|
==Early history==
{{more citations needed|date=August 2020}}
Fasting was used as a method of protesting injustice in pre-Christian [[Ireland]], where it was known as ''Troscadh'' or ''Cealachan''.<ref>Ellis, Peter Bereford. The Druids (Eerdmans, 1998). pp. 141–142.</ref> Detailed in the contemporary [[Civil code|civic codes]], it had specific rules by which it could be used., Theand the fast was often carried out on the doorstep of the home of the offender.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Brehon Laws |volume=4 |page=490}}</ref> Scholars speculate that this was due to the high importance the culture placed on hospitality. Allowing a person to die at one's doorstep, for a wrong of which one was accused, was considered a great dishonor.<ref>Joyce, Patrick Weston, A Smaller Social History of ancient Ireland (Longman, Green & Co, 1906), Chapter IV: The Administration of Justice, p.86. Found online at https://www.libraryireland.com/SocialHistoryAncientIreland/I-IV-6.php {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224194835/https://www.libraryireland.com/SocialHistoryAncientIreland/I-IV-6.php |date=February 24, 2020 }}</ref> Others say that the practice was to fast for one whole night, as there is no evidence of people fasting to death in pre-Christian Ireland. The fasts were primarily undertaken to recover debts or get justice for a perceived wrong. There are legendsLegends of [[Saint Patrick]], the patron saint of Ireland, usinghave used the hunger strike as well.<ref name=Beresford>{{cite book|last=Beresford|first=David|title=Ten Men Dead|year=1987|publisher=Atlantic Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-87113-702-9}}{{page needed|date=November 2018}}</ref>
In [[India]], the practice of a hunger protest, where the protester fasts at the door of an offending party (typically a debtor) in a public call for justice, was abolished by the government in 1861; this indicates the prevalence of the practice prior to that date, or at least a public awareness of it.<ref name=Beresford/>
==Medical view==
In the first three days, the body is still usinguses energy from [[glucose]].<ref name=Coffee>{{cite book|first1=C. J.|last1=Coffee|title=Quick Look: Metabolism|publisher=Hayes Barton Press|year=2004|page=169|isbn=978-1593771928}}</ref> After that, the [[liver]] starts processing [[body fat]], in a process called [[ketosis]]. After depleting fat, the body enters a "[[starvation]] mode".<ref name=Coffee /> At this point the body "mines" the muscles and vital organs for energy, and loss of [[bone marrow]] becomes life-threatening. There are examples of hunger strikers dying after 46 to 73 days of strike, for example the [[1981 Irish hunger strike]].<ref name=Beresford/> Hunger strikers can experience hallucinations<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Ian |title=Medical History |date=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing}}</ref> and [[delirium]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Psychiatry in Prisons A Comprehensive Handbook |date=2018 |publisher=Jessica Kingsley |page=156}}</ref>
Death usually occurs when a hunger striker has lost about 40–50% of their pre-strike weight and at about 60–70 days in.<ref>Stevenson, R. J., & Prescott, J. (2014). Human diet and cognition. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 5(4), 463–475.</ref> Obese individuals can last longer.<ref>Johnstone A. Fasting the ultimate diet. Obes Rev 2007,
8:211–222.</ref>
|
