How does starvation actually kill you? Would someone with more body fat survive longer than someone with lower body fat without food?
In: Biology
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I lost 30lbs by not eating for 10 days straight. Only supplements and water. And tea for caffeine. Day one I was hungry. Day two I was starving. Day three my stomach hurt. Day four all of that went away. I was no longer hungry. I only started eating again on day eleven because I knew I had to. I did not want to. I felt great. Slept great. Stopped snoring. And now, when I get hungry at work, I wait a hour before eating and the hunger goes away. If it does not go away I eat something high protein like beef jerky.
I only eat one meal a day, that is dinner. I try to keep it healthy and high protein.
I still drink Pepsi. I stopped eating candy, I just do not crave it like I used to.
I have put 10lbs back on, but I still feel great. And knowing that I do not have to eat just because it is “lunch time” is satisfying.
Not eating for those 10 days changed my body for the better. And it was easier than you think.
Your body needs multiple things to survive.
* Macronutrients are fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
* Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals, including electrolytes. This includes iron, salt, Vitamin A, et al.
* You also need water and oxygen.
All of this feeds into the various chemical reactions and biological processes that occur in your body. If any of those inputs get too low, those processes cease, and with them, life.
A person with high body fat can supply fat as an energy source which is certainly an advantage over a skinny person.
However, you need a steady stream of micronutrients to survive. Without those, a human will die even if they have enough energy stored as fat to keep going. The reason is your cells are constantly dying and being replaced. Without those micronutrients, your body cannot rebuild cells when they die. Imagine if your heart or lungs could not replenish: this would be (and is) fatal.
You also need to consume protein, specifically. Protein is a class of chemicals that are extremely large and complex, and every cell in your body needs them. Keeping it ELI5, protein wears out over time. Their shape is important. After a while, they degrade and cannot maintain their shape correctly. Proteins are used not only as building blocks, but also as communication conduits between cells and blood. Without new protein coming in, your body cannot replace the old busted up proteins and that causes many problems and will eventually be fatal.
(Aside: proteins are how viruses infiltrate cells. They latch onto them like putting the right key in a lock, and the cell lets them in where they are free to use the “copy machine” inside the cell to copy the virus’s RNA or DNA. Viruses lack a copying machine which is why they have to hijack ours.)
If you have access to water you can survive for a long time based on just how much body fat you have. And yes, a heavier person would last longer.
I did a 8 day water fast before, no problem.
Edit: Seems a lot of people are taking issue with my ‘No problem’ comment. I love food, I love to eat, but the 3 meals a day norm in first world countries, isn’t actually normal. If you drink lots of water, it actually is really easy to eat one meal a day, or even skip days.
Don’t knock it till you try it honestly. You will be amazed at how simple it can be.
Like for me, I learned that I eat out of boredom, not hunger most of the time. I use food as a reward for when things go good, and also as a bandaid for when I’m having a shit day. For me the struggle when fasting isn’t feeling hungry, its that I’m bored or sad and want instant gratification. Its my drug of choice, my addiction.
Someone with higher body fat *would* survive longer because once people run out of fuel from food, their bodies switch over to something called “ketosis” which is when your body can eat its own fat to survive (this is what the keto diet is). Of course they still would need to find a source of vitamins and minerals ~~and fiber~~ and electrolytes. Albeit they feel absolutely terrible *while* switching over, but once the switch is done they usually feel much better.
The food you eat is broken down into tiny little parts. These parts give the your cells energy to function. Some parts are made into electrolytes (or extracted from) that allow your neurons to communicate with each other. Proteins from food allow your body to heal itself and grow muscle. When you cut off food supply, you are taking away your body’s ability to not only fuel its cells, but also proper nerve function and ability to heal.
When you die of starvation, it’s usually because you’ve used up all the body fat and the body then starts to eat muscle instead, pulling nutrients from organs. It eats itself until the heart (usually) is no longer strong enough to pump blood to your brain.
Asking the real question: Do you need some food, OP?
I don’t know how it kills you but here’s a scenario I was part of few years back… a lady who was approximately 550 pounds heard about a starvation diet which meant she didn’t eat anything but drank water laced with otc electrolyte powder. I got to meet her on her 29 day when she was short of breath and experiencing chest pain. Within 10 minutes of meeting her she went into respiratory arrest followed by cardiac arrest. She was intubated within 5 minutes and cpr performed with all the protocol medications administered. Her EKG showed normal heart rhythm but there was no pulse. She was pronounced dead. Autopsy revealed sever malnutrition, PH imbalance and heart failure. Doc who went over the case review stated that her body went into protective mode trying to first utilize fat as nutrients and than went into protecting that fat as reserves causing multiple organ failure, changing blood PH which lead into cardiac arrest.
This cat fasted for 382 days and lost 250+ pounds. Very cool case study.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Barbieri%27s_fast
Yes a fat person would live longer then a skinny person without food. In fact in 1965 a Scotsman ate no food for 386 days. He took water, vitamins, and had constant health checks. But outside of that…nothing. Towards the end of his diet he did have some milk with his tea but that’s it.
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