[h=1][/h] (Also posted to http://www.hunter-gatherer.org/what-kills-starving-people/)
The litterature on survival tells many tales of death by starvation, but also of survival after long periods of starvation. We have Christopher McCandless who died after having spent a winter on starvation diet (when he was found he weighted only 30 kg) as the perhaps best known example of death, and the so called "snow man" in Sweden this winter as a recent example of survival. An article by a medical doctor and survival expert in the Swedish journal Läkartidningen gives a good summary of what science knows about death and survial in cases of starvation.
The key facor appears to be vitamin B1 (thiamin). We have good data on two groups of starving people; Irish prisoners who went on a hunger strike in 1981, and Turkish prisoners who hunger striked in 2000-2002. Based on the data it is fairly clear that with only water humans die after 46 to 73 days of starvation, but that with viamin B1 (600 mg/day) survial was extended to between 130 and 324 days (median 197). There is also a case of an Australian student who got lost in Nepal, and spent 42 days on a rock shelf inside his sleepingbag and survived with only minor permanent injuries
[h=3]Why vitamin B1?[/h] To understand the importance of vitamin B1 you have to recall your senior year chemistry from school: the citric acid cycle (also know as the Krebs cycle). In order for glucose to be turned into acetyl-CoA (and then fed into the citric acid cycle) an enzyme needs thiamin (i.e. vitamin B1) as a cofactor. Simply put; without a supply of vitamin B1 the body can no longer power itself. This explains why the Irishmen died with a BMI of about 15, while the Turks in some cases had a BMI of 10 when they died.
[h=3]Lesson for survival[/h] There is mainly three lessons for suvival here:
Links: http://www.lakartidningen.se/07engine.php?articleId=17925#comment
The litterature on survival tells many tales of death by starvation, but also of survival after long periods of starvation. We have Christopher McCandless who died after having spent a winter on starvation diet (when he was found he weighted only 30 kg) as the perhaps best known example of death, and the so called "snow man" in Sweden this winter as a recent example of survival. An article by a medical doctor and survival expert in the Swedish journal Läkartidningen gives a good summary of what science knows about death and survial in cases of starvation.
The key facor appears to be vitamin B1 (thiamin). We have good data on two groups of starving people; Irish prisoners who went on a hunger strike in 1981, and Turkish prisoners who hunger striked in 2000-2002. Based on the data it is fairly clear that with only water humans die after 46 to 73 days of starvation, but that with viamin B1 (600 mg/day) survial was extended to between 130 and 324 days (median 197). There is also a case of an Australian student who got lost in Nepal, and spent 42 days on a rock shelf inside his sleepingbag and survived with only minor permanent injuries
[h=3]Why vitamin B1?[/h] To understand the importance of vitamin B1 you have to recall your senior year chemistry from school: the citric acid cycle (also know as the Krebs cycle). In order for glucose to be turned into acetyl-CoA (and then fed into the citric acid cycle) an enzyme needs thiamin (i.e. vitamin B1) as a cofactor. Simply put; without a supply of vitamin B1 the body can no longer power itself. This explains why the Irishmen died with a BMI of about 15, while the Turks in some cases had a BMI of 10 when they died.
[h=3]Lesson for survival[/h] There is mainly three lessons for suvival here:
- Vitamins (esp. B1) are more important than food in medium lenght survival situations
- When a starving person recieves nutrition also giving B1 is essential for survial (there has been cases when this has been neglected in hospitals, with death as the result)
- Humans can survive for 6-10 weeks on water alone, and 4 months to almost a year with water and vitamin B1.
Links: http://www.lakartidningen.se/07engine.php?articleId=17925#comment
