What happens to a person without food and water?
British scientists believe that a person is able to hold out for about two months without food. It all depends on age, state of health, and the surrounding conditions.
At the start of a forced fast, the body uses up adipose tissue. This process only temporarily delays the complications to come. And soon a person who has found themselves in a critical situation experiences a loss of strength. Blood pressure drops sharply, and the feeling of hunger turns into real suffering.
After a month, the body begins to fail seriously. Prolonged hunger leads to the muscles atrophying due to the loss of protein. A person's consciousness begins to grow confused, and they fall captive to hallucinations. On top of that, vision deteriorates, and the starving person seems to be in a fog.
Then, alas, the exhausted heart may give out – and sudden death will follow. Although the death of a starving person who has used up their strength sometimes comes directly from a relapse of previous chronic illnesses.
Dehydration causes a very agonizing death, and thirst can kill a person in three days. So believe scientists who drew their conclusions on the basis of many years of research.
At first, dehydration affects the kidneys: the elimination of harmful substances from the body is immediately disrupted. Then severe cramps arise in the stomach. After that, due to the absence of beneficial fluid, the blood thickens and, alas, the heart begins to fail.
The record of Angus Barbieri: 382 days without food
In June 1965, a young Scotsman named Angus Barbieri agreed to a risky experiment. He suffered from obesity and by the age of 27 had gained 207 kg. Doctors warned him of a sad outcome and prescribed the strictest diet. But Angus, to the astonishment of the medics, decided to give up food entirely in order to shed his enormous weight.
Now the Scotsman's menu consisted of tea, coffee, unsweetened soda water, vitamins, and mineral supplements. Angus Barbieri held out for 382 days and by the end of his diet weighed 82 kg. Note that the young Scotsman felt quite well. Although he did complain to the doctors after his first real breakfast about a loss of the taste of food.
Angus Barbieri's achievement was entered into the Guinness Book of Records. He soon married and had two sons. Unfortunately, the brave experimenter passed away at the age of 51. The cause of death – a ruptured aorta.
The Scotsman's example would inspire many of the planet's inhabitants. But no scientist would record any new records. The price of the achievements was too high, and to gamble with a person's health for the sake of dubious fame would be, in the opinion of experts, immoral and harmful.
The record of Chen Jianmin: 49 days without food
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The Chinese doctor Chen Jianmin fasted in a glass box for 49 days, not taking a single crumb of food. And he tested himself in this way, trying to prove his own theory of traditional medicine. At the same time, he continued to consult his patients by telephone.
The record of David Blaine: 44 days without food
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The 30-year-old American illusionist fasted before the eyes of the whole public. An enormous glass box with the young man inside was suspended above Tower Bridge in London, and anyone could see for themselves that David was not cheating. Because of this experiment, the police even had to block traffic for more than a month. There turned out to be far too many malicious onlookers who pelted the voluntary prisoner with food and eggs. Over 44 days David lost 26 kilograms and could barely climb out of his cage. He was immediately sent for a medical examination and rehabilitation.
The record of Andreas Mihavecz: 18 days without food and water
Once, scientists had to seriously doubt the results of their scientific conclusions. And it was all because of an unusual case that occurred in 1979 with a young Austrian, Andreas Mihavecz. The stupidity and indifference of the police officers who processed him as a witness to a traffic accident led the 18-year-old to unimaginable suffering. Andreas was placed in a holding cell – and forgotten about for 18 days! That is exactly how long the unfortunate «prisoner» sat without water. Only a chance round by another police officer, who discovered Mihavecz, saved the young man from certain death. Andreas would remember the misadventures that befell him for the rest of his life. Scientists were somewhat puzzled by the Austrian's feat and were inclined to think that he had saved himself from thirst by licking moisture off the walls of the cell.
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