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Woman develops brain disorder after 15-day water-only diet, doctor says her walk resembles a ‘penguin’
The woman was practising “bigu”, a traditional Taoist fasting practice that involves abstaining from food.
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A 31-year-old woman in China developed a serious brain disorder after going on an extreme diet that involved consuming nothing but water for 15 days.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the woman, from Henan province, lost around 20 kg within a few weeks. But she later developed difficulty walking and memory problems, with doctors saying that she may never fully recover from difficulties caused by the extreme fasting regimen.
The woman was reportedly practising "bigu", a traditional Taoist fasting practice that involves abstaining from food. Standing 160 cm tall and weighing 70 kg before the diet, she lost around 20 kg within weeks after drastically restricting her food intake.
Doctors at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University diagnosed her with Wernicke's encephalopathy, a serious brain disorder caused by severe nutritional deficiency. The condition can cause confusion, problems with balance and coordination, abnormal eye movements and memory impairment.
Neurologist Sun Guifang said that the woman's walking pattern had become similar to that of a "penguin" and warned that the gait problem could potentially be permanent.
The doctor attributed the condition to the woman's extreme diet, stressing that the human body requires regular food intake to obtain essential nutrients. He also cautioned that extreme dieting and prolonged fasting can carry serious health risks.
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Is 'bigu' safe?
The woman told Sun that she had been following "bigu", which literally means "grain avoidance". The practice is based on the belief that people can sustain themselves through "qi", or vital energy, rather than food.
While some promote bigu as a way to lose weight or "detox", the practice has also been linked to reports of severe illness and death.
On a popular Chinese social media platform, the hashtag #bigu has reportedly accumulated hundreds of millions of views, with users sharing accounts of losing more than 10kg by consuming only water and vitamin supplements for extended periods. Some posts even encourage practitioners to obtain "qi" through meditation in well-ventilated spaces.
However, extreme fasting has also been linked to serious health problems. According to SCMP report, in 2020, a 26-year-old man from Heilongjiang died after consuming only water for 52 days. He developed dementia-like symptoms shortly before his death.
Last year, a woman in Zhejiang lost 5kg after consuming only water and an "energy pill" for a week. She later suffered severe intestinal damage, a bloodstream infection and dangerously low potassium levels.
