Eli5 So we need calories to survive. If there are 100 calories in a spoon of oil, how come we can’t survive on oil for emergencies?

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Eli5 So we need calories to survive. If there are 100 calories in a spoon of oil, how come we can’t survive on oil for emergencies?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

You can survive on oil in short term emergencies.

A healthy diet is defined by the state of New Zealand (for an assumption of a 2000 calorie/day base metabolic rate) as 50 grams of protein, 70 grams of fat, 24 grams of saturated fatty acids, 310 grams of carbohydrates, 90 grams of sugar, 2.3 grams of sodium, and 30 grams of dietary fiber

You also need a lot of different types of vitamins that your body just doesn’t produce on its own

All of that is stuff thar you will just get eating normal food in regular portion sizes, and at least most of that stuff you’re not going to go through negative consequences immediately if you don’t have them.

But, if you just start eating 2000 calories of something without all of that stuff, you will start to experience malnutrition as your body will start to cannibalize less essential parts of itself in order to get the resources that vital systems need to keep you alive

A good example you might be familiar with is Scurvy

Your body doesn’t produce Vitamin C, Vitamin C is a building block in collagen among other things, and is necessary for your intestines to absorb iron.

So, in order to continue getting the iron you need to make blood, when your body is running on pure empty, it starts to break down your hair, your gums, and your scars and skin, all of which are made out of substances containing Vitamin C

Because your skin is much thinner you get cuts more easily, because you don’t have the ability to make new scar tissue (on account of that needing Vitamin C) you just keep bleeding

Because your gums are thinner those start bleeding and the stuff holding your teeth in are a lot less good at their jobs so your teeth fall out

Eventually you just get so many wounds or infections from the open wounds that you die

Directly caused by malnutrition

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