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449535
Tue, 05/30/2017 - 06:54
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Keeping Good Diet To Stay In Shape During Ramadhan

JAKARTA, May 30 (Antara) - The ongoing holy month of Ramadan 2017 is a great opportunity to focus on bringing back a balanced and healthy lifestyle by learning how to manage eating habits. The underlying message behind Ramadan is self-discipline and self-control, and by maintaining a good and proper diet, those who are fasting can stay in shape during Ramadan. Bogor City Health Office Chief for Disease Control and Eradication, Ratna Yuanita, has stated that if people were not careful, food eaten during the pre-dawn and dusk meals could cause some weight gain. According to her, people should have a balanced diet with the right proportion of carbohydrates, fat, and protein during the fasting month. "Eat foods that contain high fiber and protein, but reduce the sweet foods at pre-dawn meal, because it can make people feel weak at noon," Ratna remarked in Bogor, West Java, on Monday. She stated that pre-dawn meal with fibrous foods such as vegetables and fruit in sufficient quantities can make the immune system stronger during the day. But sweet foods during the pre-dawn meal should be avoided because glucose in the blood will drop at 12 noon and make the body becomes weak. In order for the body to stay fit, those who work in the offices can stretch to keep their muscles relaxed during work hours, because stretching can dilate blood vessels and eliminating drowsiness. For those who like sports can still do physical activity but with the intensity and duration reduced from the usual days. Ratna explained that for a good and right fasting, one can imitate the way Prophet Muhammad fasted by eating dates, milk, mutton, and oats. Healthy foods mentioned in the Holy Qur'an are fruit and vegetables, such as olives, onions, cucumber, figs, dates, grapes as well as pulses such as lentils. British Nutrition Foundation in its website www.nutrition.org.uk has stated that during fasting hours when no food or drink is consumed, the body uses its stores of carbohydrate 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. 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. 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 is a good idea to avoid consuming a lot of salty foods. The pre-dawn meal provides fluids and energy for the day of fasting ahead, so making healthy choices can help one to cope better with the fast. While iftar meals are often a time for celebration, with families and friends coming together to break their fasts, it is important not to go overboard when eating during Ramadan. Consuming a lot of deep fried, creamy and sweet foods may actually cause one to gain weight during Ramadan, that can be a good time to make changes to improve the balance of diet that one can sustain in the longer term. The changes to eating habits and lack of fluids during the day may cause constipation for some people. When they can eat and drink, consuming plenty of high fiber foods, such as wholegrains, high fiber 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. 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 one is 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 him or her 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, 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.

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