Can You Survive a Week Without Nutrients?

  • Thread starter Thread starter The_Z_Factor
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
It is possible to survive for a week without nutrients, as the body can rely on stored energy and water for a limited time. Water is the most critical requirement for survival, followed by calories, which provide energy. However, the lack of essential nutrients over time can lead to deficiencies and health issues. Nutrients play vital roles in bodily functions, and while the body can temporarily manage without them, prolonged absence can have serious consequences. The discussion emphasizes that while immediate survival without nutrients is feasible, the long-term effects of nutrient deprivation can be detrimental to health.
The_Z_Factor
Messages
70
Reaction score
0
Say you didnt get your nutrients from the food that you eat for..say a week? I mean not like on that movie supersize me where he only eats mcdonalds for a month, but if you actually got none of these nutrients, providing that you could live for a week without them. Is that possible? I mean, is it possible to live for a week without any nutrients at all going into your body?

Another question, if it happens to be the answer to my first question that you can't live without nutrients for a week, how are these nutrients or why are these nutrients so important to our body? Is there a certain nutrient or are there specific nutrients that give us the ability to live?

And if you possibly could live without nutrients for a week, then does that mean that it takes time for the nutrients you consume to become 'active' in your body?
 
Last edited:
Biology news on Phys.org
The_Z_Factor said:
Say you didnt get your nutrients from the food that you eat for..say a week? I mean not like on that movie supersize me where he only eats mcdonalds for a month, but if you actually got none of these nutrients, providing that you could live for a week without them. Is that possible? I mean, is it possible to live for a week without any nutrients at all going into your body?

Another question, if it happens to be the answer to my first question that you can't live without nutrients for a week, how are these nutrients or why are these nutrients so important to our body? Is there a certain nutrient or are there specific nutrients that give us the ability to live?

And if you possibly could live without nutrients for a week, then does that mean that it takes time for the nutrients you consume to become 'active' in your body?
Yes, you can go a week without nutrients. Basically to survive, you need water first, calories second. The quality of the calories of course will eventually lead to whether you are healthy or suffer from nutrient deficiency, but this develops slowly over time.
 
ahh, thank you, that clears it up for me.
 
Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S. According to articles in the Los Angeles Times, "Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S.", and "Kissing bugs bring deadly disease to California". LA Times requires a subscription. Related article -...
I am reading Nicholas Wade's book A Troublesome Inheritance. Please let's not make this thread a critique about the merits or demerits of the book. This thread is my attempt to understanding the evidence that Natural Selection in the human genome was recent and regional. On Page 103 of A Troublesome Inheritance, Wade writes the following: "The regional nature of selection was first made evident in a genomewide scan undertaken by Jonathan Pritchard, a population geneticist at the...
Deadly cattle screwworm parasite found in US patient. What to know. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2025/08/25/new-world-screwworm-human-case/85813010007/ Exclusive: U.S. confirms nation's first travel-associated human screwworm case connected to Central American outbreak https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-confirms-nations-first-travel-associated-human-screwworm-case-connected-2025-08-25/...
Back
Top