By Umm Umar @2007
You will be eating less, so spend the grocery money on quality—fresh fruits: melons, grapes, real fruit juices, honey instead of sugar, whole grain products, fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned. Many of us eat a more healthy diet during Ramadan than we do at any other time of the year. Sad, but true.
You cannot fast and live primarily on junk food. You will make yourself sick and be unable to continue. Not fasting because of genuine illness is excused. If you sabotage your fast by not taking care of your health, it may be that Allah will hold you accountable. Don’t put yourself in that position.
Stay hydrated. In the morning particularly, eat fruits, vegetables, unsweetened juice (not juice drinks with sugar) tea with honey (not sugar), water, water, water.
Fruits, fruit juices, honey-sweetened teas, vegetables keep you hydrated throughout the day.
If you wake up just before fajr with no time to really fix anything to eat, drink as much water as you have time for. Fluids are far more essential for your body than food.
Limit salt/sodium intake. That includes crackers, chips, pretzels, salted nuts, popcorn and the like. It also includes bacon, sausage, bologna and other processed meats. Pickled and canned foods also tend to contain more sodium
Limit sweets (i.e. sugar) to night time meal. Eating sugar in the morning means you will have a more rapid and severe peak and dip in your blood sugar during the day. You will be more prone to dizziness, irritability. The sugar also increases dehydration. This includes candy, cookies, cakes, pies, sodas and juice drinks and many processed foods.
Junk food will go through your system faster, leaving you hungrier for longer during the day.
Eat one meal’s worth of food, not three. If you gain weight while fasting, you’re doing it wrong (and your “fast” may not count).
Don’t eat all night and sleep all day. That is not the sunnah.
Don’t curtail all of your activities. Battles have been fought and won during Ramadan. It doesn’t get any more physical than that.
If your meal is going to be spicy, try to eat some fruit or bread first. Some stomachs don’t handle spicy foods well if they are the first foods taken after twelve or more hours of fasting.
If you don’t have dates when you break your fast, then other fruits, juices, or teas will bring your blood sugar level up quickly. Again, avoid sugar.
If you have to take medication for something minor like a cold, get the long acting kind that will last for twelve hours so you only have to take them twice a day. Some people have taken twelve-hour antibiotics and fasted successfully, but check with your doctor before doing that.
Be patient in the beginning. During Ramadan, your body will adjust to the rhythm of the fast. It will come to “know” that it will be fed in a few hours and that it is not being starved. You will forget you are fasting, and when you’ve stopped fasting, you will find that you have to remind yourself to eat and drink during the day.
Some people adjust to the fast after the first 3 days, some take the first week.
Every fast has its tough days. But we all know that being hungry or thirsty for a few hours is not doing us any harm. That is the time to remember Allah and to seek His help and to seek our sustenance from Him. We have no idea how many blessings there are in holding on through those times. It may be that on the Day of Judgment, we will see how much good there was in those tough days and wish there had been more.
DISCOMFORTS AND REMEDIES:
Headaches. From ketones–your body breaking down fats due to lack of carbohydrates. From toxins not being flushed out due to dehydration. From low blood sugar. Stay hydrated. Pay attention to your body. Some people generally need more carbs in the morning, some need more protein. Carbs from whole grains and natural products—breads and rice, beans and vegetables—will stay in your system longer than white bread, white rice, waffles or pastries. Keep a couple of large bottles of water near your bed. Drink just before you go to sleep and anytime you wake up during the night.
Stomach pain. Your stomach has to “shrink to fit”. Let it, then leave it. You’ll feel better. Once your stomach has shrunk, you will feel less hungry and the days will be easier. The more you stretch out your stomach with big meals, the more it has to shrink again each day. Don’t make yourself miserable.
Thirst. Follow hydration tips. Remember sugar is as dehydrating as salt.
Nausea. Usually from thirst/dehydration. You might need to eat few solids and just drink everything for iftar and the following suhoor to correct the imbalance.
Vomiting. If this is from something you ate, you will feel better after it’s out of your system and you should continue your fast. You will be hungrier, but there is no harm in it. Vomiting on purpose breaks the fast.
Heat. Water is your friend. Showers, baths, wet towels, fans, air-conditioners all help us through. Be careful not to get water in your nose or mouth where you may swallow it reflexively and break your fast.
A Warning:
If you are not just uncomfortable but are experiencing symptoms of heat stroke/heat exhaustion, then break your fast and do not endanger your health.
Cold. Your body cannot warm itself without fuel. Wear extra layers. Make sure to insulate hands, feet and head. This applies for winter and for rainy, windy or cold days any time of the year. Try to stay warm and dry. Take a hot shower or bath. It doesn’t affect your fast; but once you get cold, you may be cold all day. Also, protect your skin and lips by using moisturizers. They help keep your skin from drying out from the combination of cold weather outside and dry heat inside. They also help insulate your skin from the cold.
Pregnancy or nursing. Pregnant or nursing women are not required to fast. They can make up the days later or feed the poor, one person for each day of Ramadan missed. Please don’t deny Allah and His Mercy in this regard.
An excellent article explaining the physiology of fast is: http://www.victorynewsmagazine.com/4TheMuslimFastandBodyPt1.htm
