Do's & Don'ts To Stay Healthy during Ramadhan

By: eASY SMAN 1 Bogor on 7:59:00 PM

Share it Please

Tweet

Ramadhan is a blessed month of a spiritual fulfillment. The foods eaten should be well balanced, containing foods from each food group, i.e., fruits, vegetables, meat/chicken/fish, bread/cereals and dairy products. Fried foods are unhealthy and should be limited. They cause indigestion, heartburn, and weight problems. In the Al-Quran, there is a Verse gathering the whole matter of medicine. It is: "...Eat and drink but do not be excessive." (7:31). So in this posting, I would like to share some practical tips to keep you healthy and enjoying all of Ramadan (Source: http://www.islamquery.com)

Do's:

• Maintain calorie intake to roughly what you take when not fasting. Ramadan is not for losing weight, unless you are overweight and want to lose weight. Maintain the same level of activities (calorie expenditure) as when you were not fasting. 
• 
  Eat slow burning foods, esp. at Suhur time. Complex carbohydrates are slow burning foods; e.g. Wheat, bran, oat, beans, lentils, whole wheat flour, etc. Haleem is a good healthy slow burning meal! 
• 
  Eat high fiber foods, like whole wheat, oats, beans, lentils, vegetables (green beans, peas, spinach, and beetroot), fruits like figs, prunes, etc. 
• 
  Eat balanced meal, e.g. Vegetables, fruit, meat (chicken, beef, and fish), bread, cereal, dairy products. 
• 
  Drink plenty of water and fluids. (Water is preferable)

Do not:

• Do not eat fast burning foods. Refined carbohydrates are fast burning foods, e.g. White flour bread, refined sugar, etc. 
• Do not eat fried and fatty foods. These cause heartburn and weight gain.
• Do not over-eat, especially at Suhur time. 
• Tea: Do not drink excessive amount of tea, especially at Suhur time. It contains theophylline, which is a mild diuretic (causes urination) and may exacerbate fasting related dehydration, and may contribute to salt and electrolyte deprivation.  (Coffee does not contain theophylline.)  It is not healthy to drink tea for breaking the Fast.

What Could We Gain From Fasting?

Fasting is not only a physical but also a spiritual exercise that has many lasting benefits. 

1. Heightened Consciousness of godFasting helps you to become less preoccupied with bodily appetites, and enables the heart and mind to become free to reflect over deeper spiritual matters, such as your relationship with God and with fellow human beings. It enables a person to develop sustained consciousness of God – “Taqwa”.
2. Healthy living lifestyle
3. A fasting person learns to restrain and 
4. only responds to hunger and thirst in the 
5. heightened level of consciousness and 
6. discipline. Through fasting a person begins 
7. to appreciate the value of food. In the Qur’an 
8. “healthy and wholesome food” is described 
9. as the best of provisions. Thus fasting helps 
10. a person choose a healthier lifestyle by 
11. making small yet lasting changes to your 
12. daily diet.

(Source: http://www.communitiesinaction.org/Ramadan)