# How long could a human survive by consuming only these two items? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 1, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929 "2005-11-01T17:06:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bzwilak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@bzwilak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bzwilak)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/1 "2005-11-01T17:06:35Z")
How long could a human survive by consuming water and **only** a product like, Ensure, instead of food? What would the effects be? After what period of time would the effects begin to show? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/2 "2005-11-01T18:47:56Z")
> [@bzwilak](#): > > a product like, Ensure, instead of food? I hate to break it to you, but Ensure **is** food. (Then again, so are Twinkies.) ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/3 "2005-11-01T19:18:44Z")
[The master speaks.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_209.html) Sorta. ---
**Author:** ![bzwilak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@bzwilak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bzwilak)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/4 "2005-11-01T19:22:13Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > I hate to break it to you, but Ensure **is** food. > > (Then again, so are Twinkies.) sigh… fine, then I am dropping the, “instead of food” part of the original question. How long could a human survive by consuming only water and a foodsource product like, Ensure? ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/5 "2005-11-01T19:33:14Z")
A very long time, assuming that you’re using one of the products made specifically for total nutrition (rather than “supplements” like Ensure). That’s what they feed people who can’t eat solid food for whatever reason. Probably a good long time on the supplements. There’s not a whole lot of difference between the supplements and the “food” liquids; I think it has to do with calories/water, protein/carbohydrate/fat ratios, vitamin/mineral amounts, etc. This is IME; there may be “liquid foods” that are exactly equivalent to the supplements and I’m just not familiar with them. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/6 "2005-11-01T19:43:21Z")
> [@bzwilak](#): > > How long could a human survive by consuming only water and a foodsource product like, Ensure? Isn’t that what they give to coma patients, people like Terri Schiavo? I’m guessing you could live quite a long time, as long as your other medical needs are met. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/7 "2005-11-01T21:03:15Z")
The correct answer (already provided by a few posters) is _indefinitely_\*. Products such as Ensure provide for all basic nutritional needs save water. Folks who consume only Ensure and water don’t die from their nutrition source, they generally die from other causes; most often whatever condition reduces them to eating nothing but Ensure. I’ve got a patient who’s been on nothing but nutritional supplements and water for over 18 months now. ---
**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/8 "2005-11-01T21:11:15Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > I’ve got a patient who’s been on nothing but nutritional supplements and water for over 18 months now. My curiosity gets the better of me… would a diet like that cause the stomach capacity to shrink? Would bowel movements cease or just become extremely infrequent? Would it be difficuly to jump from a diet like that back to solid foods? ---
**Author:** ![bzwilak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@bzwilak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bzwilak)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/9 "2005-11-01T21:27:37Z")
Interesting If a **completely healthy person** were to attempt to survive on only H2O and Ensure, wouldn’t there be some forms of “side effects?” I speculate that one might suffer stomach and abdominal cramps, because they can no longer achieve that feeling of “fullness” from solid foods. Their stomach organ might likely shrink. Would it affect stool? Would there also be possible psychological issues, such as “food withdrawal?” It seems like chewing and crunching would be greatly missed. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/10 "2005-11-02T01:35:13Z")
The stomach shrinks, and stools become quite infrequent, of small volume, and pretty soft. Then most folks just get out of the habit of eating. After a few weeks most folks don’t have anything in the way of hunger pangs or physical sensations. Starting food again must be taken slowly, starting with full liquids, and advancing to easily digested foods with adequate fiber to gear the gut up for more strenuous work. Sort of like building muscles back up after a long layoff. The body’s amazingly adaptable, and will gear itself to take maximum advantage of whatever nutrition is presented to it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/11 "2005-11-02T01:48:48Z")
It’s likely that even Ensure is missing some minor trace nutritional need. So after a while, there will be some problems. But it could be _years_ before they show up. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/12 "2005-11-02T01:49:50Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > The stomach shrinks, and stools become quite infrequent, of small volume, and pretty soft. > > Then most folks just get out of the habit of eating. After a few weeks most folks don’t have anything in the way of hunger pangs or physical sensations. Hmm … so, after approximately a month-long trial-by-fire, someone on a pure Ensure-and-water diet would stop feeling hungry? Would this make for a viable weight-loss regimen? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/13 "2005-11-02T04:53:35Z")
> [@bzwilak](#): > > Interesting > > If a **completely healthy person** were to attempt to survive on only H2O and Ensure, wouldn’t there be some forms of “side effects?” > > I speculate that one might suffer stomach and abdominal cramps, because they can no longer achieve that feeling of “fullness” from solid foods. Their stomach organ might likely shrink. Would it affect stool? Would there also be possible psychological issues, such as “food withdrawal?” It seems like chewing and crunching would be greatly missed. Well, back in '81 I didnt eat solid food from roughly oct 8th or 9th [does eating it and instantly vomiting it count as eating?] until dec 28th. I wasnt hungry at all for 3 weeks because of the nausea, then i had apparently lost the ability to feel hungry. Luckily, I only lost about 20 pounds in that time period so I managed to stay over 100 lbs [why the doctors were concerned about that I have no idea] I did only have a bm about once a week, and it took my stomach down small enough that I couldnt manage to eat much more than a single mcdonalds size hamburger and half of those little 8 oz fruit juices at a sitting. I think it took me about 2 months to get my appetite fully back to where the thought of eating didnt nauseate me, and I could actually eat a full meal [classic diabetic menu from the nutritionist, call it around 3 cups total volume liquid and solid] ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-could-a-human-survive-by-consuming-only-these-two-items/328929/14 "2005-11-02T05:30:16Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Luckily, I only lost about 20 pounds in that time period so I managed to stay over 100 lbs [why the doctors were concerned about that I have no idea] Becuase people tend to die after they lose 40% of their LBM? **Quagdop** : I’ve often wondered if someone could live on weightlifting supplements (meal replacements, mass gainers, fiber, etc.) and still function the same way I do now: waking up, going to work, kickboxing, etc. The comment about the trace minerals was one I was especially wondering about.