Starvation

6 Serious Side Effects Of Starving

Dr. Veena Madhankumar

Mar 9, 2018 — 3 min read

Starvation can lead to not only physical but also mental health problems in a person. Read along to know the most prominent and potentially harmful effects of starvation.

1. Malnutrition

This is one of the primary effects of starvation that can be seen in a person. Starvation leads to a person not receiving the essential nutrients required for their metabolism to function normally. Malnutrition can cause several deficiencies in a person’s body including night blindness and severe anemia as well.

2. Irregular Menses

6 Serious Side Effects Of Starving

Starvation can lead to problems with the menstrual cycle in a woman. If the woman undergoing starvation is underweight, it might create problems in their body’s capacity to produce estrogen. The lack of fat in the body creates a deficiency in cholesterol, leading to a depletion in the production of estrogen. This can at times lead to the menstrual cycle stopping completely.

3. Constipation

6 Serious Side Effects Of Starving

With very less food to process, your bowel movements might become weak leading to complete constipation. This can lead to several disorders and could require laxative treatment for an extended period to get your bowel movements back to normal.

4. Bone Loss

6 Serious Side Effects Of Starving

A starvation diet might lead to rapid weight loss. Though this might be the ultimate goal, this is not always healthy. Starvation might lead to a loss of bone density. This can make the bones more fragile and prone to damage. Hence the person might end up losing strength along with weight.

5. Fatigue

6 Serious Side Effects Of Starving

This is one of the very common effects of starvation. Starvation leads to an imbalance in your body’s vitamin requirement. This imbalance makes you feel a constant lack of energy leading to fatigue.

6. Affects the Brain

6 Serious Side Effects Of Starving

The effects of starvation have been known to affect cognitive abilities in a person. They can create an imbalance in your brain inducing depression. Starvation also has short-term impacts on your mood. The individual might always feel agitated due to the constant feeling of lack of food.

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