Fasting for over a year sounds like the stuff of legends and many actually consider it an urban legend, but an old medical journal offers scientific proof that there once was a man who didn’t eat anything for 382 days and lived to tell the tale.

禁食一年以上听起来像传说中的故事，许多人也确实把它视为都市传说。然而，一本年代久远的医学期刊曾提供了科学依据，证实曾有一男子382天未进食，并活下来讲述了他的故事。

A case study published in the 1973 edition of the Postgraduate Medical Journal documents the unbelievable story of a 27-year-old “grossly obese” Scottish man who stopped eating for a total of 382 days in a desperate attempt to lose weight.

1973年的《研究生医学期刊》上发表的一个案例研究记录了这个令人难以置信的故事。一位27岁“极度肥胖”的苏格兰男子停止进食共382天，一心只为减肥。

He not only survived the extreme challenge, but remained in good health and managed to go from 456 to 180 pounds (81 kilograms from 206 kilograms). According to doctors at the University of Dundee School of Medicine, the man’s weight remained stable at 196 pound (88 kilograms) five years after undergoing the unusually long fast.

他不仅成功从极限挑战中幸存下来，还保持身体健康，从456磅减到了180磅（从206千克减到81千克）。英国邓迪大学医学院的医生称，在经历了极长时间禁食的五年后，该男子的体重稳定维持在196磅（88千克）。

“Several years ago a grossly obese young man presented himself for treatment. Initially there was no intention of making his fast a protracted one, but since he adapted so well and was eager to reach his ‘ideal’ weight, his fast was continued into what is presently the longest recorded fast (Guinness Book of Records, 1971),” doctors wrote at the time the case was published.

医生在当时发表的案例中写道：“几年前，一位极度肥胖的年轻男子来就诊。我们起初没有打算让他禁食这么长时间，但他适应得非常好，又急切地想要达到自己的‘理想’体重，所以他一直持续禁食，目前已是世界上时间最长的禁食记录（吉尼斯世界纪录，1971年）。”

The man didn’t eat any solid food, instead surviving on the energy from his abundant fat deposit as well as potassium, sodium, and yeast supplements, which are considered essential for biological functions inside the body. Because of this, his bowel movements were infrequent (to say the least), with doctors writing that evacuations only occurred every 37 to 48 days.

该男子不吃任何固体食物，以他大量的脂肪储备中的能量存活，并摄取钾、钠和酵母营养剂，这些是维持体内生物功能正常的基本要素。因为不进食，他的肠道运动频率很低（至少可以这么说）。医生在案例中写道，每37到48天他才会排便一次。

To keep his health in check throughout the duration of the fast, the patient, named Angus Barberi, visited the hospital frequently to have his blood and urine tested. Doctors used the results of these tests to introduce supplements and correct any deficiencies. As surprising as this sounds, the plan actually worked, and Barberi remained in good health.

为了在整个禁食期间保持健康，这位叫安格斯·巴尔贝里的病人频繁来到医院进行血液和尿液检查。医生根据检查结果为他介绍营养品，补充缺乏的营养。听起来令人惊奇，这一计划确实有效，巴尔贝里也保持了健康。

“Despite the hypoglycemia – low blood sugar – the patient remained symptom-free, felt well and walked about normally,” the case report states.

案例报告中写道：“病人尽管患有低血糖症（即血糖浓度低），但未表现出任何症状，并感觉良好，行动自如。”

So how was something like this possible? Well, in 2012, Australian science personality Dr. Karl Kruszelnick explained the case in a long post post on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s science website. Essentially, he claims Angus was able to survive on his stored fat, which acted as fuel for his body.

那么这是如何实现的呢？2012年，澳大利亚科普名人卡尔·库什尼克在澳大利亚广播公司的科学网站上发表长文，解释了这一案例。他主要认为，安格斯依靠自己储备的脂肪活下来，他的脂肪相当于身体的燃料。

“After two or three days of fasting … the majority of your energy comes from breaking down fat,” Kruszelnick wrote. “The fat molecules break down into two separate chemicals — glycerol (which can be converted into glucose) and free fatty acids (which can be converted into other chemicals called ketones). Your body, including your brain, can run on this glucose and ketones until you finally run out of fat.”

“禁食两三天后……你的大部分能量来源于脂肪的分解。”库什尼克写道。“脂肪分子分解为两种独立的化学物质：甘油（可以转化为葡萄糖）以及游离脂肪酸（可以转化为其他化学物质，即酮）。你的身体，包括你的大脑，可以靠这些葡萄糖和酮保持运转，直到最终消耗完所有脂肪。”

As amazing as this story may seem, it’s worth pointing out that such extreme fasting is not recommended. Snopes reports that prolonged fasting was very popular during the 60’s and 70’s, but eventually fell out of favor with dieters after numerous medical reports of complications and even fatalities. Nowadays, long fasts are only recommended as part of doctor-supervised treatments and only when patients meet certain medical criteria.

这个故事听起来不可思议，但值得指出的是，医生并不推荐这种极端的禁食。美国一家专门核查并揭穿谣言和传闻的网站Snopes报道，长时间禁食曾经在二十世纪六七十年代非常流行，但由于出现了大量有关并发症的医学报告，甚至有人因此死亡，最终失去了节食者的青睐。如今，长时间禁食只能在医生的指导下作为治疗的一部分，并要求病人达到特定的医学标准。

今日词汇

fast /fɑːst/ v. 禁食

proof /pruːf/ n. 证据

grossly /ˈɡrəʊsli/ adj. 极其，非常

obese /əʊˈbiːs/ adj. 肥胖的

survive /səˈvaɪv/ v. 幸存

protracted /prəˈtræktɪd/ adj. 延长的

deposit /dɪˈpɒz.ɪt/ n. 沉积，此处指脂肪沉积(fat deposit)

potassium /pə'tæsɪəm/ n. 钾

sodium /'səʊdɪəm/ n. 钠

yeast /jiːst/ n. 酵母

bowel /ˈbaʊəl/ n. 肠

evacuation /ɪ,vækjʊ'eɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 排泄

duration /djuˈreɪʃn/ n. 持续时间

deficiency /dɪˈfɪʃnsi/ n. 缺乏

hypoglycemia /,haɪpoglaɪ'simɪə/ n. 低血糖症

molecule /ˈmɒlɪkjuːl/ n. 分子

complication /ˌkɒmplɪˈkeɪʃn/ n. 并发症

fatality /fəˈtæləti/ n. 死亡