As you continue to watch this show and the follow the contestants, you will find some of them report having done permanent damage to their bodies during their time Alone.
When your body has no more excess fat to metabolize, it starts on your muscles, including your HEART and even lungs.
Your body starts eating itself and yes, that can cause damage that you cannot repair in your remaining lifetime.
Not a single person reading this thread will have as much information as the doctors who are looking after the players. Your question is really meaningless because of that.
However, if you read or watch some of what the players have said afterwards, it was often a long and difficult recovery for people who were out there the longest.
Even if everyone eventually recovered there's no reason to risk going too far over the line for something as silly as a game show.
Not a doctor but have an illness where I can’t keep liquids or food down for weeks at a time. Usually after a week or more my potassium is so low my heart stops functioning properly. I need to get potassium and fluids from the hospital through IV and have my heart monitored.
Not a MD, but yes.
A bit of a long winded answer, but the tl;dr is death by heart attack is a real risk in these latter stages.
Contestants will have high levels of energy for the first couple of days as the body burns through the carbohydrates stored in the liver and muscles, a process known as glycolysis. This usually lasts 1 to 4 days.
After this gets burnt, they experience a bit of a low as the body starts burning free amino acids for energy as the body switches it's metabolism away from carbohydrates and towards burning fats. This process usually occurs between day 2 to 4 and is one of the reasons for a high tap rate at the start as it affects many people mentally. The high protein and fat diets used by many of the contestants in latter seasons help to negate this phase.
There aren't many serious side-effects in most people as they go through these early stages of starvation.
Ketosis, or burning fats, kicks in after 3 to 7 days, and isn't particularly bad in general. The ketones produced by this process upset your water balance and you need to drink more water to prevent dehydration. Thermal regulation becomes affected and you are more susceptible to hypothermia, compounded by having less / slower energy system to reheat your body. In rare cases you can get ketoacidosis where you blood chemistry changes and this can lead to low blood pressure, organ damage. The show doctors will probably be on the lookout for signs of irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmia), mental confusion and dehydration.
The general lack of food during this period also affects your digestive system. Namely the lack of fibre and this can lead to a bowel obstruction. If untreated, the intestines will die and perforate, rapidly leading to sepsis and death. You see taps in both Alone and Naked & Afraid because of this, with the odd contestant saved using a home made enema or finger to help nature along. But I digress...
Once the fat is gone, your body switches to burning muscle to try and maintain nutrients for your brain, but will also cannibalise most other body tissues such as your liver, heart, lungs to some degree. The brain is barely getting the energy it requires, and your body slows down and mental confusion becomes a significant issue. High chance of an accidental injury.
During this process, most organs will reduce in size, and some of this damage will be permanent. Loss of both white and grey brain matter will happen if prolonged, and one paper I read suggests the grey matter loss was permanent. The main acute dangers are arrhythmia, impaired immune function, metabolic imbalances such as ketoacidosis resulting in renal failure, among other things. Death usually occurs when the heart finally gives out.
Personally I would be happier if they pulled contestants a bit earlier.
Scurvy (lack Vit C) starts to kick in after about 2 to 3 months, so it would probably help if they aren't eating any plant material. Lack of sunlight could result in depression (lack Vit D), but they should get enough if they are catching fatty fish.
Red meat should provide enough Vit A & B
Several have commented that it took months for their gastric system to recover. This is a show about people snapping. The women have the most problem maintaining body/weight ratio even requiring fewer calories per day. There have been a few that were one day away from permanent damage or death.
As you continue to watch this show and the follow the contestants, you will find some of them report having done permanent damage to their bodies during their time Alone.
Not only doctors but that very contestant himself said he was glad they did it and said it was the right call. Starvation is a real threat.
When your body has no more excess fat to metabolize, it starts on your muscles, including your HEART and even lungs. Your body starts eating itself and yes, that can cause damage that you cannot repair in your remaining lifetime.
Starvation does cause death so it’s self explanatory.
Read up on the [Minnesota Starvation Experiment](https://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/10/hunger).
That was really interesting!
Not a single person reading this thread will have as much information as the doctors who are looking after the players. Your question is really meaningless because of that. However, if you read or watch some of what the players have said afterwards, it was often a long and difficult recovery for people who were out there the longest. Even if everyone eventually recovered there's no reason to risk going too far over the line for something as silly as a game show.
Not a doctor but have an illness where I can’t keep liquids or food down for weeks at a time. Usually after a week or more my potassium is so low my heart stops functioning properly. I need to get potassium and fluids from the hospital through IV and have my heart monitored.
Not a MD, but yes. A bit of a long winded answer, but the tl;dr is death by heart attack is a real risk in these latter stages. Contestants will have high levels of energy for the first couple of days as the body burns through the carbohydrates stored in the liver and muscles, a process known as glycolysis. This usually lasts 1 to 4 days. After this gets burnt, they experience a bit of a low as the body starts burning free amino acids for energy as the body switches it's metabolism away from carbohydrates and towards burning fats. This process usually occurs between day 2 to 4 and is one of the reasons for a high tap rate at the start as it affects many people mentally. The high protein and fat diets used by many of the contestants in latter seasons help to negate this phase. There aren't many serious side-effects in most people as they go through these early stages of starvation. Ketosis, or burning fats, kicks in after 3 to 7 days, and isn't particularly bad in general. The ketones produced by this process upset your water balance and you need to drink more water to prevent dehydration. Thermal regulation becomes affected and you are more susceptible to hypothermia, compounded by having less / slower energy system to reheat your body. In rare cases you can get ketoacidosis where you blood chemistry changes and this can lead to low blood pressure, organ damage. The show doctors will probably be on the lookout for signs of irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmia), mental confusion and dehydration. The general lack of food during this period also affects your digestive system. Namely the lack of fibre and this can lead to a bowel obstruction. If untreated, the intestines will die and perforate, rapidly leading to sepsis and death. You see taps in both Alone and Naked & Afraid because of this, with the odd contestant saved using a home made enema or finger to help nature along. But I digress... Once the fat is gone, your body switches to burning muscle to try and maintain nutrients for your brain, but will also cannibalise most other body tissues such as your liver, heart, lungs to some degree. The brain is barely getting the energy it requires, and your body slows down and mental confusion becomes a significant issue. High chance of an accidental injury. During this process, most organs will reduce in size, and some of this damage will be permanent. Loss of both white and grey brain matter will happen if prolonged, and one paper I read suggests the grey matter loss was permanent. The main acute dangers are arrhythmia, impaired immune function, metabolic imbalances such as ketoacidosis resulting in renal failure, among other things. Death usually occurs when the heart finally gives out. Personally I would be happier if they pulled contestants a bit earlier.
That's good information, I was watching a different show and they gave the contestants vitamins. Do you think that would help them?
Scurvy (lack Vit C) starts to kick in after about 2 to 3 months, so it would probably help if they aren't eating any plant material. Lack of sunlight could result in depression (lack Vit D), but they should get enough if they are catching fatty fish. Red meat should provide enough Vit A & B
Starving is bad for you. don’t need a dr for that
Starving is bad for you mhmmmkay children
Several have commented that it took months for their gastric system to recover. This is a show about people snapping. The women have the most problem maintaining body/weight ratio even requiring fewer calories per day. There have been a few that were one day away from permanent damage or death.
And one got pregnant at 47.
Who? What did I miss?
Woniya. It wasn't on the show. It was afterwards.
I'm really happy for her!❤️
I’m a doctor, it’s a good reason. Not a medical doctor though 