Hello everyone, first of all this is my first post so please forgive me if it's in the wrong category.
Second of all, great forum, I have been i long lurker here.
Third, my question is regarding overconsumption of food with recently liberated POW/Jewish inmates. I remember in a Band of brother episode when they liberate a concentration camp, they quickly realise that they have to prevent the prisoners from eating to much at once, since it could kill them. Did this really happen ? I have not found any more information about that.
And do anyone know what are the mechanism behind eating yourself to death ? I am currently in med school and I asked my professor about this and the only answer he could give me was that some POW's might mechanically kill themselves by rupturing their ventricle wall (probably in the pylorus part).
Even if the stomach must shrink immensely in prisoners, I still found this strange since the wall is very thick and stretchable.
The only thing that I can think of that would support the overeating theory is that fullness hormones such as leptin might be released to late. Also there might be an impairment of the gastric endocrine system as a whole after weeks/months of starving ?
Regards
Axel
Eating yourself to death
Re: Eating yourself to death
There's a good discussion of this in Ben Shephard, After Daybreak: The Liberation of Belsen, 1945. When the British arrived at Belsen, they set up a field kitchen and fed the starving inmates British Army rations - tinned stew, ham, baked beans etc. The rich food was too much for their emaciated digestive systems and 2,000 of them died.
Re: Eating yourself to death
I read up in Mr Shephards book, it seems quite interesting. Especially when I read that some 90 medical students were brought in from England to help out at Belsen. I literally can't imaging how it must have been to come to this place of Death and diesease.
I suppose the mechanisms might not haven been studied enough and that the food was too much for their emaciated digestive system is an alright explanation.
I suppose the mechanisms might not haven been studied enough and that the food was too much for their emaciated digestive system is an alright explanation.
Re: Eating yourself to death
After liberating some of the PW Camps in France there was a large problem with intestinal problems caused by letting the US Red Cross trucks feed the liberated with donuts, candy bars and coffee. The US Hospitals then developed a diet for liberated PWs which the medical units followed, but unfortunately the units that liberated camps in Germany didn't get the memo and fed PWs the wrong diet consistently. Only once evacuation hospital units got there was the diet enforced but usually that was too late.
Dale
LTC USA (retired)
LTC USA (retired)
Re: Eating yourself to death
There were similar instances regarding Japanese prisoners, Andersonville prisoners and many others.
Actual starvation has serious effects that must be handled intelligently and with caution.
Obviously if you put a lot of food in front of someone whohas been starving, they are going to be quite excited and enthusiastic.
Some actual research will reveal more on the subject. It's pretty well known.
Actual starvation has serious effects that must be handled intelligently and with caution.
Obviously if you put a lot of food in front of someone whohas been starving, they are going to be quite excited and enthusiastic.
Some actual research will reveal more on the subject. It's pretty well known.
Re: Eating yourself to death
No links, PF. Just the blank search mask.
Re: Eating yourself to death
It certainly can happen. I am not a doctor but basically if the prisoners had been kept on very basic rations of a few crusts of bread here and there and water for months, even years, then the human body cannot cope with suddenly taking in proper adult rations of food again immediately. So many of those who were alive when they were liberated died later on because the damage was already done.
There is an anecdote about Oskar Schindler when the Goleslow transport of Jews arrived at Brunnlitz in early 1945. They had been on the train for weeks and were starved, in some cases frozen to the train and closer to death than life. Schindler took them in and his wife, Emilie, made up a special liquid mixture which was designed to build their appetites and strength back up very slowly, one step at a time. This concoction is quite probably what saved most of their lives. There's more about it in David M. Crowe's "Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities and the True Story Behind the List".
Cheers,
Adam.
There is an anecdote about Oskar Schindler when the Goleslow transport of Jews arrived at Brunnlitz in early 1945. They had been on the train for weeks and were starved, in some cases frozen to the train and closer to death than life. Schindler took them in and his wife, Emilie, made up a special liquid mixture which was designed to build their appetites and strength back up very slowly, one step at a time. This concoction is quite probably what saved most of their lives. There's more about it in David M. Crowe's "Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities and the True Story Behind the List".
Cheers,
Adam.