Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
And this month's Darwin Award goes to: [View all]
A Seattle woman is attempting to go 100 days without eating to prove that humans can "live on light".
Naveena Shine says she believes it is possible for human beings to survive without food and is conducting what she describes as an experiment to prove it.
The 65-year-old, originally from Birmingham in the UK, has been consuming just water and "one, maybe two cups of tea a day" for the past 41 days, losing 30lbs in the process. Other people have previously claimed to be able to survive without food and and water, although no one has ever proven it to be possible and some have died attempting it.
Dr Ronald Hoffman, medical director of the Hoffman Center and host of a weekly health talk podcast, said it was "delusional to think that you can escape the laws of biology".
"Plants have what are called choroplasts that contain chlorophyll and they have the ability to capture energy from sunlight," Hoffman said. "Humans don't have cholorphyll or chloroplasts. No humans do. It is impossible for a human to have that.
"Therefore they have to derive energy from external sources, that can be either fat or protein or carbohydrates, but it can't be sunlight."
Hoffman said if Shine continues to not eat food her organs will eventually fail and she will die.
Naveena Shine says she believes it is possible for human beings to survive without food and is conducting what she describes as an experiment to prove it.
The 65-year-old, originally from Birmingham in the UK, has been consuming just water and "one, maybe two cups of tea a day" for the past 41 days, losing 30lbs in the process. Other people have previously claimed to be able to survive without food and and water, although no one has ever proven it to be possible and some have died attempting it.
Dr Ronald Hoffman, medical director of the Hoffman Center and host of a weekly health talk podcast, said it was "delusional to think that you can escape the laws of biology".
"Plants have what are called choroplasts that contain chlorophyll and they have the ability to capture energy from sunlight," Hoffman said. "Humans don't have cholorphyll or chloroplasts. No humans do. It is impossible for a human to have that.
"Therefore they have to derive energy from external sources, that can be either fat or protein or carbohydrates, but it can't be sunlight."
Hoffman said if Shine continues to not eat food her organs will eventually fail and she will die.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/14/living-on-light-without-food
23 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read