Ramadan tips

The holy month of Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and a time when many Muslims across the world fast during daylight hours for 29-30 days. The Islamic calendar is lunar and so Ramadan falls at a slightly earlier time in the year each year.

Muslims taking part in Ramadan do not eat or drink anything during daylight hours, eating one meal (the ‘suhoor’ or ‘sehri’) just before dawn and another (the ‘iftar’) after sunset. The end of Ramadan is marked by ‘Eid-ul-Fitr’, the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast. A special celebratory meal is eaten during the festival, the first daytime meal for a month.

Ramadan iftars marks the end of fasting each day. When the sun goes down, families and friends typically gather round a table of lavish feasts. While iftars are an enjoyable experience, they can be daunting for people trying to maintain good eating habits during this holy month.

Having a balanced iftar is important as it’s the meal that replenish energy stores and help sustain your fast the following day. You must place an extra effort into consuming the right foods to get the nutrients your body needs. Ramadan is an opportunity to cultivate good eating habits that will stay with you after the fasting month ends. I've  put together a few tips to help you find a cleaner way to break you fast and make the rest of your Ramadan a healthy one.

Some useful tips: 

Hydrate before eating

Drink plenty of fluids such as water, freshly squeezed juice, or milk. This will prevent dehydration and provide your body with the essential fluids it needs. Water remains your best source of hydration. Drink 1 – 2 glass of water before your meal and not during your meal to avoid delaying your digestion process. Be wary of Ramadan drinks because they contain a lot sugar and calories.

Why not try adding fresh fruit and herbs to water and allowing it to infuse in the fridge until it is time to open your fast; as shown above

Break your fast with dates

Traditionally, dates are eaten at the start of your iftar meal. Because they are a nutritious burst of natural sugar they fuel your body with much needed energy. If you suffer from headaches during the fasting hours, most likely caused by low blood sugar, begin your iftar with 2 dates and replenish your sugar levels.

Have a bowl of soup

Soups are an indispensable dish in iftar. They’re rich in water and help you hydrate. Reach out for lentil, tomato, or vegetable soup and avoid cream-based soup. If you don’t enjoy a warm soup during the summer months, cold soups and Gazpachos make a great alternative.

Try making this beautiful pumpkin soup; the recipe is up in the archives.

Eat your greens

Vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber and provide so many nutrients in so little calories. The more colorful your salad, the more health benefits it holds. It also provides a feeling of fullness, ensuring you eat less on your main dish. Aim for 2 servings of vegetables per meal. One serving equals a 1/2 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice or 1 cup of leafy raw vegetables.

Salads with good carbohydrates are full of nutrition, like this sweet potato salad with mixed grains and spinach. See the recipe up in the archives

Choose good carbs

Your iftar meal should contain a source of carbohydrates, preferably complex. These include brown rice, whole grain pasta or bread, potatoes. Complex carbs provide a more stable and sustainable source of energy in addition to fiber and minerals.

Incorporate lean protein

At iftar, you should aim to eat high quality protein that are highly digestible and contain all the essential amino acids. Your body uses these to build and maintain muscle mass. Beef, milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, fish and poultry are all complete high-quality proteins. Choose lean proteins to get the benefits with little saturated fats. Include fish, skinless chicken or turkey and low fat dairy to have as part of your iftar meal. If you’re vegetarian, you can select other protein sources such as legumes, beans and nuts.

Take it easy

Don’t be in a hurry to finish your food. After being deprived of eating for an entire day, overloading on food may lead to indigestion and other gastric problems. Have a light iftar that includes reasonable food portions. Controlling the size of your portion is key to staying healthy and preventing weight gain. As a rule of thumb, don’t exceed amounts you would have for a typical lunch or dinner meal.

Avoid foods high in fat, salt and sugar

Whenever possible, stay away from heavy meals for iftar that have too much unhealthy fats, salt and added sugar. When cooking, make your favorite Ramadan recipes healthier by stewing, baking, roasting, steaming or grilling and avoid frying. Add herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor your meals. Finally, replace sweets and sweetened drinks with naturally occurring sugar in fruits, dried fruits and fruit salads.

What foods should you have during Suhoor?

For Suhoor (pre-dawn meal)

Suhoor needs to be wholesome to provide enough energy to last during the long hours of fasting. Suhoor should include the following foods:

• Fruits and vegetables Rich in fibre, fruits and vegetables are essentials during fasting as they increase the feeling of fullness and help prevent constipation. They also contain vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that are vital for good health.
•  drink plenty of fluids, choose fluid-rich foods to make sure you are well hydrated for the day ahead and go for starchy foods for energy, choosing high fibre or wholegrain varieties where possible as these tend to be digested more slowly. Below are some examples:
• • Oats - these are wholegrains and you could choose porridge, which will also provide fluids as it’s made with milk or water, or muesli with milk or yogurt. You could experiment with fresh or dried fruit, nuts or seeds as toppings.
• • High fibre breakfast cereals – these provide plenty of fibre and are often fortified with vitamins and minerals, providing extra nutrients. Because they are consumed with milk, you also get fluid and nutrients like calcium, iodine and b vitamins from the milk.• Starchy foods like rice, or couscous – you could try rice pudding with fruit or experiment with couscous or other grains with dairy or fruit. If you go for savoury dishes at suhoor then make sure these are not too salty or they may make you very thirsty.• Yogurt – this can be a good food to include at suhoor as it provides nutrients like protein, calcium, iodine and b vitamins and also contains fluid. You could combine it with cereal and fruit as in the examples above.• Breads – go for wholegrain options as these provide more fibre, for example wholemeal toast or chapattis. Avoid combining bread with salty foods like hard cheese, or preserved meats. You could try nut butters (without added salt), soft cheese, or banana. As bread is fairly dry, make sure you drink plenty of water or other fluids alongside or you could have fluid-rich foods such as a lentil soup, which is a traditional food at suhoor in some countries. 
  
  

What to eat and drink at iftar 

Iftar – when first breaking the fast go for plenty of fluids, low fat, fluid-rich foods and foods containing some natural sugars for energy (avoid consuming a lot of foods or drinks with added sugars). Below are some examples:

• Drinks – water, milk, fruit juices or smoothies – water provides hydration without any extra calories or added sugars. Drinks based on milk and fruit provide some natural sugars and nutrients – these are also good to break the fast but avoid drinking a lot of drinks with added sugars after breaking the fast as these can provide too much sugars and calories.

• Dates – traditionally eaten to break the fast since the time of the Prophet Muhammad, dates are a great way to break the fast as they provide natural sugars for energy, provide minerals like potassium, copper and manganese and are a source of fibre. You could also try other dried fruits such as apricots, figs, raisins or prunes, which also provide fibre and nutrients.

• Fruit – a traditional way to break the fast in South Asian cultures, fruit provides natural sugars for energy, fluid and some vitamins and minerals.

• Soup – traditional in many Arab countries, is a light way to break the fast and provides fluid. Traditional soups are based on a meat broth and often contain pulses, like lentils and beans, and starchy foods like pasta or grains, providing 

• nutrients and energy.

After breaking the fast – meals vary between different cultures but try to make sure the foods you eat provide a balance of starchy foods, fruit and vegetables, dairy foods and protein-rich foods like meat, fish, eggs and beans, For example you could have a range of curries including fish, meat, vegetables and pulses, served with rice, chapattis and yogurt, and this would include all of the key food groups  

After a long fast it’s natural to want to treat yourself but try to keep the amount of fatty and sugary foods and sugary drinks you have to a small amount. Remember that you only have a relatively short time each day to eat and drink to provide your body with all the essential nutrients and fluids it needs to be healthy, so the quality of your diet is especially important during Ramadan.

*Above Information gathered from various sources 

More detailed information: 

How does fasting affect the body?

During fasting hours when no food or drink is consumed, the body uses its stores of carbohydrate (stored in the liver and muscles) and fat to provide energy once all the calories from the foods consumed during the night have been used up. The body cannot store water and so the kidneys conserve as much water as possible by reducing the amount lost in urine. However, the body cannot avoid losing some water when you go to the toilet, through your skin and when you breathe and when you sweat if it is warm. 

Depending on the weather and the length of the fast, most people who fast during Ramadan will experience mild dehydration, which may cause headaches, tiredness and difficulty concentrating. However, studies have suggested that this is not harmful to health, provided that enough fluids are consumed after breaking the fast to replace those lost during the day. However, if you are unable to stand up due to dizziness, or you are disoriented, you should urgently drink regular, moderate quantities of water – ideally with sugar and salt – a sugary drink or rehydration solution. If you faint due to dehydration, your legs should be raised above your head by others, and when you awake, you should urgently rehydrate as outlined above.

For those who would normally consume caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee during the day, the lack of caffeine during the fast may initially lead to headaches and tiredness. This may ease over the course of Ramadan as the body adjusts to going without caffeine during the day.

Once the fast is broken, the body can rehydrate and gain energy from the foods and drinks consumed. Having not eaten for a long period, you may find it helpful to eat slowly when breaking the fast and to start with plenty of fluids and low-fat, fluid-rich foods (see suggestions below).

Drinking plenty of fluids, as well as consuming fluid-rich foods, such as fruit, vegetables, soups and stews, is very important to replace fluids lost during the day and to start the next day of fasting well hydrated. Salt stimulates thirst and so it’s a good idea to avoid consuming a lot of salty foods. The pre-dawn meal, suhoor, provides fluids and energy for the day of fasting ahead, so making healthy choices can help you to cope better with the fast (see suggestions below).

While iftar meals are often a time for celebration, with families and friends coming together to break their fasts, it’s important not to go overboard when eating during Ramadan. Consuming a lot of deep fried, creamy and sweet foods may actually cause you to gain weight during Ramadan. Ramadan can be a good time to make changes to improve the balance of your diet that you can sustain in the longer term. For more on a healthy diet click here.

The changes to eating habits and lack of fluids during the day may cause constipation for some people. When you can eat and drink, consuming plenty of high fibre foods, such as wholegrains, high fibre cereals, bran, fruit and vegetables, dried fruit and nuts alongside plenty of fluids may help to ease constipation as well as doing some light physical activity, such as going for a walk after iftar.

Is fasting good for health?

Results from studies on the health effects of Ramadan fasting are mixed, probably because the length of the fast and the weather conditions experienced vary depending on the time of year and the country where the fast is being observed. Some studies have found that people lose weight during Ramadan (although they tended to put this weight back on after Ramadan). If you are overweight and would like to lose weight and keep it off, then making plans to maintain a healthy diet and get active when Ramadan is finished may help you sustain any weight lost due to fasting. 

Some small studies have looked at the effect of Ramadan fasting on factors like blood cholesterol and triglycerides (fat in the blood) and found a short term improvement in some cases although some studies found no effect. There have also been some small studies that suggest that Ramadan fasting may have a short term beneficial effect on the immune system. In both cases, the results of studies have been mixed and so more research is needed to confirm these results.

If you can, once you have had a chance to digest your food, you could try doing some light exercise such as going for a walk.