The practice of Breatharianism or the breatharian diet has been around for some time and involves living on sunlight alone see link here from Wikipedia.
This week it has hit the media with many articles about a couple who are breatharian and they have two children who they are raising to understand their beliefs but still eat and drink normally.
Are breatharians telling the truth?
Snopes (here) however have looked into this and claim that there is no proof that breatharians actually live on sunlight alone! There has been a lot of interest in this practice as a result of this couple’s appearance in the media (an example here).
I feel there are a few questions I would like them to answer should they or any other breatharians read my post!
Is sunlight alone ever enough?
If a breatharian can live for 9 years, as claimed in various recent articles, with only ever very rare bits of food and drink and allegedly surviving on sunlight alone, then why are people in developing countries so often dying of starvation and dehydration?
If sunlight alone is enough surely no one would ever have any kind of vitamin or mineral deficiency? There are so many people both with and without money who get severely ill due to a lack of essential minerals and vitamins, yet you claim to not need them?
Food and drink are needed, surely?
I had hyperemesis gravidarum in pregnancy and lost almost 5 stone due to not being able to hold any food or water down for my entire pregnancy. I needed to spend time in the hospital and be given intravenous fluids.
Would you as a breatharian say this was unnecessary? How can you possibly have not eaten or drunk during pregnancy and not encountered any problems such as these?
Breatharians – answer this?
People who do not eat and drink due to eating disorders without help die, it is a reality and the sunlight alone does not help them to survive so what makes you special?
Are you secretly sneaking off for food behind each other’s backs?
Do you think sharing this, in my opinion, utter rubbish, is helpful for people with eating disorders?
Do you like the media attention that this has granted you?
What would you teach your children if they refused to eat or drink? You obviously feel they need the nutrition as you give them meals, why is this?
When you say you very rarely eat and only eat now and then, do you really mean now and then every hour!?
Are you never tempted by some chocolate? Do you even know what it tastes like?
And finally, is any part of the articles that are hitting the media actually true? Or is the reality that you are attention-seeking and just want your moment of fame?
The science of this breatharian diet
If my cactus can’t live on light alone (I literally haven’t watered it in over a year and it lives near a radiator!) then I am personally not convinced that breatharians can but would love to be proved wrong by some scientific evidence! I should really bin the cactus too, poor thing! It is a good job I am a better mum than I am a gardener!
For an article with a more scientific viewpoint and some examples of others who have claimed they have lived on sunlight alone and in some circumstances been proved wrong, then The Guardian has a great article here.
There is obviously so much more to be found online about the breatharian diet and I would love you to comment with any questions you would have and to let me know what you think!
Do you need help?
If you have read this and you are suffering from an eating disorder or think that you might be then please seek help from a qualified doctor.
Maybe you wouldn’t like to consider it as an eating disorder but if you have issues with food which are getting out of your control or you feel are unhealthy then please seek help.
It's mind over matter hun!
Nah, they're talking rubbish. What a load of rubbish.