Top ten tips during Ramadan

Ramadan is a great opportunity to improve physical health and spiritual wellbeing. 

1. Do not eat too much. I repeat do not eat too much . It will make you obese and whole purpose of fasting will be lost . The real challenge is making sure your body gets the required amount of calories every day & not too many calories. The most important thing to keep in mind, whether for iftar or suhoor, is staying away from sugary foods.  consuming too much sugar after hours of fasting results in the body storing it as fat. Invariably we get tempted to eat high sugar foods. This needs to be curbed . Avoid high sugar, salty and spicy foods, since they’ll leave you feeling pretty thirsty throughout the fasting hours. Avoid excessive consumption of meat .It is linked to coronary artery disease , obesity and Dementia and colon cancer (1, 2, 3)  You may consume 1-2 pieces of lean meat twice or thrice a week Or 1-2  chicken pieces ,preferably without skin , to avoid excessive fat intake. 

Dates are a good alternative especially when you’re craving something sweet, and these will also give you a good boost of energy. Instead, it’s better to rely on proteins, vegetables, and fruits.

What will be a  perfect iftar? Take a  bowl of soup and properly washed fruit , followed by a 15 to 20-minute break; just enough time for your brain to register how full it may be and how hungry your body really is. This 20 minute Break is a must. Go for Maghrib prayers and feed your soul. 

2. Drink enough of water : When it comes to drinks, try replacing coffee and tea with WATER . Your goal is to ensure your body is not dehydrated, which can hinder weight loss. Make sure you drink enough water between dusk to  dawn, a bit over 2-3 liters should leave your body hydrated.

3.Avoid fizzy drinks :   Fizzy drinks affect stomach lining and  predispose to reflux , make our heart racing , damages teeth ,predispose to obesity and increase belly fat. Instead try lemon water at home . Keep  Lemon cubes ready to use at home: Crush 8-10 lemons and put the lemon juice in the cubes without water,,, store in  the freezer of your refrigerator…. make lemon tea or take lemon water Please avoid adding sugar  Lemon juice is rich in vitamin C, Vitamin B, calcium, and minerals

4.Replace sweet dish with Pumpkin (Doodaal in Kashmiri). Sweat dishes are high in sugar contents and one of the major causes of obesity . Replace it with Pumpkin .It is easy to prepare .Boil pumpkin and mash it, then mix curd, add dry fruit or zeera. Then refrigerate. Pumpkin is a good source of vitamins A, C, E and B ,dietary fiber. 

Mineral wise, it’s rich with potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, manganese, sodium, and zinc. This is the best sweet dish ever  

Coming to spiritual aspect of Ramadan:

5. Try to feed one poor person daily.

6. Try to sponsor the education of  at least one orphan  

7. Do not sleep too much. Yes, relax near Iftar.

8.Be Happy and thankful . Your body will release good hormones. Pray regularly and on time 

9.Let us try to shun off hate and spread peace and brotherhood. Life is short and very beautiful so let us not waste it.

10.Talk meaningful and when needed it will save you from so many sins in this holy month 

 Have a blessed month of Ramadan!!!!!

References :

1.Zhang H, Greenwood DC, Risch HA, Bunce D, Hardie LJ, Cade JE. Meat consumption and risk of incident dementia: cohort study of 493,888 UK Biobank participants. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021 Jul 1;114(1):175-184.

2.Turner ND, Lloyd SK. Association between red meat consumption and colon cancer: A systematic review of experimental results. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2017 Apr;242(8):813-839.

3. Micha R, Michas G, Mozaffarian D. Unprocessed red and processed meats and risk of coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes–an updated review of the evidence. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2012 Dec;14(6):515-24.