their hunger-wracked bodies would have begun to consume themselves. At first, carbohydrates stored in the liver and muscles would have been broken down into energy-rich sugars. Fat, an energy-packed connective tissue (which also functions as an insulator and shock absorber in places like joints and around organs like the kidneys), would have been metabolized next. Depending on the individual, these fat stores could have lasted weeks or even months. Finally, proteins, the primary structural components of muscles and organs, would have been broken down into their chemical components, amino
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The biochemical explanation of starvation
