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How necessary is food for humans? Is it possible to live without food?
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Yeah, there are other 'gurus' I've heard of before that claim to have survived without food.
Can People Really Live for Years Without Eating or Drinking? http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/13936...In Beyond Science, Epoch Times explores research and accounts related to phenomena and theories that challenge our current knowledge. We delve into ideas that stimulate the imagination and open up new possibilities. Share your thoughts with us on these sometimes controversial topics in the comments section below.
Scientists have investigated a few highly publicized cases of people who claim not to eat or drink for years, yet remain quite healthy. Any scientific investigations that have supported these claims, however, have remained controversial.
It has long been held in Buddhist tradition that those who leave society to meditate and cultivate in the mountains may be able to survive without food and water. Their bodies are said to enter a different state, and since the need to eat would prevent them from concentrating on extended meditation, they are supernaturally able to overcome this need.
The human body is usually said to survive only a few days without water, and only as many as 30 to 40 days without any food. Some people who have been inspired by these claims of continuous, extended fasting have tried it themselves and endured great injury and even died as a result.
Ram Bahadur Bomjon, a Young Buddhist
In 2005 a young Nepalese Buddhist, Ram Bahadur Bomjon, reportedly meditated for eight months without food or water, separated from any outside contact by a fence. A Discovery Channel crew filmed him for four days and nights straight to confirm that for this period of time he did not have any external sustenance, as shown in the special, “The Boy With Divine Powers.”
Ram Bahadur Bomjon (Richard Josephson/Wikimedia Commons)
Ram Bahadur Bomjon (Richard Josephson/Wikimedia Commons)
“After 96 hours of filming, Ram has defied modern science by continuing his meditation and remaining alive,” the documentary claimed. If it was a hoax, the documentary makers said, it was a very elaborate and skillfully executed one.
Read More
Superhuman Energy Cultivated by Meditators: It’s Science
Dead or Meditating?
Some told Discovery Channel that fasting of this kind is usually hidden from the public, and is part of esoteric spiritual practices.
Hira Ratan Manek, Sun Gazer
Hira Ratan Manek of India is a retired Indian mechanical engineer who started to revive an ancient tradition of sun-gazing in the 1990s. He claims that, since 1995, he has lived off the sun’s energy, which he imbibes by gazing at the sun as it rises and sets, only occasionally drinking tea, coffee, and buttermilk.
Hira Ratan Manek (Wikimedia Commons)
Hira Ratan Manek (Wikimedia Commons)
Rumors that NASA studied Manek and confirmed his amazing ability have stirred up controversy around him. Manek told Dr. Mercola, who wrote about sun gazing on his blog: “The media sometimes reports things in haste, I have never said anything about NASA. Those who believe, they do it, and those who do not believe—to them, any amount of explanation won’t work.”
“Those who believe, they do it, and those who do not believe—to them, any amount of explanation won’t work.”
— Hira Ratan Manek
Indian Neurologist Dr. Sudhir Shah has expressed enthusiastic support for Manek, vouching for the genuine nature of his permanent fast.
In the 2011 documentary “Eat The Sun,” directed by Peter Sorcher, Manek is said to be a fraud. Manek was photographed with solid food, the documentary claims, though Manek said he was just posing for a picture with it. The documentary shows a letter said to be written by Manek in which he apologizes for lying about not eating. Manek has not, however, made such an admission anywhere else.
Optometrist B. Ralph Chou warns against the hazards of sun-gazing.
Optometrist B. Ralph Chou warns against the hazards of sun-gazing in an article on the NASA website: “The only time that the Sun can be viewed safely with the naked eye is during a total eclipse, when the moon completely covers the disk of the sun. … Even when 99 percent of the Sun’s surface (the photosphere) is obscured during the partial phases of a solar eclipse, the remaining crescent Sun is still intense enough to cause a retinal burn, even though illumination levels are comparable to twilight.”
Prahlad Jani, Indian Yogi
Dr. Shah has similarly endorsed Prahlad Jani, a yogi who claims freedom from the usual demands of the human body. From April 22 to May 6, 2010, Shah and a team of researchers said they kept Jani under constant surveillance and that Jani did not eat or drink during this time.
The research was publicized through an India TV broadcast. Sanal Edamaruku, author and president of Indian Rationalist Association, decried the research as deficient. In an article for The Guardian, he wrote about some loopholes he observed: “An official video clip revealed that Jani would sometimes move out of the CCTV camera’s field of view; he was allowed to receive devotees and could even leave the sealed test room for a sun bath; his regular gargling and bathing activities were not sufficiently monitored, and so on.”
Michael Werner, a Western Chemist
It isn’t only Eastern spiritual cultivators who have claimed sustenance without food. Dr. Michael Werner has practiced sungazing and claims he has lived years without food. The official synopsis of his book, “Life from Light: Is It Possible to Live Without Food? A Scientist Reports on His Experiences,” states: “Michael Werner presents a new type of challenge to skeptics. A fit family man in his 50s, he has a doctorate in chemistry and is the managing director of a research institute in Switzerland. In this remarkable account he describes how he stopped eating in 2001 and has survived perfectly well without food ever since. In fact, he claims never to have felt better! Unlike the people who have achieved this feat in the past, he is an ordinary man who lives a full and active life.”
Could Melatonin Have Something to Do With It?
The blog Q4LT speculates that melatonin—a hormone found in the human body related to sleep cycles and metabolism—may have something to do with the ability to survive without food. Q4LT investigates a variety of issues related to the pineal gland in the brain, melatonin production, and more. A Q4LT article titled, “Making a Case for the ‘Impossible,'” points out that melatonin is key in regulating adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
ATP is fundamental in storing and releasing energy in our cells. Q4LT cites several scientific studies conducted over the past several years that show melatonin can normalize ATP production. The pineal gland in the brain produces melatonin. The pineal gland has also been identified in Eastern spiritual traditions as the seat of human consciousness, as a key physiological link to a person’s spirit.
Though it cannot be said that increased melatonin production—perhaps motivated by some effect of meditation on the pineal gland—could allow a person to do completely without food or water for years, it is interesting to speculate that it could have some effect in this regard.
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http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/13936...
John wrote: "Engineers have basically created the all in one liquid meal.https://www.soylent.com/"
I tried that...felt like a brick in my stomach!
Have you tried it?
Interesting that it contains that much soy...soy is not really that great for your body...looking at the nutrition label (pdf version)...I'm surprised this was the best they could come up with.One of my rules of thumb when I read the nutrition label is that if it contains ingredients that I can barely pronounce, they are most likely not good for me :)
Lisa wrote: "One of my rules of thumb when I read the nutrition label is that if it contains ingredients that I can barely pronounce, they are most likely not good for me :) ..."So that discounts Icelandic food for the rest of us, then!
Nobody can pronounce any of those crazy Icelandic words :)
James wrote: "Lisa wrote: "One of my rules of thumb when I read the nutrition label is that if it contains ingredients that I can barely pronounce, they are most likely not good for me :) ..."So that discounts..."
only if it really is bad for you ;) ....otherwise, the nutrition label is pretty self-explanatory:
http://www.ms.is/vorur/vara/g-mjolk--...
All I saw was: Hlutfall af næringarviðmiðunargildum !!!!!
yea, that's not an ingredient, James...that's like me saying that the actual words "portion of the daily value" is an ingredient.
portion of the daily valueHlutfall af næringarviðmiðunargildum
Notice the difference??? :))))))))))))
James wrote: "portion of the daily valueHlutfall af næringarviðmiðunargildum
Notice the difference??? :))))))))))))"
lol....no...they mean the same thing....what are you talking about?
My point is I can't pronounce anything Icelandic, but I'm still open to eating Icelandic food :)Now, returning to the subject...
How necessary is food for humans, Lisa? And Is it possible to live without food, Lisa?
James wrote: "My point is I can't pronounce anything Icelandic, but I'm still open to eating Icelandic food :)Now, returning to the subject...
How necessary is food for humans, Lisa? And Is it possible to liv..."
I think it depends on what you are referring to when you say "food" ....do you mean is it necessary for us to provide our bodies with the proper nutrients (incl. micronutrient) in order to maintain cellular health?
Are you including liquid as food?
Are we all able to sustain physical and mental health by the way of the type of meditation that some of those amazing Yogis are capable of?
Not really sure of the scientific parameters, am just wondering if the current quantities of food we eat, or even food itself, could actually not be necessary. Like, is there another way to maintain this "cellular health" you speak of?
James wrote: "John wrote: "Engineers have basically created the all in one liquid meal.https://www.soylent.com/"
I tried that...felt like a brick in my stomach!
Have you tried it?"
Im afraid not, I love to eat food! ;)
James wrote: "Not really sure of the scientific parameters, am just wondering if the current quantities of food we eat, or even food itself, could actually not be necessary. Like, is there another way to maintai..."The necessity of food itself? Here’s what my personal thought on that is:
Until you become a supernal Yogi, like the ones you mentioned in an above post, I suggest you eat FOOD ;) and here’s why:
(I’m tempted to write a short essay, but won’t….rather, I’ll make it quick and dirty and only cover a small portion of its importance):
CELL MEMBRANE
Consists primarily of fats….and proteins….but mainly fats. What purpose does the fat serve? It protects the cell from the environment surrounding the cell…it gives it a shape (structure) and stability. The cell needs fat in order to provide proteins with the proper shape so it can communicate with other cells and structures.
The membrane also let's nutrients into the cell, and waste out of the cell.
What do we need to eat in order to maintain the fatty portion of membrane?: fats!...specifically, unsaturated fats (omega-3). What if you eat saturated fats or trans-fatty acids? They will also become a part of your new cell membrane….the only problem is that it doesn’t build the type of structure we need for proper shape or stability for protection or communication. It creates a more rigid membrane and diminishes the cell’s ability to communicate and protect itself.
Proteins (remember, antibodies are proteins)….proteins serve roles both outside and inside the cell. The ones outside the cell, enable the cells to communicate with each other so they can attach to each other and other surrounding structures (liver cells to the liver tissue, bone cells to the bone matrix).
Imagine going through every single part of the cell in this manner…soooo many nutrients involved!
If you know of another way to introduce these nutrients to your body, then yes, I believe you have found a way to avoid food :)
Complete Science of Breatharianism
Breatharianism, Ionized Water and Pranic Nourishment
Breatharianism, Inedia and Living without Food: Frequently Asked Questions
That's an interesting topic. But I would rather know what would be the optimal / minimal food requeriments and quality in order to live a full optimal healthy life. I'm no specialist but so far what I read there are way too many different opinions regarding this topic, even among the cientific authorities.We all have heard of super-nutrients and super-food. But would it be possible to create a super-diet in which the food were selected for its' best!? I've head of some people taking huge piles of medicine in order to extend life, but is it real or just a delusional beliving of fait. Either way, I think science has much to improve in this regard. And I'm not even taling of industrial pharmaceutical lobbys which have an insterest in this theme.
'Breatharian' mum-and-dad claim they haven't eaten for 9 YEARS and survive off 'energy of the universe' http://www.msn.com/en-nz/health/nutri...
I've gone on the Water & Liquid Chlorophyll diet a few times for 30 days at a time. I lost the weight and actually felt better afterwards. I didn't even want solid food after the first week and when I went back to solids I didn't eat as much to feel full. I'm not sure if I could do it all the time without a physician advising but I got to the weight I wanted both times.
Breatharianism - Living on Prana - Nassim Haramein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9hiK...Learn about Nassim Haramein's (claimed) experience living on prana (and no food!).
Iridescent wrote: "I'm not sure if everyone could do this. Like, how much exercise did those people who don't consume food do? I wonder if athletes could do that, or if it's impossible..."Modern science, at least in the West, categorically says breatharianism is impossible.
However, a number of Yogis from India have gone under extreme lab tests (e.g. no water or drink for 30 days, no food for months) and have at least revealed results that appear to contradict modern science's assessment.
There have also been a number of personal reports/testimonials in recent years, including the one from amateur physicist and researcher Nassim Haramein above, where people claim to have not eaten food for years. Not scientifically verified however.
So make no mistake, it's all still theory at this stage. But the theory in Yoga (the ancient Indian practice not the watered down version that exists in the West) one can have the right breathing techniques to live of air (aka prana)...and have all the energy needed to live a full, active life.
I'm not saying I believe any of this to be true necessarily...just curious whether anyone might know more and shed some light on the matter.
Without eating for months a plug of mucus and plaque forms in the intestines which may prove immovable. It can kill you when you begin to eat again. I have heard this can be avoided with periodic enemas.
Underground Knowledge — A discussion group
Books mentioned in this topic
Complete Science of Breatharianism (other topics)Breatharianism and Pranic Nourishment: The Evolution of Breatharian Masters Throughout Time (other topics)
Breatharianism, Inedia and Living without Food: Frequently Asked Questions (other topics)
Man claims to have had no food or drink for 70 years
Indian military scientists are studying an 82-year-old who claims he has not had any food or drink for 70 years.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world...
Inedia (Latin for "fasting") or breatharianism /brɛθˈɛəriənɪzəm/ is the belief that it is possible for a person to live without consuming food. Breatharians claim that food, and in some cases water, are not necessary for survival, and that humans can be sustained solely by prana, the vital life force in Hinduism. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inedia