[Merged] Swiss woman starved after 'eating' only light

Kuko 4000 · 26th April 2012, 01:04 AM

http://www.thelocal.ch/3196/20120425/

Quote:

A woman living in the east of Switzerland who believed she could survive on light alone was found starved to death, it has emerged.

Anna Gut (not her real name) was in her early fifties when she saw the film, “In the beginning there was light,” a documentary in which two men claim to survive entirely on light, newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported.

The film, which ran in Swiss cinemas in 2010, portrayed two men, 62-year-old Swiss Michael Werner, an anthroposophist with a doctorate in chemistry, and 83-year-old Indian yogi Prahlad Jani. Both men claimed to derive sustenance from spiritual means rather than the intake of food.

Werner claims he has lived this way since 2001, while Jani says he has lived for 70 years not only without food but also without water.

Anna Gut started her long preparations for the process by reading a book by another proponent of "breatharianism", 54-year-old Australian Ellen Greve, who also goes by the name Jasmuheen, or eternal air.

So, the usual suspects, I wonder what's the harm?

sophia8 · 26th April 2012, 02:30 AM

Sigh.
If this woman had all her intellectual faculties, then she was clearly acting out a subconscious suicide wish and rationalizing it to herself as a "spiritual cleansing" or somesuch.
Maybe she'd have killed herself some other way; who knows? But using some other method might have alerted others to her plight and got her treatment.

This film was shown in cinemas?? WTF????

It's like showing a film of a stuntman setting himself on fire and blowing himself up; then telling the audience that absolutely no stunt effects, safety precautions or CGI was used, the person filmed wasn't a stuntman and suffered no injuries at all and that everybody could go home and set themselves on fire and blow themselves up perfectly safely.

Joey McGee · 26th April 2012, 02:31 AM

Absolutely tragic.

Quote:

But proponents of light nourishment dismiss such deaths, sometimes accusing the deceased of acting negligently or otherwise saying the true cause of death had not been properly established. Others look for spiritual reasons.

If you die, you weren't doing it right, or you attracted it with your bad karma. Brutal.

People need to understand how bad spiritual fraudsters can be, how heartless and cruel. I think they believe in this stuff because the guru's just seem so nice.

Howie Felterbush · 26th April 2012, 02:40 AM

I remember the days when "light nourishment" meant a sandwich and a glass of milk.

23_Tauri · 26th April 2012, 02:43 AM

Christ on a bike!

More from the same article:

Quote:

In 1997, 31-year-old Timo Degen from Munich died from circulatory collapse during an attempt to live on light alone. A 53-year-old New Zealander, Lani Morris, also died from a stroke caused by fluid loss in 1998, and in 1999, Verity Linn, an Australian was found emaciated in a lake in Scotland having tried to follow light nourishment practices, Tages Anzeiger reports.

So it's not the first time this has happened. The more we allow apparently harmless woo to permeate society, the more frequently will extreme events like this happen to people.

The solution is going to the root cause, which is peoples' ignorance, and that can only be tackled through better education in science and critical thinking from an early age. It starts in schools.

I used to be a woo, but the more I read stories like this the more I feel compelled to become - as another current thread in this sub-forum puts it - something of a fanatical skeptic.

Belz... · 26th April 2012, 02:58 AM

Originally Posted by Kuko 4000

http://www.thelocal.ch/3196/20120425/

So, the usual suspects, I wonder what's the harm?

So when it obviously didn't work and she was getting weaker and weaker, she didn't think "damn ! I'd better start eating again !" ?

Lamuella · 26th April 2012, 02:59 AM

Verity Linn
Timo Degen
Lani Morris

and now this poor woman. This isn't just BS. This is BS with a bodycount.

Rasmus · 26th April 2012, 03:10 AM

Originally Posted by Belz...

So when it obviously didn't work and she was getting weaker and weaker, she didn't think "damn ! I'd better start eating again !" ?

Doesn't homeopathy teach that it has to get worse before it gets better?

Look at people praying - do you think that ever worked? And they still keep doing it ...

Also, if you deprive yourself of food and water, your brain will stop working right fairly quickly I guess...

Marduk · 26th April 2012, 07:01 AM

Originally Posted by Lamuella

and now this poor woman. This isn't just BS. This is BS with a bodycount.

I disagree
this is natural selection

RecoveringYuppy · 26th April 2012, 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by Joey McGee

Absolutely tragic.

If you die, you weren't doing it right, or you attracted it with your bad karma. Brutal.

People need to understand how bad spiritual fraudsters can be, how heartless and cruel. I think they believe in this stuff because the guru's just seem so nice.

Maybe Switzerland is just too far north.

wheunis · 26th April 2012, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by RecoveringYuppy

Maybe Switzerland is just too far north.

I hypothesize that it MIGHT be possible to test for stupidity levels correlating to average climatic temperature.

Too far north and your brain "freezes" slowing your thought processes to that of a wet doornail.

But, its just a hypothesis.
Anyone know any Eskimo's I can lure into a test?! lol.

Moon-Spinner · 26th April 2012, 07:51 AM

Out of the woo in this world, this one would seem like a no-brainer - If you don't eat, you die! What is so hard to understand about that? Didn't they learn how the human body works in grade school??

Sheeeeesh....

Stray Cat · 26th April 2012, 09:29 AM

Originally Posted by wheunis

I hypothesize that it MIGHT be possible to test for stupidity levels correlating to average climatic temperature.

Too far north and your brain "freezes" slowing your thought processes to that of a wet doornail.

But, its just a hypothesis.
Anyone know any Eskimo's I can lure into a test?! lol.

I believe George W Bush was from a warm climate region.
Your hypothesis is successfully refuted.

wheunis · 26th April 2012, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by Stray Cat

I believe George W Bush was from a warm climate region.
Your hypothesis is successfully refuted.

Or possible, just needs revision!
To the drawing board!

*doodles pictures of boobs*

Lamuella · 26th April 2012, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Marduk

I disagree
this is natural selection

you can think that if you like. I try to be neither cheerful not smug when deluded people die.

Yuri Nalyssus · 26th April 2012, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Kuko 4000

"... another proponent of "breatharianism", 54-year-old Australian Ellen Greve, who also goes by the name Jasmuheen, or eternal air..."

I remember seeing a documentary on telly about "Jasmuheen" a few years back where a crew followed her around for a bit. She was extremely evasive about how much she actually ate and was actually filmed eating chips. I seem to remember she had also a suspicious amount of food in her fridge.

The words hypocritical, profiteering and murderer spring to mind for some reason.

Yuri

Resume · 26th April 2012, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by Yuri Nalyssus

I remember seeing a documentary on telly about "Jasmuheen" a few years back where a crew followed her around for a bit. She was extremely evasive about how much she actually ate and was actually filmed eating chips. I seem to remember she had also a suspicious amount of food in her fridge.

The words hypocritical, profiteering and murderer spring to mind for some reason.

Yuri

I think it was the Australian 60 Minutes who observed her for 72 hours until a MD shut her little charade down for "Jasmuheen's" own welfare.

Baloney · 26th April 2012, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by Moon-Spinner

Out of the woo in this world, this one would seem like a no-brainer - If you don't eat, you die! What is so hard to understand about that? Didn't they learn how the human body works in grade school??

Sheeeeesh....

I think you answered your own question.

Polaris · 26th April 2012, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by Moon-Spinner

Out of the woo in this world, this one would seem like a no-brainer - If you don't eat, you die! What is so hard to understand about that? Didn't they learn how the human body works in grade school??

Sheeeeesh....

"Your body is magic, and if you think really, really happy thoughts you won't need to eat, so you won't get cavities or have to poo."

Something tells me that was the extent of that subject.

23_Tauri · 26th April 2012, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Rasmus

Also, if you deprive yourself of food and water, your brain will stop working right fairly quickly I guess...

There is this, yes. As someone who suffered from anorexia as a teenager I can confirm that very weird things happen to your neurological functioning and resultant perception of how hungry/not hungry and thin/not thin you are when at very low body weight.

Still, this is no excuse for starving yourself to death because you think you can live on light.

sophia8 · 26th April 2012, 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by Yuri Nalyssus

I remember seeing a documentary on telly about "Jasmuheen" a few years back where a crew followed her around for a bit. She was extremely evasive about how much she actually ate and was actually filmed eating chips. I seem to remember she had also a suspicious amount of food in her fridge.

According to her, the food was all for her husband, who wasn't a "light-eater". She actually admitted to eating a little food from time to time, just for the enjoyment naturally:

Quote:

Maybe a few cups of tea and a glass of water, but now and then if I feel a bit bored and I want some flavour, then I will have a mouthful of whatever it is I'm wanting the flavour of. So it might be a piece of chocolate or it might be a mouthful of a cheesecake or something like that.

And the Wikipedia article on her says:

Quote:

Jasmuheen has stated that she has lived on approximately 300 calories per day for the last fourteen years, maintaining full health through supplementing a fluid intake with 'cosmic particles' or micro-food, which she describes as prana. Jasmuheen has also stated that she has not yet mastered the ability to be fluid-free for more than short periods.

So she doesn't even follow her own teachings!

She's turned anorexia into a religion.

Stray Cat · 26th April 2012, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by sophia8

She actually admitted to eating a little food from time to time, just for the enjoyment naturally:

I'm the same with breathing air... I only do it from time to time for the enjoyment... Honest guv'ner.

Live&Learn · 26th April 2012, 11:54 AM

Quote:

The film, which ran in Swiss cinemas in 2010, portrayed two men, 62-year-old Swiss Michael Werner, an anthroposophist with a doctorate in chemistry, and 83-year-old Indian yogi Prahlad Jani. Both men claimed to derive sustenance from spiritual means rather than the intake of food.

Werner claims he has lived this way since 2001, while Jani says he has lived for 70 years not only without food but also without water.

Two obvious liars.

I don't get it. What's the angle? Are they making money off their lies?

Mojo · 26th April 2012, 12:02 PM

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...ht-737972.html

Careyp74 · 26th April 2012, 12:13 PM

Was she found inside her home? That is the problem, not enough light.

sophia8 · 26th April 2012, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by Live&Learn

Two obvious liars.

I don't get it. What's the angle? Are they making money off their lies?

I'd guess that's true for the "Yogi" - there's a long and dishonourable tradition of religious scamming in India.
But as for the Swiss professor, my guess is that he's seriously deluded. I've read about studies of obese people that demonstrated how they consistently underestimated the amount of food they were eating; they just weren't consciously registering the little bits they were snacking on throughout the day. The same could apply in reverse to this guy - he's taking in adequate amounts of calories in some form and not consciously registering it. If somebody followed him around for a few days, sticking to him like glue, they'd see him eating.

In fact, according to this article he does eat, exactly like Jasmuheen. Which bears out my theory - these people DO eat and drink, but deny they do it every day.

Quote:

But he says he suffers no ill-effects even six-and-a-half years into his experiment. Is there any food he misses? "Occasionally, I'll bite into some chocolate or a slice of pizza - just to annoy my three children. But the enjoyment of eating stops as it hits the back of my throat.
"But I still love being with food, to see and smell it, particularly fried, in a cafe - that is something very fine. Now and again I get an appetite - when I might eat a couple of grapes or a nut. But these days I can take it or leave it."

ETA: I've been googling this guy and he seems to have disappeared after about 2008. He doesn't have a web presence at all, even though he is / was a chemistry professor and a company MD. You'd think that he'd carry on writing books and articles and giving interviews, eager to demonstrate that he was still hale and hearty on a decade of eating nothing....

23_Tauri · 26th April 2012, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by Careyp74

Was she found inside her home? That is the problem, not enough light.

Win.

BenBurch · 26th April 2012, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by Moon-Spinner

Out of the woo in this world, this one would seem like a no-brainer - If you don't eat, you die! What is so hard to understand about that? Didn't they learn how the human body works in grade school??

Sheeeeesh....

It appears to be eating AND drinking they abstain from.

You can make it 21 days without food, but without WATER? Not a chance.

ddt · 26th April 2012, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Mojo

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...ht-737972.html

From that article:

Quote:

In other words, she experienced all the physical symptoms that afflict human beings when they refrain from eating and drinking. After four days, on the advice of Dr Wenck, 60 Minutes abandoned the trial, the results of which were broadcast on Sunday night.

Part of me says that they should have continued this week-long test, damn the consequences. Better that one guru - who at least morally is a murderess by inciting others to this "lifestyle" - dies than dozens others who foolhardily follow her "teachings".

Baloney · 26th April 2012, 01:43 PM

The Road to Wellville

Yuri Nalyssus · 26th April 2012, 01:43 PM

Originally Posted by Resume

I think it was the Australian 60 Minutes who observed her for 72 hours until a MD shut her little charade down for "Jasmuheen's" own welfare.

Yeah, because she REEEEALLY had to nip out for a Big Mac

Yuri

phildonnia · 26th April 2012, 05:19 PM

Heads up:

http://nydn.us/Ic6UfL

MontagK505 · 26th April 2012, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by Belz...

So when it obviously didn't work and she was getting weaker and weaker, she didn't think "damn ! I'd better start eating again !" ?

Sometimes fasting will suppress the appetite. If she was in a deluded state of mind, she may of thought it was working. She may have had other health problems that compounded the effect.

Baloney · 26th April 2012, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by MontagK505

Sometimes fasting will suppress the appetite. If she was in a deluded state of mind, she may of thought it was working. She may have had other mental health problems that compounded the effect.

ftfy

Polaris · 26th April 2012, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by ddt

From that article:

Part of me says that they should have continued this week-long test, damn the consequences. Better that one guru - who at least morally is a murderess by inciting others to this "lifestyle" - dies than dozens others who foolhardily follow her "teachings".

Not only that, but rip out their toilet. If they're not eating or drinking, it won't matter right?

Axiom_Blade · 26th April 2012, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by Marduk

I disagree
this is natural selection

Reading this thread, I knew it wouldn't be long before somebody got into blaming the victim.

dropzone · 26th April 2012, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by Baloney

The Road to Wellville

Great book and movie, and it's mostly true.

LightinDarkness · 26th April 2012, 10:08 PM

Ironically, wasnt this the same type of woo that VisionFromFeeling at first tried to hide but then later said she was getting back into near the time when she finally got banned?

Oh god, the VFF days. Those were painful - I'm still wearing my battle badge from those days

Smackety · 26th April 2012, 10:36 PM

the article says that she starved, so that it at least half a miracle!

Brian-M · 26th April 2012, 10:56 PM

There's already a thread about this:

Swiss woman starved after 'eating' only light

26th April 2012, 01:04 AM	#1
Kuko 4000 Graduate Poster Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Finland Posts: 1,551	Swiss woman starved after 'eating' only light http://www.thelocal.ch/3196/20120425/ Quote: A woman living in the east of Switzerland who believed she could survive on light alone was found starved to death, it has emerged. Anna Gut (not her real name) was in her early fifties when she saw the film, “In the beginning there was light,” a documentary in which two men claim to survive entirely on light, newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported. The film, which ran in Swiss cinemas in 2010, portrayed two men, 62-year-old Swiss Michael Werner, an anthroposophist with a doctorate in chemistry, and 83-year-old Indian yogi Prahlad Jani. Both men claimed to derive sustenance from spiritual means rather than the intake of food. Werner claims he has lived this way since 2001, while Jani says he has lived for 70 years not only without food but also without water. Anna Gut started her long preparations for the process by reading a book by another proponent of "breatharianism", 54-year-old Australian Ellen Greve, who also goes by the name Jasmuheen, or eternal air. So, the usual suspects, I wonder what's the harm?
	__________________ Richard Dawkins: "We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further." Pixie of key: "HOW IS YOU NOT UNDERSTANDING WHAT I AM GIVING LECTURES ON A PROBLEM." Last edited by Kuko 4000; 26th April 2012 at 02:14 AM.

26th April 2012, 02:30 AM	#2
sophia8 Master Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In the dark, dark forest.... Posts: 2,254	Sigh. If this woman had all her intellectual faculties, then she was clearly acting out a subconscious suicide wish and rationalizing it to herself as a "spiritual cleansing" or somesuch. Maybe she'd have killed herself some other way; who knows? But using some other method might have alerted others to her plight and got her treatment. This film was shown in cinemas?? WTF???? It's like showing a film of a stuntman setting himself on fire and blowing himself up; then telling the audience that absolutely no stunt effects, safety precautions or CGI was used, the person filmed wasn't a stuntman and suffered no injuries at all and that everybody could go home and set themselves on fire and blow themselves up perfectly safely.
	__________________ "Nature is floods and famines and earthquakes and viruses and little blue-footed booby babies getting their brains pecked out by their stronger siblings! ....Nature doesn't care about me, or about anybody in particular - nature can be terrifying! Why do they even put words like 'natural' on products like shampoo, like it's automatically a good thing? I mean, sulfuric acid is natural!" -Julia Sweeney

26th April 2012, 02:31 AM	#3
Joey McGee Transcendental Naturalist Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 3,121	Absolutely tragic. Quote: But proponents of light nourishment dismiss such deaths, sometimes accusing the deceased of acting negligently or otherwise saying the true cause of death had not been properly established. Others look for spiritual reasons. If you die, you weren't doing it right, or you attracted it with your bad karma. Brutal. People need to understand how bad spiritual fraudsters can be, how heartless and cruel. I think they believe in this stuff because the guru's just seem so nice.
	__________________ How do I know that this is so? By looking!

26th April 2012, 02:40 AM	#4
Howie Felterbush Bow Tie Daddy Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: In the twilight, singing all the old lullabies Posts: 5,333	I remember the days when "light nourishment" meant a sandwich and a glass of milk.
	__________________ "Don't be too offended by the likes of him - I hear he doesn't even own ascots." -JoeyDonuts "I must be more tired than I thought. Howie, you are starting to make sense." -MG1962 "You're a mean old evil cynic. And mean." Halfcentaur

26th April 2012, 02:43 AM	#5
23_Tauri Illuminator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Posts: 4,947	Christ on a bike! More from the same article: Quote: In 1997, 31-year-old Timo Degen from Munich died from circulatory collapse during an attempt to live on light alone. A 53-year-old New Zealander, Lani Morris, also died from a stroke caused by fluid loss in 1998, and in 1999, Verity Linn, an Australian was found emaciated in a lake in Scotland having tried to follow light nourishment practices, Tages Anzeiger reports. So it's not the first time this has happened. The more we allow apparently harmless woo to permeate society, the more frequently will extreme events like this happen to people. The solution is going to the root cause, which is peoples' ignorance, and that can only be tackled through better education in science and critical thinking from an early age. It starts in schools. I used to be a woo, but the more I read stories like this the more I feel compelled to become - as another current thread in this sub-forum puts it - something of a fanatical skeptic.
	__________________ Little Miss Witchcraft, she's not made of straw.

26th April 2012, 02:58 AM	#6
Belz... Fiend God Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: In the details... Posts: 28,500	Originally Posted by Kuko 4000 http://www.thelocal.ch/3196/20120425/ So, the usual suspects, I wonder what's the harm? So when it obviously didn't work and she was getting weaker and weaker, she didn't think "damn ! I'd better start eating again !" ?
	__________________ The Onmyouza Theatre, An unofficial international fanclub forum dedicated to the Japanese heavy metal band Onmyo-Za: "In the interests of time and space, it is not unreasonable to cite one point at a time. Citing 30 is the equivalent of citing none. Obviously." - Robert Prey "Physical evidence must be observed and interpreted by witnesses which makes it subjective and subject to mistakes and to fraud." - Robert Prey

26th April 2012, 02:59 AM	#7
Lamuella Master Poster Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,480	Verity Linn Timo Degen Lani Morris and now this poor woman. This isn't just BS. This is BS with a bodycount.
Lamuella Master Poster Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,480

26th April 2012, 03:10 AM	#8
Rasmus Philosopher Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 6,138	Originally Posted by Belz... So when it obviously didn't work and she was getting weaker and weaker, she didn't think "damn ! I'd better start eating again !" ? Doesn't homeopathy teach that it has to get worse before it gets better? Look at people praying - do you think that ever worked? And they still keep doing it ... Also, if you deprive yourself of food and water, your brain will stop working right fairly quickly I guess...
Rasmus Philosopher Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 6,138	__________________ "Well, the religious community could not just make it up." - JetLeg

26th April 2012, 07:01 AM	#9
Marduk Banned Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Newbury, Berkshire Posts: 10,242	Originally Posted by Lamuella and now this poor woman. This isn't just BS. This is BS with a bodycount. I disagree this is natural selection

26th April 2012, 07:12 AM	#10
RecoveringYuppy Illuminator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,851	Originally Posted by Joey McGee Absolutely tragic. If you die, you weren't doing it right, or you attracted it with your bad karma. Brutal. People need to understand how bad spiritual fraudsters can be, how heartless and cruel. I think they believe in this stuff because the guru's just seem so nice. Maybe Switzerland is just too far north.
	__________________ REJ (Robert E Jones) posting anonymously under my real name for 30 years. Make a fire for a man and you keep him warm for a day. Set him on fire and you keep him warm for the rest of his life.

26th April 2012, 07:22 AM	#11
wheunis Thinker Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 157	Originally Posted by RecoveringYuppy Maybe Switzerland is just too far north. I hypothesize that it MIGHT be possible to test for stupidity levels correlating to average climatic temperature. Too far north and your brain "freezes" slowing your thought processes to that of a wet doornail. But, its just a hypothesis. Anyone know any Eskimo's I can lure into a test?! lol.
wheunis Thinker Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 157

26th April 2012, 07:51 AM	#12
Moon-Spinner Graduate Poster Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Within a star too far to dream of Posts: 1,484	Out of the woo in this world, this one would seem like a no-brainer - If you don't eat, you die! What is so hard to understand about that? Didn't they learn how the human body works in grade school?? Sheeeeesh....

26th April 2012, 09:29 AM	#13
Stray Cat Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: The Land That Time Forgot Posts: 6,510	Originally Posted by wheunis I hypothesize that it MIGHT be possible to test for stupidity levels correlating to average climatic temperature. Too far north and your brain "freezes" slowing your thought processes to that of a wet doornail. But, its just a hypothesis. Anyone know any Eskimo's I can lure into a test?! lol. I believe George W Bush was from a warm climate region. Your hypothesis is successfully refuted.
	__________________ It's only my madness that stops me from going insane!

26th April 2012, 09:32 AM	#14
wheunis Thinker Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 157	Originally Posted by Stray Cat I believe George W Bush was from a warm climate region. Your hypothesis is successfully refuted. Or possible, just needs revision! To the drawing board! doodles pictures of boobs
wheunis Thinker Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 157

26th April 2012, 09:47 AM	#15
Lamuella Master Poster Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,480	Originally Posted by Marduk I disagree this is natural selection you can think that if you like. I try to be neither cheerful not smug when deluded people die.
Lamuella Master Poster Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,480

26th April 2012, 09:48 AM	#16
Yuri Nalyssus Graduate Poster Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: The Ancient Isle of Avignuon Posts: 1,074	Originally Posted by Kuko 4000 "... another proponent of "breatharianism", 54-year-old Australian Ellen Greve, who also goes by the name Jasmuheen, or eternal air..." I remember seeing a documentary on telly about "Jasmuheen" a few years back where a crew followed her around for a bit. She was extremely evasive about how much she actually ate and was actually filmed eating chips. I seem to remember she had also a suspicious amount of food in her fridge. The words hypocritical, profiteering and murderer spring to mind for some reason. Yuri
	__________________ "The test of democracy is freedom of criticism." -David Ben-Gurion Peasant: Now we see the violence inherent in the system. King: Shut up! Peasant: Come and see the violence inherent in the system, help, help! I’m being repressed! King: Bloody peasant! Peasant: Ooh, what a giveaway, did you hear that... that’s what I’m on about, d’you see him repressing me? You saw it didn’t you... - Monty Python and The Holy Grail

26th April 2012, 09:59 AM	#17
Resume Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 8,024	Originally Posted by Yuri Nalyssus I remember seeing a documentary on telly about "Jasmuheen" a few years back where a crew followed her around for a bit. She was extremely evasive about how much she actually ate and was actually filmed eating chips. I seem to remember she had also a suspicious amount of food in her fridge. The words hypocritical, profiteering and murderer spring to mind for some reason. Yuri I think it was the Australian 60 Minutes who observed her for 72 hours until a MD shut her little charade down for "Jasmuheen's" own welfare.
Resume Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 8,024

26th April 2012, 10:43 AM	#18
Baloney Muse Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: America! (F, yeah!) Posts: 666	Originally Posted by Moon-Spinner Out of the woo in this world, this one would seem like a no-brainer - If you don't eat, you die! What is so hard to understand about that? Didn't they learn how the human body works in grade school?? Sheeeeesh.... I think you answered your own question.
	__________________ _{When I think about woo, I detect myself.}

26th April 2012, 11:06 AM	#19
Polaris Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5,168	Originally Posted by Moon-Spinner Out of the woo in this world, this one would seem like a no-brainer - If you don't eat, you die! What is so hard to understand about that? Didn't they learn how the human body works in grade school?? Sheeeeesh.... "Your body is magic, and if you think really, really happy thoughts you won't need to eat, so you won't get cavities or have to poo." Something tells me that was the extent of that subject.
Polaris Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5,168	__________________ "There's vastly more truth to be found in rocks than in holy books. Rocks are far superior, in fact, because you can DEMONSTRATE the truth found in rocks. Plus, they're pretty. Holy books are just heavy." - Dinwar "Roy Moore of Alabama. The world would absolutely benefit by him being run over by any vehicle." - Lowpro

26th April 2012, 11:31 AM	#20
23_Tauri Illuminator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Posts: 4,947	Originally Posted by Rasmus Also, if you deprive yourself of food and water, your brain will stop working right fairly quickly I guess... There is this, yes. As someone who suffered from anorexia as a teenager I can confirm that very weird things happen to your neurological functioning and resultant perception of how hungry/not hungry and thin/not thin you are when at very low body weight. Still, this is no excuse for starving yourself to death because you think you can live on light.
	__________________ Little Miss Witchcraft, she's not made of straw.

26th April 2012, 11:40 AM	#21
sophia8 Master Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In the dark, dark forest.... Posts: 2,254	Originally Posted by Yuri Nalyssus I remember seeing a documentary on telly about "Jasmuheen" a few years back where a crew followed her around for a bit. She was extremely evasive about how much she actually ate and was actually filmed eating chips. I seem to remember she had also a suspicious amount of food in her fridge. According to her, the food was all for her husband, who wasn't a "light-eater". She actually admitted to eating a little food from time to time, just for the enjoyment naturally: Quote: Maybe a few cups of tea and a glass of water, but now and then if I feel a bit bored and I want some flavour, then I will have a mouthful of whatever it is I'm wanting the flavour of. So it might be a piece of chocolate or it might be a mouthful of a cheesecake or something like that. And the Wikipedia article on her says: Quote: Jasmuheen has stated that she has lived on approximately 300 calories per day for the last fourteen years, maintaining full health through supplementing a fluid intake with 'cosmic particles' or micro-food, which she describes as prana. Jasmuheen has also stated that she has not yet mastered the ability to be fluid-free for more than short periods. So she doesn't even follow her own teachings! She's turned anorexia into a religion.
	__________________ "Nature is floods and famines and earthquakes and viruses and little blue-footed booby babies getting their brains pecked out by their stronger siblings! ....Nature doesn't care about me, or about anybody in particular - nature can be terrifying! Why do they even put words like 'natural' on products like shampoo, like it's automatically a good thing? I mean, sulfuric acid is natural!" -Julia Sweeney

26th April 2012, 11:49 AM	#22
Stray Cat Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: The Land That Time Forgot Posts: 6,510	Originally Posted by sophia8 She actually admitted to eating a little food from time to time, just for the enjoyment naturally: I'm the same with breathing air... I only do it from time to time for the enjoyment... Honest guv'ner.
	__________________ It's only my madness that stops me from going insane!

26th April 2012, 11:54 AM	#23
Live&Learn Critical Thinker Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 470	Quote: The film, which ran in Swiss cinemas in 2010, portrayed two men, 62-year-old Swiss Michael Werner, an anthroposophist with a doctorate in chemistry, and 83-year-old Indian yogi Prahlad Jani. Both men claimed to derive sustenance from spiritual means rather than the intake of food. Werner claims he has lived this way since 2001, while Jani says he has lived for 70 years not only without food but also without water. Two obvious liars. I don't get it. What's the angle? Are they making money off their lies?

26th April 2012, 12:02 PM	#24
Mojo Mostly harmless Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Nor Flanden Posts: 22,089	http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...ht-737972.html
	__________________ "You got to use your brain." - McKinley Morganfield "The poor mystic homeopaths feel like petted house-cats thrown at high flood on the breaking ice." - Leon Trotsky

26th April 2012, 12:13 PM	#25
Careyp74 Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Trevose, PA Posts: 3,407	Was she found inside her home? That is the problem, not enough light.

26th April 2012, 12:33 PM	#26
sophia8 Master Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In the dark, dark forest.... Posts: 2,254	Originally Posted by Live&Learn Two obvious liars. I don't get it. What's the angle? Are they making money off their lies? I'd guess that's true for the "Yogi" - there's a long and dishonourable tradition of religious scamming in India. But as for the Swiss professor, my guess is that he's seriously deluded. I've read about studies of obese people that demonstrated how they consistently underestimated the amount of food they were eating; they just weren't consciously registering the little bits they were snacking on throughout the day. The same could apply in reverse to this guy - he's taking in adequate amounts of calories in some form and not consciously registering it. If somebody followed him around for a few days, sticking to him like glue, they'd see him eating. In fact, according to this article he does eat, exactly like Jasmuheen. Which bears out my theory - these people DO eat and drink, but deny they do it every day. Quote: But he says he suffers no ill-effects even six-and-a-half years into his experiment. Is there any food he misses? "Occasionally, I'll bite into some chocolate or a slice of pizza - just to annoy my three children. But the enjoyment of eating stops as it hits the back of my throat. "But I still love being with food, to see and smell it, particularly fried, in a cafe - that is something very fine. Now and again I get an appetite - when I might eat a couple of grapes or a nut. But these days I can take it or leave it." ETA: I've been googling this guy and he seems to have disappeared after about 2008. He doesn't have a web presence at all, even though he is / was a chemistry professor and a company MD. You'd think that he'd carry on writing books and articles and giving interviews, eager to demonstrate that he was still hale and hearty on a decade of eating nothing....
	__________________ "Nature is floods and famines and earthquakes and viruses and little blue-footed booby babies getting their brains pecked out by their stronger siblings! ....Nature doesn't care about me, or about anybody in particular - nature can be terrifying! Why do they even put words like 'natural' on products like shampoo, like it's automatically a good thing? I mean, sulfuric acid is natural!" -Julia Sweeney Last edited by sophia8; 26th April 2012 at 01:02 PM.

26th April 2012, 01:16 PM	#27
23_Tauri Illuminator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Posts: 4,947	Originally Posted by Careyp74 Was she found inside her home? That is the problem, not enough light. Win.
	__________________ Little Miss Witchcraft, she's not made of straw.

26th April 2012, 01:24 PM	#28
BenBurch Gatekeeper of The Left Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Universe 35.2 ms ahead of this one. Posts: 32,142	Originally Posted by Moon-Spinner Out of the woo in this world, this one would seem like a no-brainer - If you don't eat, you die! What is so hard to understand about that? Didn't they learn how the human body works in grade school?? Sheeeeesh.... It appears to be eating AND drinking they abstain from. You can make it 21 days without food, but without WATER? Not a chance.
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26th April 2012, 01:39 PM	#29
ddt Mafia Penguin Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 10,323	Originally Posted by Mojo http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...ht-737972.html From that article: Quote: In other words, she experienced all the physical symptoms that afflict human beings when they refrain from eating and drinking. After four days, on the advice of Dr Wenck, 60 Minutes abandoned the trial, the results of which were broadcast on Sunday night. Part of me says that they should have continued this week-long test, damn the consequences. Better that one guru - who at least morally is a murderess by inciting others to this "lifestyle" - dies than dozens others who foolhardily follow her "teachings".
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26th April 2012, 01:43 PM	#30
Baloney Muse Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: America! (F, yeah!) Posts: 666	The Road to Wellville
	__________________ _{When I think about woo, I detect myself.}

26th April 2012, 01:43 PM	#31
Yuri Nalyssus Graduate Poster Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: The Ancient Isle of Avignuon Posts: 1,074	Originally Posted by Resume I think it was the Australian 60 Minutes who observed her for 72 hours until a MD shut her little charade down for "Jasmuheen's" own welfare. Yeah, because she REEEEALLY had to nip out for a Big Mac Yuri
	__________________ "The test of democracy is freedom of criticism." -David Ben-Gurion Peasant: Now we see the violence inherent in the system. King: Shut up! Peasant: Come and see the violence inherent in the system, help, help! I’m being repressed! King: Bloody peasant! Peasant: Ooh, what a giveaway, did you hear that... that’s what I’m on about, d’you see him repressing me? You saw it didn’t you... - Monty Python and The Holy Grail

26th April 2012, 05:19 PM	#32
phildonnia Master Poster Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Sac'to CA Posts: 2,339	Another Inedia death Heads up: http://nydn.us/Ic6UfL

26th April 2012, 06:34 PM	#33
MontagK505 Graduate Poster Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Peoples Republick of Kalifornia Posts: 1,800	Originally Posted by Belz... So when it obviously didn't work and she was getting weaker and weaker, she didn't think "damn ! I'd better start eating again !" ? Sometimes fasting will suppress the appetite. If she was in a deluded state of mind, she may of thought it was working. She may have had other health problems that compounded the effect.
	__________________ Self deception is the root of all evil. Political correctness is linguistic Fascism. - P.D. James

26th April 2012, 07:51 PM	#34
Baloney Muse Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: America! (F, yeah!) Posts: 666	Originally Posted by MontagK505 Sometimes fasting will suppress the appetite. If she was in a deluded state of mind, she may of thought it was working. She may have had other mental health problems that compounded the effect. ftfy
	__________________ _{When I think about woo, I detect myself.}

26th April 2012, 08:20 PM	#35
Polaris Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5,168	Originally Posted by ddt From that article: Part of me says that they should have continued this week-long test, damn the consequences. Better that one guru - who at least morally is a murderess by inciting others to this "lifestyle" - dies than dozens others who foolhardily follow her "teachings". Not only that, but rip out their toilet. If they're not eating or drinking, it won't matter right?
Polaris Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 5,168	__________________ "There's vastly more truth to be found in rocks than in holy books. Rocks are far superior, in fact, because you can DEMONSTRATE the truth found in rocks. Plus, they're pretty. Holy books are just heavy." - Dinwar "Roy Moore of Alabama. The world would absolutely benefit by him being run over by any vehicle." - Lowpro