- Records have also shown that females survive longer than males without food.
- Children are at higher risk of death if they go without food
Image: FILE
Kenyans are still reeling in shock after learning that dozens of followers of controversial Pastor Paul Mackenzie fasted to death.
Police believe the victims acted at the direction of Mackenzie, an end-time preacher who promised them heaven if they starved to death.
For more than a week, authorities searching Mackenzie’s land in Shakahola in Kilifi have been exhuming bodies in shallow graves, including mass burials.
At least 90 bodies had been exhumed and 34 people rescued alive from the expansive piece of land.
“Mackenzie’s wife and children have been eating and living well while followers of his church starved to death,” Kilifi North MP Owen Baya said during a debate in Parliament on Tuesday.
But how long can you stay without food?
Researchers believe that a person can live for up to three weeks without food as long as they have water to drink. Without both water and food, a person cannot survive for more than four days, they say.
India’s Mahatma Gandhi’s staged a celebrated hunger strike in the 1940s. He stopped eating and only drunk sips of water for 21 days. He suffered a severe decrease in body mass but he survived.
Sex, age, starting weight and water consumption all play into how long someone can go without food.
Records have also shown that females survive longer than males. Children are however at higher risk of death.
Science journals say fasting or deliberately going without food for short periods of time can be a healthy way to lose weight or manage certain medical conditions. They, however, warn that it should only be done for hours, not days.
Scientists say the body often finds alternate ways to generate energy during starvation but, in the absence of water, it undergoes several changes and severe dehydration, and kidneys may shut down.
When one stops eating, the body starts to break down its own tissues for food, disrupting all the vital processes of systems. This results in severe weight loss and leads to organ failure.
According to MedicineNet, an American medical website that provides detailed information about diseases, conditions, medications and general health, the body normally uses glucose, or sugar, as its main source of energy.
“When you don't eat, your glucose reserves are used up within one day,” it said.
“After two or three days without food, your body starts to break down fatty tissue. Your muscles use the fatty acids created during this process as their main source of fuel,” it added.
After 7 days, when the fatty acid reserves are gone, the body switches to protein the website says. “Depending on how little fatty tissue you had, it may take only a few days to reach this point. By one week, however, the bodies of most starving people will be actively breaking down muscle in order to obtain protein.”
It adds that after 14 days, as the breakdown of muscle speeds up, the body begins to lose heart, kidney, and liver function.
“This is what may ultimately lead to death. Because a starving body lacks the resources to stay healthy, infection is another possible cause of death.”