How to Eat Healthy During Ramadan?

In Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink anything during the period between the sahur meal before daylight and the iftar meal eaten at sunset. Basically, due to eating two meals a day, some changes occur in the normal eating habits and lifestyle of the individual during the one-month fasting period. While the daily diet, which is three meals, decreases to two meals, the consumption of red meat, bread, rice, pasta, pastries, sweets and pies increases. On the other hand, consumption of vegetables, fruits and white meat is decreasing. However, it should not be forgotten that the energy, protein, vitamin and mineral ratios that should be taken daily do not change during Ramadan. Adequate and balanced nutrition is the first condition of being healthy. When we look at the main criteria of healthy nutrition; Eating together from all food groups, chewing slowly and well, eating little and often, consuming vegetables and fruits for fiber intake, choosing oil in sufficient quantity and from unsaturated fats, drinking at least 1.5-2 liters of water daily, whole grain products It is important to include wheat, bulgur, pasta and legumes in our diet and to take care of protein intake, which is not too much but sufficient to meet the body's needs. And when we consider the hot summer days, we can say that a more challenging Ramadan awaits us. If we think that even healthy people will have difficulties on a long and hot summer day, it would be more accurate for certain groups with health risks not to fast. When we look at these risky patients;

It is very important to eat the foods recommended in the diabetes diet on time and in the recommended amounts. It is the most appropriate order to consume foods in 3 main meals and 3 snacks. In this way, a more balanced use of insulin and therefore a decrease in the need for insulin is ensured. We said that it is appropriate for people with diabetes to eat with intervals of 2.5-3 hours. Low blood sugar, which we call hypoglycemia, is an undesirable picture and is dangerous. Therefore, fasting of diabetic patients will be inconvenient due to long-term fasting. In addition, drug treatment hours and the effects of these drugs on the body Long-term fasting can cause negative effects because it is in an orderly manner.

Long-term fasting in ulcer patients with reflux and helicobacter pylori causes excessive acid secretion, while their small and frequent feedings and taking plenty of fluids form the basis of medical nutrition treatments, while Ramadan is the basis of medical nutrition treatments. Since they will probably eat one or two meals excessively and quickly, their digestive systems will deteriorate and their complaints will increase. With pregnancy, the nutritional elements and vitamin mineral requirements of expectant mothers increase and the daily diet changes to meet this increasing need. It is definitely not recommended for pregnant women to fast to protect both the baby's and their own health, since there is a long-term hunger with fasting, as blood sugar will drop throughout the day and it will not be possible to meet the increased nutritional needs.

During fasting, blood sugar drops throughout the day. In addition, body temperature decreases. For this reason, cold, weakness, headache can be experienced, and when this is the case, it is necessary to eat healthy in Ramadan. When patients with heart and hypertension whose medication hours are set fasting for a long time, they also disrupt their medication treatment. Heart and blood pressure patients may experience problems as a result of being hungry for a long time, and suddenly overloading their meal at iftar and eating too heavy. It is necessary not to overload the stomach at the time of iftar. Heart and blood pressure patients should definitely consult with their doctors and get permission for fasting.

In our daily diet, which falls from three to two meals for healthy people, foods that are easy to digest, which will not tire our stomach for about 15-16 hours this year, should be preferred. . We can spend the whole day with iftar, which is usually a single meal in Ramadan, or with meals eaten close to bedtime after iftar. The time between iftar and sahur is the time when the metabolism works most inefficiently. We try to apply the healthy eating style, which consists of 6 meals a little and frequently, in Ramadan, as well, and our metabolism works more efficiently. We can make it happen. Even though there are not 6 meals in Ramadan, care should be taken to eat 3-4 meals in total with iftar sahur and 1-2 snacks apart from these meals.

Sahur is a meal that prepares a person for fasting. For this reason, breakfast-based foods that do not cause thirst, are light, have plenty of fiber, and do not contain fatty foods such as frying and roasting should be chosen and consumed without interruption. It is important to consume this meal on time as well. Eating before going to bed or not eating at all would be a wrong practice.

When breaking the fast in Iftar, a piece of food such as water, olives, cheese or dates can be taken and then continued with a soup. The metabolism, which slows down with hunger throughout the day, causes the person to feel cold. This soup will make the person warm and relax. Then, we should complete our iftar meal by choosing foods such as vegetables, grills, and salads that will not be heavy.

We should consume plenty of liquids, especially water, during the period between iftar and sahur. Again, provided that it is not heavy, types of food such as milk dessert or fruit can be consumed as a snack during this period.

While fasting;

When we look at the daily energy needs of the average person;

The average recommended daily energy intake of an adult man (between 20-50 years) is 2500 kcal,

The average recommended daily energy intake of an adult woman (between 20-45 years) is 2000 kcal,

Pita Fact;

Ramadan pita must be one of the crown jewels of our tables and the most indispensable item in Ramadan. Fasting people, fasting hours  ; They long for iftar and, perhaps, to eat pita the most. But in the meantime, it is an undeniable fact that we often miss the amount of pita bread.

1 thin slice of bread is 25 gr and its average energy value is 69 kcal. When we compare the foods equivalent to this bread and pita, we see that we feel more satiated with most of the other foods in energy equivalent to pita. We cannot achieve saturation with a small amount of pita made of white flour and low in pulp. Therefore, it would be better not to aim to provide all the saturation with pita, but to prefer meals with high fiber content in addition to reasonable amounts of pita.

The Fact of Dates

We think that the most consumed food of the entire Muslim world when breaking the fast in Ramadan is dates. Date is a delicious dried fruit rich in potassium mineral and high in glycemic index. 20 g of dates contain energy equivalent to 1 serving of fruit. This is an average of 50 kcal. We can sometimes see imbalances and excessive consumption in the consumption of dates, which are definitely included in the iftar tables. Today, dates are special and their size is above normal, so it would be beneficial to consume carefully, without forgetting that a date equivalent to the weight of 3-4 dried apricots or 1 dried fig is equivalent to 1 portion of fruit.

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