system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
What is the reason people aren’t supposed to eat very much after starving for a prolonged period?
gpt
The simplified answer is that if a starving person suddenly starts to eat too much, their body will begin trying to make glycogen, fat, & proteins. This process will absorb minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus from the blood, but these minerals are also needed by the heart, lungs, and nervous system. If they eat too much too fast, they will substantially reduce the amount of these in their blood and it can kill them. If you feed them less than normal (but more than they had when starving) for a few days and then build them back up to a healthy caloric intake, they will absorb the minerals slower and this won't disrupt the other bodily functions as much, resulting in better patient outcomes.