Human beings with normal health need energy, proteins and micro nutrients to keep themselves going and inadequacy vis-a-vis any of the above can lead to deficiency diseases and other physiological and metabolic consequences. Many people resort to starving for a variety of reasons, religious, medical, political etc. Mahatma Gandhi used fasting effectively in connection with the freedom struggle during the first half of the last millennium and the most recent one seen in India was the "fast unto death" by a politician for gaining a political goal in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The Jain sect follows the practice of fasting regularly and no serious adverse consequences have ever been reported. Generally there is not much awareness about the effect of fasting and the duration of fasting one can safely indulge in. Read what some one has to say on this issue.
"However, there are many people who cut down on food for various reasons. Some choose not to eat for days for religious reasons. And there are still others who do so due to vanity. Still others would like to try fasting just out of curiosity. Therefore, considering the fact that food is vital for survival, how long can a person go without food? While this generally varies from person to person, the average amount of time that a person can survive without food is around 3 weeks. The longest verifiable time on record of a person surviving without food stands at 70 days"
Probably the information contained in the above commentary may not be truly scientific as a general physician only can determine whether a particular person can withstand fasting and if so for what duration. While partial starvation is a common occurrence amongst famished population, complete fasting, even without water is some thing considered very dangerous. Even if, for a short while, such deprived state may not cause noticeable immediate adverse effect, what damage it can inflict on the life span is not clear.
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