Ration

The Ration is an item that appears in every game in the Metal Gear series. In most games, it restores a small amount of health when eaten. If the Ration is selected as the equipped item, the player will automatically eat a ration if his health is depleted, although instant-kill scenarios (e.g. failing to escape the destruction of Shadow Moses) will still be fatal. In every game from Metal Gear to Metal Gear Solid, the Ration has a square shape; from Metal Gear Solid 2 onwards, it has a round shape.

In Metal Gear Solid 3, the ration that appears is a Russian Ration that functions as a moderately filling food item. The Calorie Mate is a similar but much more filling foodstuff. Neither the Ration nor the Calorie Mate count towards the various naturally-occurring food and medicinal items that Snake needs to collect in order to unlock the EZ Gun. In MGS3, the Life Medicine has the healing function that the Ration had in previous games.