Hunger strikers can face long-term health complications
If Chief Theresa Spence and elder Raymond Robinson end their hunger strike in one week — marking 31 days on a diet of tea, broth and vitamins — it’s difficult to gauge the impact it will have had on their bodies.
After the first 10 days of a hunger strike, the body uses up any glycogen that has been stored for energy. Next, ketosis takes over as the body burns up fat, which can last from five to 10 days. Once the hunger strike reaches Day 20, the risk of death becomes greater as the body eats away at itself.
“You’re actually metabolizing your own internal organs” to stay alive, says Dr. Stephen Archer, head of medicine at Queen’s University.
The size of a person’s heart can shrink the longer the hunger strike lasts.
“The things that you die from are … heart failure, heart attack, but neurological problems are not uncommon.”
A 12-week Minnesota starvation study saw volunteers restrict their caloric intake to half their regular requirements and walk five kilometres a day for exercise. After the volunteers went back to their normal diet, some became obsessed with food, having to talk and read about it all the time. Other personality changes included binge eating and a loss of interest in sex or personal grooming, Archer says.
Few understand that ending a hunger strike can be just as dangerous as going on one, Archer says, adding that people should not eat large amounts of carbohydrates or proteins in one meal.
Research suggests that too much too soon can overwhelm the body and lead to organ failure.
“There’s a real art to refeeding.”