Health chiefs are encouraging people to stay healthy during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The month of fasting starts on Monday, August 1st this year, until August 30th, and will see all adult Muslims give up food or drink and smoking, from around 4am to 9pm.
NHS Blackburn with Darwen Care Trust Plus has issued guidelines for those fasting to help you stay healthy and happy during Ramadan.
Food eaten during the break in the fast is important to keep energy and hydration levels up during the fasting hours. Complex carbohydrates are foods that will help release energy slowly during the long hours of fasting. These are found in grains and seeds, like barley, wheat, oats, millets, semolina, beans, lentils, wholemeal flour and basmati rice.
Fibre-rich foods are also digested slowly and include bran, cereals, whole wheat, grains and seeds, potatoes with the skin, vegetables such as green beans and
almost all fruit, including apricots, prunes and figs.
Foods to avoid are the heavily-processed, fast-burning foods that contain refined carbohydrates in the form of sugar, white flour, etc., as well as, of course, too much fatty food, such as cakes, biscuits, chocolates and sweets, such as Indian
Mithai. It may also be worth avoiding the caffeine content in drinks such as tea, coffee and cola - Caffeine is a diuretic and stimulates faster water loss through urination.
During pregnancy and in post-child birth care, nutrition and hydration are paramount and, while fasting is permissible, it is medically better for the mother to make the fasts up later, a day for a day.
People with medical conditions are often advised not to fast, including diabetics who need to inject insulin or those with poor control of diabetes, as the potentialrisk to health, both in the short and long term, of not taking insulin is too great.
For people with acute illnesses, fasts can be broken and made up later. For people with chronic conditions - eg ophthalmic, dermatological, neurological, fastingmay have no impact and can continue as normal.
Clinical investigations such as blood tests would not break the fast as there are only small amounts of blood drawn, although blood donation would not be advised as it may contribute to light-headedness and possibly dehydration.
Ramadan is also a good time to make positive lifestyle changes and stop smoking. The Asian Quitline, a stop-smoking service funded by the British Heart Foundation will have extended opening hours during Ramadan and offers advice in Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali to help smokers quit during Ramadan.
To find out more about how to quit smoking visit: bhf.org.uk/smoking
Dr Malcolm Ridgway, medical director of the NHS Blackburn with Darwen Care Trust Plus, said: “Staying healthy and eating the right sorts of food are important aspects of Ramadan and will help those fasting to keep their energy levels up and keep a sense of wellbeing.
“Those with medical conditions and health considerations should receive guidance from health professionals before starting the fast, and are able to make up the fast in other ways. Maintaining your optimum health is an important consideration.”
