Chinese woman suffers serious brain disorder after 15-day water-only diet

A 31-year-old woman in China reportedly developed a serious brain disorder after spending 15 consecutive days drinking only water. She lost 20 kilograms, falling from 70 kilograms, and later struggled to walk and remember things.

Sun Guifang, a neurologist at Zhengzhou University Hospital, diagnosed the woman with Wernicke encephalopathy. The condition can cause confusion, poor balance, eye-movement problems and memory decline. Sun said the woman’s walk now resembles that of a penguin and warned that the damage may not fully recover.

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Her walk now resembles that of a penguin.

The woman said she had followed “bigu”, a Taoist fasting practice based on the belief that people can reach spiritual heights and immortality by relying only on qi, the life energy believed to flow through the universe. The term means avoiding grains and is believed to predate the Qin dynasty, which lasted from 221 to 206 BC.

The practice continues to attract people seeking weight loss and detoxification, despite reports linking it to serious health problems, including death. Concern over such effects has prompted growing calls to ban content promoting bigu. Experts said healthy weight loss should rely on a balanced diet and regular exercise, rather than severe calorie restriction.

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The body needs regular food intake to obtain essential nutrients.