Indian Military Investigating Holy Man Claiming 70 Years Fast

In an effort to make a super soldier, the Indian military has turned to a holy man who claims to have not eaten in over 70 years since he was blessed by a goddess.

India’s Defense Research Development Organization thinks it may have found a new secret weapon: an 82-year-old holy man named Prahlad Jani. His tactical advantage: longevity. Jani claims via the UK’s Telegraph that he has not consumed food or drink for 70 years, and military authorities are conducting a rigorous study to see if he’s onto something they could use.

Skeptical? You should be. Medical science says — and there’s some variability here based on differences in metabolism, environment, etc. — that after 3 to 5 days of fasting your glucose levels get seriously out of whack. If you’re still hanging around at day 50, you’re tougher than most. That’s if you’re drinking water. If not, “your body can survive a maximum of 3 days without the intake of water, assuming you are at sea level, at room temperature, and a relative humidity,” says Bruce Zawalsky of the Boreal Wilderness Institute. That’s a far cry from seven decades.

Jani is currently under military observation.

[Pop Sci]