By Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz
A well-balanced diet is essential to get all the energy you need to keep you going through the day, so it’s understandable that health professionals were baffled after a woman claimed she hadn’t eaten or drunk any water in 16 years.
Muluwork Ambaw claims the last meal she had was when she was a 10-year-old girl – lentil stew. Now aged 26, she claims she hasn’t eaten or drunk anything since, because she simply hasn’t had an appetite.
While she likes to cook for her family, the mum-of-one, who lives in Jimma, Ethiopia, claims she doesn’t get hungry herself. She’s since been tested by numerous medics in India, Qatar and Dubai – but no one can explain the strange phenomenon.
Drew Binsky, a Guinness World Record holder and UK-based YouTuber, decided to visit Muluwork to see if he could understand how she was still surviving after a 16-year fast. Explaining how it all began, she said: “I used to live with my family, and they asked me to eat breakfast and go to school. I said I had eaten but I was pretending. I had lost my appetite for water or for any food.”
Now Muluwork likes to spend time in her garden, where she grows vegetables, in case her sister or visitors come, so she can cook fresh food for them. She added: “I cook as much as I want, but I have no appetite.”
As Muluwork has fasted for 16 years, she also hasn’t had to use the toilet. She told Drew: “The only reason I go to the bathroom is when I need to wash my body. I haven’t used the toilet for 16 years.”
When Muluwork became pregnant she was given infusions of glucose to help supplement the body’s natural energy. She also wasn’t able to breastfeed, as she wasn’t producing milk, and explained: “And when I gave birth, she fed on artificial milk”.
While visiting, Drew asked the key question: “Is it true?”. She simply replied: “Yes, it’s true. I haven’t eaten for the last 16 years.” When Muluwork explained she had several medical tests done, and they hadn’t found anything wrong with her, he and his crew looked into it further – and confirmed her story.
After three years of tests, including those done by doctors in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, they deemed her in perfect health. They also noted that there was no food, water or waste products in her digestive tract – which suggested she didn’t have a need to “urinate or defecate”.
In Dubai and Qatar, they also did tests to check up on her mental health, but again, they didn’t find anything of note.
While medical professionals don’t have an explanation, Muluwork believes her unusual condition is “the work of God. She will now continue her fast and has said she doesn’t think she will ever eat again.
To those who don’t believe her, and deem her a fraud, she says they should come visit her, and they will soon see that she doesn’t eat or drink anything.
According to the NHS, women should eat around 2,000 calories a day, while men should consume about 2,500 calories. However, the exact number depends on a number of things, including how active you are. Meanwhile, the Eatwell Guide recommends people should aim to drink six to eight cups or glasses of fluid a day.
Healthline warns the maximum amount of time the body can survive without food or water is one week.
Source: Mirror
