Eating is generally a pleasure. But it is also a condition sine qua non to our survival. Regardless of our lack of willpower – or our indulgence – which sometimes pushes us a little too often to the fridge, how long could our body really do without food?
To walk, talk, work or play. To live simply, our body needsenergy. Of protein, carbohydrates and lipids that he finds in food we eat. The theory is that there is a rule called "rule of three" according to which one can live 30 days without eating, while one cannot live more than three days without drinking. And not even more than three minutes without breathing!
A study by a group of doctors on hunger strikers between 2003 and 2004 showed that the average adult could last up to 80 days without eating. Provided that we continue, in parallel, to drink water. And the duration of the fast could even be extended for obese people. Up to a hundred days. These people indeed enjoy larger initial reserves.
Effects on the body of a lack of food
When we stop eating, our body draws on its reserves. Only a few hours after the last meal, the lack of carbohydrates – also water and salt – begins to be felt. Our body then pumps, for some 72 hours, into its reserves of sugars. And we lose weight at sight ofeye.
Until the end of the first two weeks, our body then draws on its fat stores and our muscles. Weaknesses are beginning to be felt. Result: our heartbeat decreases and our blood pressure collapses.
Then, our body will have to draw on our protein reserves. In other words, we will start to degrade our tissues. As a result, headaches, difficulty concentrating, muscle aches, etc. Beyond 30 to 50% of protein lost, even more severe complications are recorded and it becomes difficult to survive.
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