# Diarrhea After Fasting **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diarrhea-after-fasting/636884 "2012-10-06T06:51:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stainles\_Stan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stainles\_Stan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainles_Stan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diarrhea-after-fasting/636884/1 "2012-10-06T06:51:35Z")
I ended a 10-day fast, and I had some bad diarrhea afterward. In just around 2 hours after my first meal, I had burning diahrreah. During the 10-day fast, I did not consume not one gram of food, and I drank only water. I did not get diahrrea during the fast. I only got diarrea afterward when I started eating again. What exactly caused this? ---
**Author:** ![Stainles\_Stan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stainles\_Stan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainles_Stan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diarrhea-after-fasting/636884/2 "2012-10-07T03:27:29Z")
(bump)Any thoughts? I googled this issue, but I only found info from yahoo answers, non of the “answers” had any scientific, factual information, they were just trolls and spams. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diarrhea-after-fasting/636884/3 "2012-10-07T05:35:33Z")
That’s quite a fast. Neat. I don’t have any facts, but I frequently fast for 36-48 hours just drinking water (just for kicks, really – I think it’s fun) and notice the same thing. You’d think after 48 hours all the crap is out of there, but it just keeps coming on out. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diarrhea-after-fasting/636884/4 "2012-10-07T06:02:03Z")
You traumatize your digestive system, and you’re surprised that it acts erratically? ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diarrhea-after-fasting/636884/5 "2012-10-07T06:17:21Z")
> [@Stainles\_Stan](#): > > I ended a 10-day fast, and I had some bad diarrhea afterward. In just around 2 hours after my first meal, I had burning diahrreah. > > During the 10-day fast, I did not consume not one gram of food, and I drank only water. I did not get diahrrea during the fast. I only got diarrea afterward when I started eating again. > > What exactly caused this? I’m going on memory, but I remember seeing Les Stroud taking about this. I believe it had to do with your digestive system getting used to doing its job again. Eating too much too quickly, or eating something too rich will lead to diarrhea simply because your system is overwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diarrhea-after-fasting/636884/6 "2012-10-07T10:01:12Z")
So does that mean you’re going to have to change your name, Stan? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diarrhea-after-fasting/636884/7 "2012-10-07T10:37:49Z")
this happens to people who go all day without eating and i imagine happens hardcore to challenge winners on Survivor who get to eat some massive banquet. it’s called [starvation diarrhea](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2871346) and it’s the result of depriving your digestive tract with what it needs to digest food properly, then bombarding it with too much everything. it simply cannot keep up. there are enzymes and bacteria in the intestines that need to be maintained for…you know. bowel health. starving them out reduces the effectiveness, and your body goes into dump mode. punt! ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diarrhea-after-fasting/636884/8 "2012-10-07T15:11:43Z")
IIRC Allied Soldiers at the end of WWII typically fed too much too fast to Holocaust survivors whenever they came across a concentration camp (often candy and chocolate, very rich foods), and the survivors would subsequently suffer from the symptoms in question.