# If you are starving to death what gets you first...lack of calories or lack of vitamins and minerals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 12, 2023, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-starving-to-death-what-gets-you-first-lack-of-calories-or-lack-of-vitamins-and-minerals/979651 "2023-02-12T10:00:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-starving-to-death-what-gets-you-first-lack-of-calories-or-lack-of-vitamins-and-minerals/979651/21 "2023-02-15T23:03:41Z")
A severely anorexic friend of my wife’s died and the autopsy showed she was using the protein from her heart muscle and that was likely the last straw. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-starving-to-death-what-gets-you-first-lack-of-calories-or-lack-of-vitamins-and-minerals/979651/22 "2023-02-16T00:36:56Z")
Kwashiorkor has already been mentioned, which is starvation from a lack of protein. Rabbit fever was also mentioned, although the linked article has things slightly wrong. It’s not the excess protein that kills someone, it’s the lack of essential fatty acids (not carbohydrates as also mentioned in that article). In other words, it’s going to be a race between whether your body runs out of protein or fats first. That will depend on what sort of shape you were in before the starvation started. For most people, however, it’s going to be kwashiorkor that kills them before rabbit fever has a chance to. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-starving-to-death-what-gets-you-first-lack-of-calories-or-lack-of-vitamins-and-minerals/979651/23 "2023-02-16T03:49:44Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It’s believed that Alexander Supertramp of _Into the Wild_ fame suffered such a fate. Just a h/t to you for mentioning this book, which I am now reading, and it is captivating. For some reason I am fascinated by stories of people doing crazy things in the wilderness. They haven’t got to his cause of death yet, but I think it’s telling he questioned whether he would survive the excursion before he even made the trip. At least he wasn’t the poor bastard that let a plane drop him out in the middle of nowhere but forgot to schedule the pick-up flight. And as he wasted away, accidentally signalled to a passing plane “No Assistance Needed.” Yeesh. > **[Carl McCunn](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_McCunn)** > > Carl McCunn (January 25, 1947 – late 1981) was an American wildlife photographer who became stranded in the Alaskan wilderness and eventually died by suicide when he ran out of supplies. > McCunn was the son of Donovan McCunn and Erika Hess. He was born in Munich, Germany, where his father was stationed by the United States Army. He was raised in San Antonio, Texas, graduated from high school in 1964, and enlisted in the United States Navy shortly after dropping out of community college. McCunn ... ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-starving-to-death-what-gets-you-first-lack-of-calories-or-lack-of-vitamins-and-minerals/979651/24 "2023-02-16T14:55:18Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > At least he wasn’t the poor bastard that let a plane drop him out in the middle of nowhere but forgot to schedule the pick-up flight. And as he wasted away, accidentally signalled to a passing plane “No Assistance Needed.” A remarkable number of people set out on outdoor adventures they’re totally undertrained and under-equipped for. Whether it’s a day hike, swimming at a beach, or a bigger adventure. Dunning-Kruger applies to everything. Even a walk in the park. For big enough parks and clueless enough walkers. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-starving-to-death-what-gets-you-first-lack-of-calories-or-lack-of-vitamins-and-minerals/979651/25 "2023-02-16T17:24:43Z")
I’ve done a 10 day hike in eastern Zimbabwe, illegally entering the National park, and then illegally crossing over to western Mozambique. Just two of us, and our major source of carbs was popcorn (cheap, light, easy to cook). We took to smoking joints and playing cards to work out who was going to cook each evening. We were poor, so we invested in a bottle of “whisky flavoured” alcohol. The Mozambican side of the mountains is still full of landmines, (from the Rhodesian bush war) so not the best idea in the world - on a separate trip, another friend found a stash of 20 year old grenades in one cave, which he gently backed away from… I’m not sure Mr Dunning, nor Mr Kruger would have endorsed this effort. We survived. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-starving-to-death-what-gets-you-first-lack-of-calories-or-lack-of-vitamins-and-minerals/979651/26 "2023-02-16T18:46:17Z")
That’s good to hear. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-are-starving-to-death-what-gets-you-first-lack-of-calories-or-lack-of-vitamins-and-minerals/979651.md?page=1)