The world has finally gone mad.\u00a0 Or at least one woman conveniently named Navenna Shine in Seattle certainly has.\u00a0 Shine, founder of the website and experiment \u2018Living on Light\u2019 is planning to survive solely on sunlight for the next four months.<\/p>\n
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Shine is a follower of Breatharianism which is essentially the concept of fasting, or living without food.\u00a0 Breatharians believe in a lifestyle where food and possible water are unnecessary.\u00a0 Depending on the branch of Breatharianism, some believe that human life can be sustained by \u2018prana\u2019 (the life force in Hinduism) or by the energy in sunlight — a belief held by Jasmuheen, an advocate of the movement in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
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On her website<\/a>, Shine describes Jasmuheen as a \u201cdelightful, self-styled \u2018Ambassador for Peace\u2019\u201d who claims around 40,000 people are currently Living on Light (although there is no verification of this).\u00a0 Shine goes on to admit the problem is that nobody believes this, and that she aims to prove this lifestyle indeed works by using herself as a subject.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Shine set herself up in a controlled experiment for a duration of four to six months.\u00a0 Using eight cameras, she claims she will not \u201cgo outside of those cameras\u201d so that people around the world watching won\u2019t think she is eating and thus cheating.\u00a0 I laughed out loud when I read the next paragraph :<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe are having many issues with live-streaming and it might take a while to get it operational. In the meantime, each moment is being recorded and the files are being archived for future verification.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Essentially, Breatharians believe humans can survive in the same way as plants — solely on water (a limited supply) and sunlight.\u00a0 Funnily enough, most notable breatharians have all elicited criticism.\u00a0 For instance when Jasmuheen was asked to be interviewed and closely monitored in 1999, stock piles of food was found in her house.\u00a0 She claimed it was for her husband, and that she didn\u2019t touch it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This concept isn\u2019t just stupid, it\u2019s disturbing.\u00a0 If you can believe it, Jasmuheen attracted a following which resulted in the deaths of several lives.\u00a0 Of course, she denied any involvement<\/a> with the deaths and claimed \u201cshe cannot be held responsible for the actions of her followers.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The scientific community has thoroughly renounced any claims made by Breatharians and believe it to be a lethal pseudoscience.\u00a0 Nutritionists warn of the dangers of fasting for extended periods of time, as it leads to starvation, dehydration, and death.\u00a0 Without intaking calories, the body will feed on glycogen, fat, and muscle — which is exactly what is happening to Shine.\u00a0 After 30 days of fasting, Shine has lost 20 pounds already.<\/a><\/p>\n