# General question: Surviving without food **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2001, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-question-surviving-without-food/62160 "2001-04-16T14:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![amico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@amico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amico)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2001, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-question-surviving-without-food/62160/1 "2001-04-16T14:35:01Z")
## I took the time to search the SDMB (and Cecil’s column) and didn’t find any similar threads pertaining to this question, so I apologize if this subject has been brought up in the past. _How long can a person survive without eating food?_ Thanks in advanced, amico ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2001, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-question-surviving-without-food/62160/2 "2001-04-16T14:57:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amico \* > How long can a person survive without eating food? According to the [Breatharians](http://www.breatharian.com/), people don’t need food. [Jasmuheen](http://www.sunfood.net/jeaa/articles/jasmuheen.html) even has a book entitled _Pranic Nourishment: Living on Light_. For a serious answer, you’ll have to wait for someone more knowledgable, but it does depend on the person what what exactly you mean by not eating food. If you are limiting intake to water only (i.e. no Beefcake 2000 shakes), it will be much quicker. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2001, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-question-surviving-without-food/62160/3 "2001-04-16T15:00:56Z")
Cecil: [Can man live by bread alone?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_209.html) Since this column allows you to eat bread & water, it doesn’t really answer you directly. I would say that the answer depends on your personal energy (fat) stores, although I suspect lack of water & nutrient defficiency would off you even if you had an inexhaustible fat supply. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2001, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-question-surviving-without-food/62160/4 "2001-04-16T15:13:33Z")
It depends on how fat you are at first. I once asked a similar question but it was more about how long you could do it if you recycled all your body fluids, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2001, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-question-surviving-without-food/62160/5 "2001-04-16T15:28:15Z")
With absolutely no food, but unlimited water, a good rule of thumb is somewhere between 30-120 days. Much depends on the particulars of the person. Try searching on “hunger strikes” for more info. Unfortunately, there is a point of no return in starvation. While you might not die for some time, after a certain point even if you try to start eating again it won’t do any good. You usually die from a heart attack. Your body has fed off itself long enough and eaten enough muscle tissue that your heart is compromised. This can take you out fairly early in the starvation cycle like a thunderbolt, or your heart might keep beating long after you’ve fallen into a comatose stupor.