Tuning up for Ramazan

The month of Ramazan is the best time to gain spiritual and physical health. In the holy month, Muslims all around the world perform rituals to attain the blessings of Allah Almighty. This month is the potent time to adopt good healthy practices spiritually and physically. Besides, it gives a chance to give up the bad habits that are harmful for the body and spirit.

The month of Ramazan allows us to clean our thoughts, body and soul. During this month our bodies go through a massive physical transition due to hours-long fasting. Here it is very important to understand how to cater to the transitional phase. Because our body suddenly has to go through an unusual routine, and to avoid a serious sudden impact of the change, we should learn gradually to adopt this transition.

Shifa Ali, a prominent dietician, spoke to Bol News and highlighted the importance of a proper diet during the month of Ramazan.

She said the holy month is basically a month of abstinence in which we have to restrict ourselves from the routine consumption of food and other activities. The basic essence of fasting is to teach us how little consumption of food can benefit our health. The true soul of this month is to eat less and switch our focus towards other parts of our personality. This time of year is ideal to work on our physical health.

Maintaining this Shifa said that fasting in our religion is actually a form of intermittent fasting which gives various benefits to our physical and mental health. It is very important to understand how eating less helps our body to detox itself. A balanced diet should be practiced to maintain a healthy body. Unfortunately, what happens is people do not tend to care regarding their diet and they end up eating way too much due to which they face health-related issues.

Shifa further said that if we talk about pre-dawn meals during Ramazan we can see that people tend to over eat more out of the fear that they will feel hungry all day. This practice itself is against the basic essence of fasting. People should eat as much as their body needs otherwise overeating will disrupt the functioning of body. Try to avoid eating such items that lack essential nutrients.

For the sehri time, people should consume diet which is rich in protein and energy such as eggs, fruits, yogurt or it can be a piece of meat as well. Avoid eating oily things and sugary products during sehri in order to avoid thirst during the day, she pointed out.

As far as the diet plan for iftar goes, we witness irregularities regarding the consumption of food. People happen to eat more than requirement, consequently doing no good to the digestive system, she warned.

The downside of it is that due to overeating, a person regains all the calories that were burnt down during fasting and eventually all the regained calories turn into fats. It should be mentioned that after the time span of six to seven hours, during fasting, our bodies naturally switch to fat-burning mode, and during this time the body consumes fat for energy rather than glucose. Glucose is a preferred fuel for the brain. It is very important to stay active during this period, she apprised.

In her opinion a good iftar meal should include fruits, dates, water, lemonade, milk or lassi. Try to stay as natural as possible during iftar rather than going for sugar-rich drinks.

Shifa emphasized that gaining sugar from natural resources such as fruits is far better than to consume plain sugar. With fruits, a lot of phytochemicals and fibre enter our bodies while the plain sugar adds empty calories into our bodies. Light snacks such as ‘dahi baray’ and ‘fruit chaat’ can be good energy alternatives at the time of iftar.

About the sleeping pattern during Ramazan, she advised that oversleeping during the month of fasting would further slow down the metabolism, consequently increasing the chances of weight gain. Our stress level is increased due to which our brain feels the burden, she added.

A short night’s sleep is important as it plays an important role in repairing our bodies. Our bodies have circadian rhythms that do the repair work. A deep sleep between 12am to 2am is highly recommended as it helps the brain to calm down and repairs hormones and thoughts.

She laid emphasis on some physical activity around Asr time as this is the time when the body starts eating fats for energy. Around 45-minutes’ walk is essential after breaking fast. With the help of this practice our body enables itself to metabolize. This also helps in staying active.

Shifa suggested that people should prepare themselves before the arrival of Ramazan by fasting during the month of Sha’aban so that their body gets attuned for fasting.

Furthermore, she suggested that after Ramazan people should slowly return to routine habits of eating.