WEBVTT - Short Stuff: The Man Who Didn’t Eat for a Year

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<v Speaker 1>Hello, and welcome. Do short stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck

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<v Speaker 1>and there's Josh. And with us in spirit is a

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<v Speaker 1>fascinating person named Angus Barbieri who was the person who

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<v Speaker 1>went the one of the longest of all time without

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<v Speaker 1>eating solid food. Yeah, we've covered fasting before here and there.

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<v Speaker 1>Did we do a show on only fasting? Yeah, we

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<v Speaker 1>did have like I think it was called fasting Colin

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<v Speaker 1>Deadly or what right? And I know we covered like

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<v Speaker 1>the very famous hunger strikes here and there maybe in

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<v Speaker 1>that episode, but this one was not a hunger strike

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<v Speaker 1>so much. Um as a man that weighed four hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fifty six pounds in Scotland, which which little known

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<v Speaker 1>fact is twenty one stone, that's right. And he was

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<v Speaker 1>not little known if if you're if you're from Scotland,

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<v Speaker 1>a little known to me. But he needed help and

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<v Speaker 1>he went to the doctors. They put him on a

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<v Speaker 1>short fast, thinking that, all right, here's what's gonna happen.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna put the scown of fast. He's gonna lose

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<v Speaker 1>a little weight. UM don't know if he'll keep it

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<v Speaker 1>off or not, but maybe this will kick start a

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<v Speaker 1>better lifestyle for him. Once he started not eating, he

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<v Speaker 1>said I can do this, and he didn't eat for

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<v Speaker 1>a few weeks. Then he didn't eat for a few

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<v Speaker 1>more weeks, and he said, I want to get down

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<v Speaker 1>to one eight from four six, so I am going

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<v Speaker 1>to uh not eat. Well, he didn't proclaim at the beginning,

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<v Speaker 1>but in the end he did not eat for three

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<v Speaker 1>d and eighty two days, nothing at all, no nothing like,

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<v Speaker 1>not fruit, not nothing. He drank coffee, he drank tea,

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<v Speaker 1>drank sparkling water, and then he took some vitamins, which

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<v Speaker 1>we'll talk about in a second. But he just didn't

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<v Speaker 1>eat for over a year. And what's even more astounding

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<v Speaker 1>is that he didn't just stay in this hospital at

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<v Speaker 1>dun in Dundee. Um, he went about his normal life.

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<v Speaker 1>He had to quit his job at his father's fish

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<v Speaker 1>and chips store. Yeah, I would think that's the first

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<v Speaker 1>first line of business. But other than that, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>like he was going to and from the hospital, he

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<v Speaker 1>would go and spend a couple of nights overnight. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>But he was being treated for for um as an outpatient.

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<v Speaker 1>And so you might think, well, okay, clearly this guy

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<v Speaker 1>was was fudging this. He didn't really go a year

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<v Speaker 1>without eating. Well, his doctors thought of that too, and

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<v Speaker 1>they they tested him, and the test showed that he

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<v Speaker 1>probably was really not eating this whole time. Yeah. So

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<v Speaker 1>you mentioned the vitamins. Um, he had a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>body fat obviously at four fifty six pounds, and he

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<v Speaker 1>you can survive your on your body fat for a while. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>But he also took a multi vitamin vitamin. See, he

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<v Speaker 1>took a yeast supplement, a sodium supplement, and a potassium supplement. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>That's gonna help maintain his electrical conductivity. And he was

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<v Speaker 1>doing okay like he would be. Uh. He would described

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<v Speaker 1>I being like weak sometimes in a little feint here

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<v Speaker 1>and there, but he was not like falling over every

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<v Speaker 1>couple of hours. Uh he I mean, it's pretty remarkable

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<v Speaker 1>that he was able to do this on an outpatient

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<v Speaker 1>and not completely underdoctor's care and supervision. Yeah, not bed

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<v Speaker 1>bedridden for a year. He was walking in and out

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<v Speaker 1>of the hospital. He was just living his life. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>he just wasn't eating this whole time. And it is

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<v Speaker 1>astounding to the point where he's it's basically a medical mystery,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's not so much like Angus Barbieri was particularly

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<v Speaker 1>special well, Angus Barbieri points out, is how little we

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<v Speaker 1>understand how the human body in general functions, and how

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<v Speaker 1>much less we understand how it functions among individuals. They

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<v Speaker 1>just have no idea how he did this. We just

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<v Speaker 1>know that he did it because it's documented. There was

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<v Speaker 1>a um plenty of newspaper stories after he broke the

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<v Speaker 1>fast and news news came out. But his doctors also

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<v Speaker 1>documented it scientifically and released it as an an article

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<v Speaker 1>in the Postgraduate Medical Journal in And it's only like

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<v Speaker 1>ten ten pages, maybe a little longer, but it's a

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<v Speaker 1>really interesting read about, you know what, detailing this this

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<v Speaker 1>process that this guy went through and what what his

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<v Speaker 1>body was doing at the time. Alright, so let's take

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<v Speaker 1>a quick break and during the the message break, everyone

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<v Speaker 1>try and think of what he did not do besides

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<v Speaker 1>eat as well. Very often that was very awkwardly worded.

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<v Speaker 1>And we'll give you the answer right after this. M Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so he's not eating much anything. A little teaser question

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<v Speaker 1>before the break on what else he was not doing.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you guessed poop, you're correct. What did they get? Chuck?

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<v Speaker 1>They get? They get nothing they have had on the

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<v Speaker 1>back for me virtually through the air waves. Uh, he

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<v Speaker 1>went between generally between like forty and fifty days without pooping. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>so he did poop occasionally, And I don't even know

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<v Speaker 1>what that would have been. Just they say, they say

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<v Speaker 1>in this body, yes, they say in the in the

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<v Speaker 1>study that it was basically just like cell detritus, cell deletrious.

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<v Speaker 1>You've mentioned that. Uh, yeah, I don't cellular poop. I guess, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>but I don't know if it'd be any better or worse.

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<v Speaker 1>It'd be no more offensive than warm biscuits. I would think,

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<v Speaker 1>nice skull back, thank you, thank you. But he he

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<v Speaker 1>did poop, but he's really that's like bottom of the

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<v Speaker 1>barrel poop. But I mean that's a lot of dead

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<v Speaker 1>cells to form like a visible poop. Even if it

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<v Speaker 1>was just one little poop, you know, that's a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of dead, dead cells that he was getting rid of.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I guess he only pooped probably like what seven, eight,

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<v Speaker 1>eight or nine times? Yeah, for this whole year. Not bad,

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<v Speaker 1>not bad. He had a clean fannie the whole time.

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<v Speaker 1>So oh, this is for our friends in the UK,

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<v Speaker 1>so you shouldn't say, yeah, that's right. He had a

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<v Speaker 1>clean rectum, a clean vomit. Isn't that the universal name?

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<v Speaker 1>I think? So? Okay. So at the end of this

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<v Speaker 1>whole thing, he got down to that ideal weight of

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred and eighty pounds um if you think, well, sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but then he starts eating and puts it all back on.

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<v Speaker 1>Not not so. Five years later he just weighed one

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<v Speaker 1>not too bad at all when he came back from

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<v Speaker 1>his fast. And this is very important. I was waiting

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<v Speaker 1>tables in Arizona one time and a woman, oh yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>fell over in the restaurant. And I think this was

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<v Speaker 1>during the fasting episode. I told the story, and an

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<v Speaker 1>ambulance came and we were like, what happened? Her friends like,

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<v Speaker 1>she fasted for a week and then celebrated by eating

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<v Speaker 1>steak and drinking wine. Yeah, it's like, that's not how

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<v Speaker 1>you do it. You gotta you gotta take baby steps.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's he did. He broke his fast with a

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<v Speaker 1>breakfast of boiled egg, a slice of bread with butter,

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<v Speaker 1>and then that black coffee that he had been drinking before.

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<v Speaker 1>He ate that. He he said that I forgot what

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<v Speaker 1>food even tastes like, and afterwards said, you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>feel a little full, but I enjoyed it and it

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<v Speaker 1>went down. Okay, yeah, and so again, like like, his

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<v Speaker 1>doctors were testing him on a pretty much a daily basis.

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<v Speaker 1>You're intest blood tests and he um. They were keeping

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<v Speaker 1>track of like things like his blood glucoast level, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's a really good indicator. You can't really fake a

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<v Speaker 1>blood glucoast level. If you eat something, it's gonna show

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<v Speaker 1>up on a daily test. And one of the reasons

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<v Speaker 1>why Angus Barbieria is this medical marvel is that he

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<v Speaker 1>was walking around with a blood clue blood glucoast level

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<v Speaker 1>of thirty. If you are eating normally, your blood glucoast

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<v Speaker 1>level is about one forty. And if you fast overnight,

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<v Speaker 1>like say you don't eat anything after five or something

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<v Speaker 1>like that, the next morning when you're tested, you have

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<v Speaker 1>about a seventy. This guy was walking around with the

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<v Speaker 1>thirty and the fact that he wasn't just feigning constantly

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<v Speaker 1>is really impressive. But the thing that gets me chuck

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<v Speaker 1>is the hyper calcemia. That's right, as expected, he developed

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<v Speaker 1>hyper calcemia, which is very high, higher than usual at

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<v Speaker 1>least amounts of calcium in the blood, and he's peeing

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<v Speaker 1>out a lot of calcium or you know, higher than

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<v Speaker 1>normal amounts of calcium in his key. So the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that he had a lot of extra calcium, people like,

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on here, and they think it's because he

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<v Speaker 1>was losing so much weight so fast that his bones

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<v Speaker 1>knew that they didn't need to carry that kind of

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<v Speaker 1>weight anymore, and they started dissolving. He lost so much

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<v Speaker 1>weight he should skeleton too. That's amazing. It is amazing,

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<v Speaker 1>so much weight that the Guinness Book of World's Records

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<v Speaker 1>in one before they decided it's probably not good to

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<v Speaker 1>encourage world records for fast sting. Yeah. They he was

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<v Speaker 1>the last one to be I guess awarded um, you

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<v Speaker 1>know by the Guinness Book for for that kind of notoriety.

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<v Speaker 1>And then after that they said due to its specialist

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<v Speaker 1>nature and not due to the sheer danger, Uh, we're

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<v Speaker 1>not gonna open this up for any other people. There

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<v Speaker 1>is one other Guinness record about eating um that's even

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<v Speaker 1>longer than Angus Barbieri's um. The world record holder for

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<v Speaker 1>a hunger strike. Angus didn't eat for three d eighty

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<v Speaker 1>two days. A guy named Dennis Glor Goodwin didn't eat

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<v Speaker 1>for three d and eighty five days. So he went

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<v Speaker 1>three three more days without eating before he was force

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<v Speaker 1>fed through a tube. He was protesting his innocence about

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<v Speaker 1>a charge of rape. I saw no follow up. No,

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<v Speaker 1>he was actually guilty. He was actually innocent. Whatever became

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<v Speaker 1>of him, The only mention I can find of him

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<v Speaker 1>is that he didn't eat for three hundred and eighty

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<v Speaker 1>five days. Yeah, and I love that. On day three

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<v Speaker 1>eighty five, they're like, we've had enough, right, right, can

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<v Speaker 1>force feeds you through a tube? They didn't do that

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<v Speaker 1>on day forty or sixty or two or three. Really,

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<v Speaker 1>they're like, all right, fine, you you got the record,

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<v Speaker 1>Now stop showing off. We're gonna force feed you. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And so as you know, if you listen to our

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<v Speaker 1>fasting episode, UM, fasting is is not a good way

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<v Speaker 1>to lose weight. It's very extreme. It can be deadly.

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<v Speaker 1>UM Like, you can literally drop dead of of what

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<v Speaker 1>they just called sudden death UM at like the six

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<v Speaker 1>or seven week mark or before, depending on how much

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<v Speaker 1>you weigh. If you're skinny, you can enter that danger

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<v Speaker 1>zone really fast and just be sitting at your desk,

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<v Speaker 1>feel a little faint, and then you're gone, right, And

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<v Speaker 1>it's because your body eventually goes through fat, and even

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<v Speaker 1>if you still have some fat left, it starts eating

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<v Speaker 1>other things too, like muscle. Well, it turns out that

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<v Speaker 1>your heart is made of muscle, and eventually your heart

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<v Speaker 1>tissue might start getting eaten by your body, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>not good for your heart. It can kill you. And

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<v Speaker 1>then there's also another danger to like that lady that

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<v Speaker 1>that um fainted from eating steak and wine after fasting

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<v Speaker 1>for a week. There's a real issue called refeeding chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's like that's how I don't want to say

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people people have died. They survived the fast,

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<v Speaker 1>but when they started eating food, they actually died as

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<v Speaker 1>a result of it. Food overdose. Yeah, basically you get

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<v Speaker 1>an overdose of nutrients. It's and like, we don't understand

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<v Speaker 1>how that works or how to refeed somebody which makes

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<v Speaker 1>long extended fast over like something like forty days from

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<v Speaker 1>what I've seen UM, which seems really biblical if you

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<v Speaker 1>ask me, it doesn't sound scientific. Basically that UM, anything

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<v Speaker 1>over that period is is very very very dangerous because

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<v Speaker 1>after like six eight weeks you start to enter a

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<v Speaker 1>danger zone. Don't do it, folks, if you're getta fast

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<v Speaker 1>just keep it in a couple of days. Sure, that's

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<v Speaker 1>my advice. But even that, let's just c o a

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<v Speaker 1>chuck No doctor, don't listen to Chuck No eat responsibly.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what Dr Chuck says. There you, uh well, thanks

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<v Speaker 1>a lot for joining us here on short stuff. We

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<v Speaker 1>hope you were thrilled and amazed, maybe even a little amused.

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<v Speaker 1>If not, we'll try again next time. Stuff you Should

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<v Speaker 1>Know is a production of iHeart Radios How Stuff Works.

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