Nora Quoirin tragedy: How long can a person survive without food or water?
NORA QUOIRIN is believed to have died as a result of intestinal bleeding, likely caused by prolonged hunger and stress. So how long can the human body survive without food or water?
Nora Quoirin: Pathologists leave hospital after post-mortem
Nora Quoirin first disappeared on August 4, and her body was later found on August 13. Nora Quoirin's body was found in the Malaysian jungle, not far from the eco-resort she was visiting with her parents. Now an autopsy has been completed, Malaysian Police believe hunger and stress played a factor in her death.
Police chief Mohamad Mat Yusop said of the autopsy outcome: "For the time being, there is no element of abduction or kidnapping.
"The cause of death was upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to duodenal ulcer, complicated with perforation… it could be due to a lack of food for a long period of time and due to prolonged stress.”
The police force believe teenager Nora had died two or three days before she was found.
Officials have ruled out any suggestion of “foul” play.
How long can a person survive without food or water?
Food and water is essential for humans to survive.
At least 60 percent of the human body is made of water, and it has many uses within the body.
Our body uses water to regulate our body temperature through sweat and respiration, lubricate our joints and to help deliver oxygen all over the body.
Water also forms saliva, which aids with our digestion, and acts as a shock absorber for the brain and spinal cord.
In terms of food, the consensus is the human body can only survive without it for three weeks.
Mahatma Gandhi famously survived 21 days of complete starvation during a hunger strike.
In survival, there is a term known as ‘rule of threes’.
Rule of threes refers to how humans may normally survive three minutes without breathable air or in icy water, and three hours in a harsh environment.
It also refers to how humans may normally survive three days without drinking water, and three weeks without food.