes to waste, and your reserves stay current.

Build gradually. Buy a little extra each week when items are on sale. This is the approach the LDS church recommends, and it’s seems intelligent from my perspective. Over the course of a few months, you can build a meaningful reserve without straining your budget — and in fact, buying on sale will likely save you money over time.

Think beyond food. Water, water filtration, basic medications, first aid supplies, hygiene products, and a backup power source for any medications or devices that require refrigeration or electricity are all worth considering. A longevity-focused life can be derailed by a week without clean water just as easily as by a week without food.

Consider storage quality. For those of us who are mindful about reducing our exposure to toxins, storage materials matter. Glass containers are preferable to plastic for long-term food storage. BPA-free cans are better than conventional ones. Avoid containers that could leach harmful chemicals into your food over time.

The Bottom Line

We spend a lot of time in this community discussing the finer points of things like taking NAD+ precursors, mTOR cycling, and supporting research on senolytics. and other cutting edge interventions These are all important from my perspective But the foundation of any longevity strategy is simple survival — making it through whatever the world throws at us so that we’re still here to benefit from the next breakthrough.

Stockpiling isn’t glamorous. It’s not cutting-edge science. But it reduces chronic stress, provides a safety net during disruptions, ensures continuity of our dietary and supplement protocols, and connects us to one of humanity’s oldest and most proven survival strategies.

If you’re investing time and money in extending your life, it makes sense to also invest in making sure the basics are covered. A well-stocked pantry won’t reverse aging. But it might keep you alive and healthy long enough for the things that will.

References and further reading: Research on food insecurity and health outcomes cited in this article draws from studies published in Health Affairs, Scientific Reports (Nature), the Journal of the American Heart Association, and reviews archived in PubMed Central. Information about LDS food storage practices comes from official church publications and LearnReligions.com. Swiss preparedness data comes from the Swiss Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) and reporting by SWI swissinfo.ch.

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Stocking Up on Essentials as a Strategy for Healthy Life Extension

Stocking Up Versus Panic Buying

Food Security Is a Longevity Issue