Before we begin to answer the question of what will happen if we do not eat for a long time, we would like to decide on the time frame of a hypothetical hunger. Long is a loose concept. For some people, skipping breakfast and lunch is already a tragedy, because they start to feel bad about it, and for others eating nothing even a few days does not cause any difficulty. Therefore, we will consider the topic from different angles and from different angles.
How long can a person do without food?
How long can a person not eat? If we talk about therapeutic fasting, which is carried out according to all the rules (compliance with the drinking regime, daily cleansing procedures, etc.), then the terms can be very long - 30 and 40 days. That is, even for such a long period when literally no crumbs fall into the mouth, the starving person will not only not die, but also will thoroughly improve his health. It should be said that prolonged medical fasting is not recommended to be carried out independently, only under the supervision of a doctor and if there are really serious medical indications for this.
If we talk about one or two or three hungry days, then they are unlikely to harm a healthy adult. Regular short-term fasting is now practiced by many in order to cleanse the body, to lose weight, strengthen immunity, etc. But if there are any diseases, then they can worsen against the background of hunger.
How does hunger affect the human body?
What will happen if you don’t eat for a long time? How does hunger affect the human body? If food ceases to enter our body, then there is nothing left for it but to switch to the internal independent production of nutrients for our life. For such an emergency, the liver contains a supply of glycogen, which will serve as food on the first day of the hunger strike.
But these reserves are quickly depleted, and then the fats available in our body go into food. But the trouble is that for the complete breakdown of fats, carbohydrates are necessary, and the body does not get them during hunger. Therefore, toxic products are gradually accumulating in the body - ketones resulting from the incomplete oxidation of fats; the acid-base balance begins to shift to the acidic side. This phenomenon is called acidosis.
Signs of increasing acidosis: weakness, headaches, smell of acetone from the mouth. Around the fifth or seventh day, the so-called acidotic crisis sets in - a person’s condition worsens sharply. And then what will happen? “If you don’t eat for a long time, then you can probably die,” you will think ... But no! After passing the first crisis, the body's work is completely rebuilt, the feeling of hunger disappears and the well-being improves. At this stage, the digestive system rests, as it were, the body tunes in to internal nutrition. Damaged diseased cells and tissues are the first to eat.
In this mode, a person can live up to forty days, after which comes the second acidotic crisis, which serves as a team, that it is time to get out of hunger. The narration in this chapter is just a short answer to the question: "If you don’t eat for a long time, what will happen?" If you plan to refrain from food for a long time, then you will need to study this topic more deeply, read books about fasting and be sure to get medical advice.
The benefits of hunger
The benefits of hunger are undeniable for those people who want to cleanse the body, rejuvenate, lose weight, get rid of certain diseases. If a person does everything right, then after leaving a hunger strike he feels renewed and strong. Here is a short list of diseases in which treatment with hunger is indicated:
- obesity;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- skin diseases;
- asthma;
- allergy;
- varicose veins;
- hypertension, etc.
Harmful health effects
But not everything is so rosy. Not everyone can starve. Many are not able to refuse food even for a day, as they begin to experience problems with well-being. Sometimes this is facilitated by mistakes that people make out of ignorance or carelessness.
For example, while abstaining from food, you need to drink plenty of water and practice daily enemas to help the body remove toxins. If this is not done, then the intoxication will be too high, which cannot but affect health negatively. Very often people ask: “Why, if I don’t eat for a long time, my head starts to hurt?” This can happen for a number of reasons:
- decrease in pressure (this often happens during fasting);
- a consequence of a cleansing reaction (especially if the body is heavily slagged);
- drops in blood glucose, etc.
Fasting has many contraindications, which you can learn about below.
To whom is fasting contraindicated?
What will happen if you don’t eat for a long time, with a person who has a heart disease, such as coronary artery disease? Nothing good, because during prolonged hunger, the load on the cardiovascular system increases many times. There are diseases and conditions in which fasting is prohibited. It:
- diabetes;
- lack of body weight ;
- thyrotoxicosis;
- coronary artery disease;
- encephalopathy;
- any disease in its acute phase;
- blood diseases;
- other diseases.
Also contraindications for hunger are pregnancy, childhood and adolescence, age after 60 years, menopause.
Conclusion
We hope you understand in general terms what will happen if you do not eat for a long time. Try to observe moderation in everything - both in food and in fasting. This will help maintain health for years to come.