Woman claims she has not eaten food, drank water or used the toilet in 16 years

Saturday, May 11, 2024 - A woman who claims she's not had any food, water or used the toilet for 16 years says doctors have said she's perfectly healthy and she now believes she knows the reason why.

Muluwork Ambaw said the last meal she had was when she was a 10-year-old girl and the meal was lentil stew. Now aged 26, she claims she hasn't eaten or drunk anything age 10, because she simply hasn't had an appetite.

The mum-of-one, who lives in Jimma, Ethiopia, says she likes to cook for her family but she doesn't get hungry.

She said doctors in India, Qatar and Dubai have tested her but no one can explain the strange phenomenon.

Drew Binsky, a Guinness World Record holder and UK-based YouTuber, decided to visit Muluwork to see if he could understand how she was still surviving after a 16-year fast.

She said: "I used to live with my family, and they asked me to eat breakfast and go to school. I said I had eaten but I was pretending. I had lost my appetite for water or for any food."

Now Muluwork likes to spend time in her garden, where she grows vegetables, in case her sister or visitors come, so she can cook fresh food for them. She added: "I cook as much as I want, but I have no appetite."

As Muluwork has fasted for 16 years, she also hasn't had to use the toilet. She told Drew: 

"The only reason I go to the bathroom is when I need to wash my body. I haven't used the toilet for 16 years."

When Muluwork became pregnant she was given infusions of glucose to help supplement the body's natural energy. She also wasn't able to breastfeed, as she wasn't producing milk, and explained: "And when I gave birth, she fed on artificial milk".

Drew asked her: "Is it true?". She simply replied: "Yes, it's true. I haven't eaten for the last 16 years." When Muluwork explained she had several medical tests done, and they hadn't found anything wrong with her, he and his crew looked into it further - and confirmed her story.

After three years of tests, doctors noted that there was no food, water or waste products in her digestive tract - which suggested she didn't have a need to "urinate or defecate".

In Dubai and Qatar, they also did tests to check up on her mental health, but again, they didn't find anything wrong with her.

Muluwork believes her unusual condition is "the work of God. She will now continue her fast and has said she doesn't think she will ever eat again.

To those who don't believe her, she says they should come visit her, and they will soon see that she doesn't eat or drink anything.