You have decided to go on a hunger strike. You vow not to eat a single thing for days or even
weeks if you can last that long. The worst part is that as each day goes by, things will get
worse and worse. By the time you reach the end, you will be a husk of the person you once were.
The day you stop eating.
You take your final bite of a delicious meal. This will be the last food you will eat for weeks. The
food is broken down into small pieces in your mouth by your teeth. Spit and saliva lubricate
the chewed-up food so that it’s easier for you to consume. When you swallow, your throat muscles
expand and contract, pushing the food down into your stomach. This process is called peristalsis
and is what allows you to swallow even if you are upsidedown. Ironically it is also the process that
enables you to throw up when it’s done in reverse. Once the food reaches your stomach, the acids in
it break down your food into its basic components, one of the most important of which is glucose.
Glucose is the sugar molecule that your body uses to produce energy. It’s arguably
the most important molecule you ingest while eating. There are other important nutrients
and vitamins your body gets from your food, but the main goal is to break down anything
you put into your mouth into glucose so that the mitochondria in your cells can use it to
make energy. If this does not happen, you will die. In the days to come, it will be
glucose that your body craves. Everything else is inconsequential, as you will soon find out.
The food sitting in your stomach is torn apart by the acid contained within it. Some
of the molecules diffuse through your stomach lining and into your bloodstream. Others are
released into your intestines, where they will travel through around 20 feet of tubes. It’s
here that the majority of the nutrients from your food are absorbed into the bloodstream,
and the waste is carried to your bowels to be pooped out. Digestion can take hours to complete,
which means once you stop eating, you will not feel the effects of starvation for some time.
6 hours after you stop eating.
Your body has now broken down all of the food from your last meal. Some of the nutrients are
still in your bloodstream but in lower numbers than they were while your food was still being
digested. However, the glucose from that meal is almost completely used up. This is
when your brain starts sending signals to your body that make you feel hungry.
Hunger is your body telling you it needs more glucose to make energy. Really it’s
just your brain’s way of tricking you into eating more food so it can make more energy.
But since you’ve decided to stop eating altogether, these signals go unanswered.
It is at this point you might start to become irritable or what has become known as hangry. Many
people have a shift in their mood when they get hungry. Your brain is signaling your stomach to
make hormones such as ghrelin which stimulates the feelings of hunger. Ghrelin can also make you feel
anxious, which is one of the reasons you become irritable and grouchy when you are hungry. After
several hours of not eating, people will not want to be around you. You might have a short temper,
experience mood swings, and heightened emotions, all because your body is craving more glucose.
1 day after you stop eating.
You wake up after a good night's sleep. Biological changes have started to occur within your body.
The surprising thing is you may feel like you have more energy now than you did the
day before. While you slept, your body tried to conserve energy, and now that you’re awake,
it’s pulling whatever glucose is left out of your bloodstream to keep your body going.
It has been a full 24 hours since your last meal, which means your body quickly goes from feeling
good to sluggish and miserable. The energy you conserved is slowly being sapped from you. You
drink a lot of water to keep yourself hydrated because although you can survive for weeks without
food, you would be dead within days if you become dehydrated. You have sworn off juices and soda,
so you will not be replenishing your glucose supply that way, and although the water
quenches your thirst, it will never provide you with the energy you need to stay alive.
You carry on and complete your daily activities. That night as you look at your bed, it manifests
into a hot, juicy, cheeseburger right before your eyes. It’s just your mind playing tricks on you
because you are so hungry, but it seems so real at the time. This will become a common occurrence
as you drift in and out of consciousness in the days to come. Not eating will begin to mess with
your mind in ways that you can’t possibly imagine, and in the end, it might just make you go crazy.
Your hunger strike continues, and you go to bed with a grumbling stomach and
a brain that is screaming at you to eat something. In the coming days,
your body will take drastic measures to keep you alive.
2 days after you stop eating.
The glucose in your body is now completely gone. You enter ketosis,
which is when the liver produces ketone bodies that can be broken down and used
for energy. Although glucose is the most desirable molecule for energy production,
it’s not the only one. The brain will use ketone bodies as a replacement in dier situations. There
is a lag time between the depletion of glucose in the blood and the breaking down of your body’s
energy-storing molecules such as carbohydrates and fats. During this transition time,
the ketone bodies are a vital resource your brain uses to maintain its basic functions.
When the liver is producing ketone bodies, it signals the beginning of what will become a
very destructive process for other parts of your body. As your internal systems try to keep vital
organs functioning, they will break down anything and everything to keep you alive. Once the ketone
bodies are all gone, things start to get even worse. Your body has to resort to destroying
itself to generate more energy. And all of this destruction will come with some dire consequences.
3 days after you stop eating.
Your body is in full-blown starvation mode at this point and begins feeding on itself. Whenever you
eat, some of the nutrients you ingest such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are stored
in your tissue. This is the reason why your weight increases if you eat too much food
on a regular basis. However, now that you are starving, your body takes these energy stores
and starts to break them down. Carbohydrates and fats are the first macronutrients to be used.
The most common location where fats and carbohydrates are stored is in the abdominal
region. However, they can be found throughout the body. As they are broken down, you lose weight,
and your BMI decreases. Carbohydrates are made up of complex sugars. Enzymes in your body break them
down into components that are easier to use. Many carbohydrates contain glucose molecules,
which are stripped and quickly used up by your starving body.
The fatty acids that are broken down contain acetyl CoA. This molecule can be used by your
cells to generate energy. Acetyl CoA does not contain as much energy as glucose,
but in this situation, your body doesn’t care where the
energy is coming from as long as there is enough to carry out basic life functions.
Your metabolism slows immensely, and you feel tired all of the time. It’s at this
point that your organs begin to shrink. This is another step your body takes to
lower the amount of energy required to keep things running. At the same time,
your body temperature drops, which also helps conserve energy.
All of these changes can be dangerous and are clear signs that your body is starving. In any
other circumstance, you would eat a huge meal to replenish the nutrients and stored energy that is
being lost. But since this is not an option, you power through the pain and exhaustion. You find
it hard to move around even for short periods of time, and keeping your eyes open is a chore.
The most dangerous effect of starvation is that your brain is not receiving the
glucose it needs to run smoothly. If the brain shuts down, it’s game over;
you die. The brain cannot use fatty acids and other energy stores as efficiently as glucose,
so it monopolizes any remaining glucose in your system. On average, your brain uses around 120
grams of glucose every day. This is a significant amount of your daily sugar intake, which is why
if you don’t eat enough, your brain will signal that you are still hungry. Now that you are not
consuming any new sugars, all the energy your brain requires must come from the body itself.
Things go haywire as your body is broken down to keep you alive. Your blood pressure
drops, and your heart rate slows. These are countermeasures to try and reduce
energy needs. From here on out, every day that passes without food entering
your body will cause even more serious damage to occur. In the coming days,
your body will do some pretty miraculous things to keep you going, but eventually, it will shut down.
5 days after you stop eating.
Your body is now in a constant state of feeling threatened. You haven’t eaten in almost a week,
so you begin to act more like a cornered wild animal than a rational human. Your
brain can’t function properly, so animalistic instincts take over, and you are driven only
by the will to survive. This means you might become aggressive or aggravated more quickly.
Around this time, non-essential organs begin to shut down. Your body is trying to conserve
as many resources as possible to keep the brain going. The digestive system is one
of the first organ systems to be shut down as it hasn’t been used in days. However,
there are some nasty side effects that develop as a result of this occurring.
Once the digestive and excretory systems start to lose energy and cells due to starvation,
they cause a build-up of excess water in your body. As a result, you begin to have
diarrhea. Even though you may be drinking water constantly, this can still have life-threatening
consequences. As the liquid explodes out of your bowels, nutrients come out with it.
There is no way for your body to separate the vital nutrients from the waste being excreted.
With even less nutrients available now, the brain becomes more and more strained. Your
brain cells begin to die, and brain matter loss escalates. This is especially dangerous
for brains that are still developing. Children and young adults affected by starvation could
end up with permanent neurological impairment even if they eventually start eating a healthy
diet again. It’s true that since the brain is more plastic during development,
it might be able to repair itself, but the danger of causing irreparable
damage to the nervous system due to starvation is a real concern.
7 days after you stop eating.
Your body has used up its energy stores of carbohydrates and fats. It’s now starting
to break down your own proteins in a last-ditch effort to generate energy. This is when things
get really bad. Once your body starts breaking down proteins, death is not too far away. You are
literally tearing apart your own muscles in order to keep the brain going. Unfortunately,
this is at the expense of other vital organs, including your heart.
You could start to develop convulsions or disrupted heart rhythms. You are
also becoming weaker and more toxins are building up in your body as your
kidneys and liver begin to shut down. The brain tries to conserve as much energy as
possible by reducing the amount of glucose it requires, but it still needs to send signals
to the rest of the body to keep things functioning. Long-term starvation can
cause you to experience hallucinations and fade in and out of consciousness.
The process of breaking down proteins into amino acids and small amounts of glucose helps the body
initially, but it will only be a matter of days until a major system fails and you die.
10 days after you stop eating.
You are cold all of the time. You can barely lift your head off the ground, let alone stand up. Your
eyes have become super sensitive to light, so you have to sit in the shade or in a dark room just to
prevent a throbbing headache from developing. You start to cough as you feel yourself getting sick.
You have become much more susceptible to disease without the necessary resources
or energy to make antibodies. Your immune system has become compromised,
and even if you are just lying in isolation as you suffer through starvation,
it’s only a matter of time until you are attacked by a harmful pathogen.
When this happens, your body will not have the energy or nutrients it requires to fight
off the infection. Your white blood cell count is low. The antibody proteins your
immune system would normally develop cannot be made due to a lack of resources. Much of the
protein in your body has already been broken down and repurposed as an energy source;
there just isn’t enough left over to generate the components needed to defeat the pathogen.
If you are lucky, you might receive medical interventions before the disease kills you.
But this will do nothing if you don’t get food into your system. Chances are that even if you
do catch a cold after close to two weeks without eating, it will be starvation that causes your
body to shut down and not the illness. 14 days after you stop eating.
Your teeth begin to decay. Even if you decided to eat something, you’re not sure you would be
able to chew and swallow it. You feel so weak that you are almost positive that if you fall asleep,
you won’t wake up. Your bones have become brittle and seem as if they will snap if you move. All you
can do is lay on your back and stare into the darkness. Your body has broken down every store
of energy it can find. Your muscles have been torn apart, and your bones have lost density.
21 days after you stop eating.
When you shift your head, you find hair all over your pillow. Your bones are pressed up
against your skin as there is practically no more muscle or fat left on your entire
body. You are nothing more than a skeleton with skin wrapped around
it. Breathing becomes a chore. Your heart begins to shut down. Your brain
can no longer generate the energy it needs to send signals throughout your body. You
take in your final breath before your nervous system becomes completely inactive and you die.
However, you are lucky. Someone is about to rescue you from dying of starvation. Unfortunately,
this is easier said than done. Your body is just a shell of what it once was. If
you are not reintroduced to food properly, you will still end up dying. First, doctors must
give you a thorough medical exam to figure out the best course of action to save your life.
Day 1 of the recovery process.
It’s likely you will be given antibiotics to try and fight off any infections or harmful bacteria
that have found their way into your body. Since your immune system has been all but destroyed,
pathogens are running rampant throughout your system. You are hooked to an IV to
make sure you get the fluids you need to say hydrated. In the solution are electrolytes,
nutrients, and, most importantly, glucose. The life-saving substance flows into your body,
and your brain starts using it to reactivate long inert muscles and organs.
Day 2 of the recovery process.
You might be given soft foods full of nutrients, such as peanut butter paste. If you are able to
drink on your own, skim milk could be one of the fluids that doctors ask you to consume.
Both are high in vitamins and minerals and will help your body begin the recovery process. You
would not be able to eat solid foods as you would be too weak. If you try to eat too much,
too quickly, you will make yourself sick and throw it all up. This would
obviously defeat the purpose of trying to eat in the first place.
Day 3 of the recovery process.
You are monitored for any swelling that might occur as a result of introducing
food back into your system. The doctors also check your heart as people who are
brought back from starvation often develop cardiovascular problems as the heart muscles
have become so weak that they struggle to move blood around the body. Even if you are pumped
full of glucose and nutrients, it won’t matter if they can’t get to your brain.
Your diet will eventually return to normal. But during the recovery process,
you will be eating boiled vegetables along with other supplements. Your protein intake
will remain relatively low until your body becomes stronger. And even though
you would think that you should be dumping sugar into your system to generate energy,
this is not the case. Your cells would not be able to use up all of the sugar,
which could lead to glucose resistance that could develop into Type-2 diabetes.
Recovery from starvation is possible with the help of medical professionals, but it’s highly likely
your body will sustain long-term damage from the ordeal. Your heart might not fully recover,
and you may need to be put on blood pressure medication. Your cognitive functions could be
impaired for the foreseeable future, and there may be irreparable damage to organs within your body.
The amount of time you would survive without eating varies depending on your body type,
weight, age, how active you are, and your hydration levels. Some people only survive
a week without eating, while others can survive 21 days. This tends to be the
normal time range people can last without food, but there are some who can survive much longer.
How much longer, you ask? We are talking months without anything to eat.
Mahatma Gandhi survived for 21 days while only sipping water during one of his non-violent
protests for India’s independence. There have also been accounts of
people on hunger strikes that have lasted up to 40 days. This may seem incredible,
but it actually has been done a number of times. Several studies have recorded
people on hunger strikes exceeding a month without food. That being said,
the longest someone has ever gone without solid food is so astonishing it will blow your mind.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Angus Barbieri lasted for over a year without any
solid food. In June of 1965, Angus stopped eating any food and only drank tea, coffee,
water, and soda while at Maryfield Hospital in Dundee, Scotland. He was also given supplemental
vitamins to help keep his body going. In July of 1966, 382 days after starting his no-food diet,
Angus had his first real food in over a year. He went from weighing 472 pounds to 178 pounds.
This was a special circumstance as doctors were present to monitor him,
and he was given supplemental vitamins, but 382 days is an extremely long time to go
without any solid food. In cases where people go on hunger strikes for long periods of time,
they are likely drinking water and have access to other supplements.
Also, life expectancy due to starvation is drastically different when it is by choice
rather than in a survival situation. If you found yourself trapped on a deserted island with no food
and only water, it’s highly improbable that you would make it past two weeks before dying. This is
because you would already be in survival mode, which would dump adrenaline into your system
and cause you to start using your glucose much quicker than if you actively chose to stop eating.
There is also some evidence to suggest that females are able to last longer without food
than males. This has not been definitively proven because an experiment to gather these
results would be highly unethical. But women tend to have a higher percentage
of stored body fat than men. This means that their body has more resources to pull
from before needing to tear apart proteins to generate energy. The longer a body can
go before it runs out of carbohydrates and fats, the longer the person will survive.
That being said, if you ever do find yourself in a situation where you are in danger of starving,
there are a few things you can do to extend your life expectancy. In the best of circumstances,
you will need to drink a lot of water and make sure you don’t become dehydrated.
Dehydration will kill you much quicker than starvation ever could. To conserve energy,
you should move as little as possible and try to remain calm.
The faster your heart is beating, the more energy you are using. The quicker you deplete
your glucose levels, the sooner your body will start consuming itself to generate the energy it
needs to keep you alive. Your body is using the least amount of energy while you are sleeping,
so resting is your best course of action to extend the amount of time you can go without food.
The bottom line is that if you have the choice between eating or going on a hunger strike,
it’s best to just keep eating. Starvation can have long-term effects that you may never recover from.
Now watch “What Happens To Your Body If You Never
Move.” Or check out “What Does it Actually Feel Like to be Shot.”