system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is the difference to my body if I eat 5000 calories one day and zero the next vs 2500 for two days?
gpt
It has been suggested that the human metabolism has evolved two modes of operation, activated by calorie intake. The first is *grow mode* where plentiful nutrients are flung about the body and as suggested the body replenishes itself. The second is *repair mode.* Activated by a lack of calories, the body scavenges nutrients left behind from *grow mode,* such as from build-up on the walls of arteries. This may be a response to the failure of the hunt, when protein and calories are scarce but vitamins and minerals are still available from more plentiful vegetation.

Modern humans in developed countries may be at risk of remaining in grow mode throughout their lives and never entering repair/scavenge mode, and then die of blockages caused by years of nutrient build up.