A Test of Human Endurance

Humans need to eat to survive, right? Well, Humans are always defying expectations, as happened with Angus Barbieri, a Scottish man who holds the record for the longest medically supervised fast. Barbieri could spend 382 days, more than a year, without eating any solid food.

Barbier did this fast while in the care of doctors at the Maryfield Hospital in Dundee, and their goal was to reduce weight. When he was admitted to the hospital, Barbieri was 27 years old and weighed 207kg (456 pounds). His goal was to reduce weight, and his doctor team had a radical idea; he was to be provided with just vitamins, electrolytes, yeast for nutritional support, and non-caloric fluids such as black coffee and tea.

While sustaining hist fast, Barbieri was losing 10kg (22 pounds) every month. He reached his goal of weighing 81kgs (180 pounds) after over a year, where he broke his fast with a boiled egg with bread and butter. Barbieri's fast challenged previous assumptions about human metabolism and the limits of fasting. His body adapted to the prolonged absence of external food sources by utilizing stored fat as energy, a process known as ketosis.

Barbieri's task required immense self-resilience to be able to go over such a big commitment without food. It also demonstrates the human body's is incredible adaptable and can store and leverage stored energy for a long time.

Craving more? Check out the source behind this Brain Snack!