# Man living on bread alone **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 8, 2021, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007 "2021-11-08T21:50:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/1 "2021-11-08T21:50:19Z")
I was reading Cecil’s column on living on bread alone. > **[Can man live by bread alone?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341369/can-man-live-by-bread-alone)** I wanted to see if he addressed the fact that since the quote is quite old that trying it with modern bread is not a fair comparison. He doesn’t try to come up with a bread from that ancient period - which presumably would have mixed whole grains and less salt. Searching for grain nutrition reinforces his statements that cereals do not have enough Vitamin C, A or D. The comparison charts I found don’t even list those vitamins so I guess they are too small to be of any use. Oh, well. But I came across a curious thing (to me anyway). The Bible never says that man _ **cannot** _ live on bread alone. It states that man _ **doesn’t** _ live on bread alone but by every word that proceed out of the mouth of God (original translation) or that Man _ **shall** _ not live on bread alone… (King James). To me that seems to be an admonishment to “don’t do that - you have to include God”, not that it can’t be done. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/2 "2021-11-08T21:54:46Z")
You could live for approximately 3 days on bread alone. Then you’d die from lack of water. Or, if you include air…you could live on bread alone for around 3 minutes, maybe 5 at most before dying. Any way you slice it, so to speak, you can’t live on bread alone. As to what the bible says, you are probably right, but that wasn’t the question Cecil was trying to answer there. Plus, tongue in cheek… ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/3 "2021-11-08T22:00:52Z")
I’ll concede the part with the air, but concerning water, in Bavaria beer is considered liquid bread, and you can merrily live on that alone for a very long time. Or so a friend of a friend told somebody. ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/4 "2021-11-08T22:19:26Z")
I would also want to know what the original languages meant. My WAG is that it was referring to bread in an inclusive way. Like, all food, since the meaning was that one should include God in their day. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/5 "2021-11-08T22:20:59Z")
I imagine you could fortify bread artificially with all the necessary vitamins and minerals and thus live forever off of it. Wouldn’t be fun though. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/6 "2021-11-08T22:24:27Z")
Even if you assume Cecil’s 35% water figure (with low sodium), I seriously doubt you could live on only bread without anything to drink for very long. Perhaps you could draw it out a week, or maybe even several, but I think you are going to die from lack of water before you need to worry about vitamin and mineral deficiencies. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/7 "2021-11-08T22:36:47Z")
Sounds suspiciously like nutraloaf. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/8 "2021-11-08T22:43:31Z")
Ok, yes, with water of course. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/9 "2021-11-08T23:55:29Z")
One of my favorite You Tubers tried that. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pXus8Zeou7I/maxresdefault.jpg "NUTRALOAF -- Disciplinary Loaf -- prison punishment food -- Recipe #1: Illinois") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXus8Zeou7I) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SwB0TbFhrCM/maxresdefault.jpg "NUTRALOAF Disciplinary Loaf -- prison punishment food -- Recipe #2: Ohio") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwB0TbFhrCM) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/10 "2021-11-09T02:39:54Z")
Regarding the OP’s final point, I am not a Biblical scholar but it seems to me that Deuteronomy 8:3 is not using “bread” in the literal sense, but as a metonym for “food”. It’s not saying “man needs more kinds of food beyond merely bread”; rather it’s saying “man needs more than food, specifically he needs to obey the word of God.” In fact, the Living Bible translation doesn’t mention “bread” at all, and renders the passage as “He did it to help you realize that food isn’t everything, and that real life comes by obeying every command of God.” ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/11 "2021-11-09T02:58:38Z")
The previous post is of course correct - I never thought of the “man cannot live by bread alone” as anything but a statement that we need faith to survive (I disagree in the religious sense, but agree that humans need more than physical nourishment - some combination of aspirations, love, human contact, being needed, etc. is essential to our wellbeing). But on the literal issue of bread as nourishment, [Cornell Bread](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-05-21-8702070654-story.html) is pretty good. It was developed by a scientist at Cornell who noted that people in mental institutions often subsisted primarily on white bread, so he wanted to create a white flour bread that had more nutrition. The basic additions are wheat germ, milk powder, and soy flour. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/12 "2021-11-09T03:05:40Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Any way you slice it, so to speak, you can’t live on bread alone. Of course not. When you slice it, all of the nutrients leak out. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/13 "2021-11-09T03:59:51Z")
> [@Ranch\_Dip](#): > > I would also want to know what the original languages meant. My WAG is that it was referring to bread in an inclusive way. Like, all food, since the meaning was that one should include God in their day. Here you are: Deuteronomy (Devarim) 8:3, [https://www.chabad.org/library/bible\_cdo/aid/9972/jewish/Chapter-8.htm](https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9972/jewish/Chapter-8.htm) הַלֶּ֤חֶם, ha-lechem, literally “the (ha) bread (lechem)” [H3899 - leḥem - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv)](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3899/kjv/wlc/0-1/) **The KJV translates Strong’s H3899 in the following manner:** [bread](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=bread*+H3899) (237x), [food](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=food*+H3899) (21x), [meat](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=meat*+H3899) (18x), [shewbread (with H6440)](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=shewbread*+H6440+H3899) (5x), [loaves](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=loaves*+H3899) (5x), [shewbread (with H4635)](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=shewbread*+H4635+H3899) (3x), [shewbread](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=shewbread*+H3899) (2x), [victuals](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=victuals*+H3899) (2x), [eat](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=eat*+H3899) (1x), [feast](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=feast*+H3899) (1x), [fruit](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=fruit*+H3899) (1x), [provision](https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=provision*+H3899) (1x). ### 3899. לָ֫חֶם (lechem) – bread, food - Strong’s Hebrew [https://biblehub.com](https://biblehub.com) › hebrew ]([Strong's Hebrew: 3899. לָ֫חֶם (lechem) -- bread, food, mealzzz](https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3899.htm)) NASB _Translation_ bread (188), food (87), fruit (1), loaves (3), meal (7), meal\* (1), meals (2), prey (1), provision (1), showbread\* (4), something (1). And Matthew 4:4, in Greek, by a writer familiar with Hebrew **ἄρτος** ,n {ar’-tos} 1. food composed of flour mixed with water and baked 1a) the Israelites made it in the form of an oblong or round cake, as thick as one’s thumb, and as large as a plate or platter hence it was not to be cut but broken 1b) loaves were consecrated to the Lord 1c) of the bread used at the love-feasts and at the Lord’s Table 2) food of any kind [https://www.greekbible.com/](https://www.greekbible.com/) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/14 "2021-11-09T14:05:34Z")
Damn, I love this board! ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/15 "2021-11-09T23:22:06Z")
I read that as “Damn, I love this bread”… ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/16 "2021-11-09T23:36:45Z")
Man [sic] does not live by board alone, but from every word that flows from the fingertips of his [sic] fellow Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-living-on-bread-alone/954007/17 "2021-11-10T01:25:23Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > But on the literal issue of bread as nourishment, [Cornell Bread](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-05-21-8702070654-story.html) is pretty good. It was developed by a scientist at Cornell who noted that people in mental institutions often subsisted primarily on white bread, so he wanted to create a white flour bread that had more nutrition. The basic additions are wheat germ, milk powder, and soy flour. Ancient and medieval societies also incorporated pulses/legumes into a lot of their coarse wholemeal breads, which expanded the range of nutrients somewhat. [Pease bread](https://britishfoodhistory.com/2017/04/09/forgotten-foods-6-pease-bread/)