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BE HEALTHIER THIS RAMADAN

However, adherence to some simple guidelines can help overcome these hazards.

Minimise intake of fried food

Experiment with baked and pan-fried food. Grilled kebabs, chicken, fish or beef boti are good substitutes for fried dishes. Fruit chaat, chickpeas and dahi baras are preferable to fried items such as samosas and pakoras. Although dahi baras are also fried, part of the fat absorbed during frying is lost when they are dipped in warm water. Made from daal (pulses), the baras are a good source of protein and fibre while the dahi (yogurt) provides protein as well as calcium and is also cooling in the October heat.

Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes and pulses

Chickpeas and fruit chaat are good choices for iftar as they are high in fibre. Legumes such as chickpeas also provide protein while fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals.

During Ramadan, dinner in most homes is a meal rich in fat and meat — chicken, minced beef or mutton — and low in daal and vegetables. If cooked vegetables are unappealing in Ramadan, they can be added to chaat or included as salads, bhurtas and raitas.

Eat the Right Sehri

Choose food that is high in complex and unrefined carbohydrates and low in sugar. High-sugar foods may stimulate over-secretion of insulin, which would in turn cause a sharp drop in blood sugar. This will lead to increased hunger as well as a sense of lethargy, causing a decline in physical activity during the day.

Good choices for sehri include food items that are low in spices and fat. If you like a hot meal for sehri, try whole-wheat roti and a dish that is not too spicy, along with milk or yogurt/lassi and some fruit. Kitchri with yogurt and fruit is another option. The traditional pheeni with low-fat or skim milk is also a good choice provided the pheeni is not too oily. Porridge or cereal with low-fat milk and fruit also recommended for those who can do without a hot meal at Sehri

Drink the Right Fluids

After iftar all of us feel the need to replace fluids lost during the day. Remember that water is the best choice. If you must have a cold beverage, fresh fruit juice is a better option than sherbets. If the craving for sherbet is too strong, use artificial sweeteners so as to not upset your caloric balance and blood sugar level.

Some of the faithful consume excessive fluid at sehri in the hope that it will be retained throughout the day and prevent thirst. Excessive intake — i.e. several glasses — will only lead to diureses in the post-sehri period as the body possesses a strong homeostatic mechanism for maintaining fluid balance.

Remain Physically Active

Many people try to conserve energy while fasting by cutting down on routine work. After iftar most people are too full to contemplate any planned activity such as walking or jogging and many offer Taravih later in the evening. As such it can be difficult to find time for exercise.

If you get off early in Ramadan, a good time to go for a walk is just before iftar. Even if the exercise makes you thirsty, it will be almost time for iftar by the time you finish your walk. This is a particularly good time for those trying to lose weight. A day of fasting depletes your body’s store of sugar and it is forced to call upon its reserves to provide energy for exercise.

If your schedule does not allow for a walk just before Maghrib, eat a light iftar and go for a walk an hour later. Then offer Taravih and come back and have dinner. It is generally not a good idea to exercise early during the day. This will leave you dehydrated through the rest of the day, which is not healthy. Lastly, Ramadan is a month for additional prayer. This too is a good way of getting some extra activity into your day.

Avoiding Heartburn and Acidity

Heartburn is a common complaint during Ramadan. To avoid heartburn, consider the following tips:

Break your fast with one or two dates and a small glass of water or beverage of choice. Offer your Maghrib prayers and then have the rest of your iftar. If you say your prayers after a full iftar, compression of the abdomen as you go into rukuh and sajda causes stomach acids to regurgitate into the esophagus and this produces the sensation we call heartburn.

Similarly it is better to go for Taravih at a time that allows you to come back and have dinner rather than go for Taravih on a full stomach.

The same applies to Fajr prayers. Get up a little earlier than usual for sehri so that you have not just finished eating when you say your Fajr prayers. Nor should you lie down right after Sehri. The best plan would be to finish sehri and walk around for a few minutes. Follow this with sitting upright and reading the Quran or doing any work that needs to be done until just before sunrise, and then say your Fajr prayers.

Remember that fried and spicy food also tends to increase acidity and cause heartburn.

If you follow these tips, Insha’allah the month of Ramadan will pass easily for you and at the end you will be physically healthier as well.

The writer is a Consultant Nutritionist at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.