Nutritionist Aziza Lakmihi said Ramadan is a golden opportunity to fix our eating habits, to boost our fitness through balanced eating and to remember that staying healthy is a choice that can be easily done.
During an interview with “Arab Today” she said a healthy diet during Ramadan is one of the important basics that must be followed to be healthy, as Islamic principles recommend moderation in eating with enough calories and foods that contain useful elements to provide the body with energy.
The difference between Ramadan and the rest of the year is the number and time of meals, which divide in Ramadan to two basic meals, Iftar and suhoor and a snack between them. Following a diet in Ramadan doesn’t require much trouble or specific materials, but a way of handling the available foods and how to eat and organize them.
Lakmihi said that, there are foods must be avoided in Ramadan including fried foods which usually filled with fats and calories, as well as avoiding sugars and sweet drinks. She added that, foods filled with fibers are the best options for iftar and suhoor such as, full wheat, grains, vegetables, fruits, as well as foods rich with carbohydrates.
The iftar meal should be eaten in two phases. One should begin with some dates, water or milk, then waits for a while before starting eating the main meal to give the digestive system the opportunity to work properly. The basic meal should have enough calories with different of food elements. Suhoor meal is also very important and should consist of number of different elements especially vegatbles and fruits and sugary foods must be avoided to prevent thirst during fasting. Fatty foods and high-protein diets should also be avoided, as well as eating up to satiety because it could lead to satiety.
She said people must prepare themselves by choosing the proper foods that will not cause thirst and hunger, and the best foods that can prevent the hunger feeling are vegetables and fruits as they contain high number of fibers that form an important element in a diet during Ramadan.
She said there is a particular role to be followed with diabetics during Ramadan as the condition differs from one person to another based on the severity of the disease, and these patients must take necessary precautions before Ramadan. They should stop their fasting if they felt fatigue, delay suhoor meal as long as they can, follow their recommended diet, stay away from sweets, divide their calories into 3 deals, drink enough water to prevent dehydration, replace juices with fruits and focus on complex carbohydrates like full grains.
Many of people neglect drinking water after iftar, so Lakmihi advises to drink enough water and juices in Ramadan as long as the body keeps these fluids and doesn’t lose them through physical exertion or sweating especially in high temperatures. Drinking water can be divided between iftar and suhoor, as one can start his or her meal by drinking a cup of water, then the process can be repeated after an hour. During suhoor meal, a glass of water is also necessary so that, the body can has its sufficiency of water for the whole period of fasting, and also to prevent dehydration all day because water is an important element to stay healthy. She also advises not to drink cold water before having iftar meal as it doesn’t help with thirst, leads to constriction of capillaries and thus weakens the digestion process.