Actually, starvation is surprisingly painless. After the first few days, the sensation of hunger goes away, and the body starts digesting itself. The brain releases high doses of endorphines (which, in the quantities we're talking, are as powerful a narcotic as heroin) and then consumes you. As says the medical scientists who study this stuff.
It's actually far more painful to recover from the brink of starvation than to reach that point in the first place. As says people who've been there. Usually, when the scientists and the real-life participants agree, it's pretty much accurate.
