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“Eat of the good and wholesome things that We have provided for your sustenance, but indulge in no excess imagestherein” (Qur’an 20:185)

Quoted directly from the Qur’an, Ramadan is not an excuse to overeat when you can eat, or consume foods that have little to no substance or value to your body.

Suhoor

Although it may be tempting to sleep past dawn, Suhoor is the most important meal of the day and it will need to provide you with energy for many hours whilst you fast. It is therefore particularly important to consume slowly-digesting foods that will provide sustained energy release.

Your Suhoor meal should be made up of lean protein (eggs, fish) and low GI carbohydrates (grainy bread, oats). Legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas) are a great option for Suhoor as they are low GI and rich in both fibre and protein.

Iftar (break of fast)

Even though you may feel hungry after fasting since dawn, it is important not to overeat or eat too quickly as your daily fast is broken. Remember the golden rules to avoid indigestion/heartburn, nausea and regurgitation: eat slowly, chew your food well and consume ‘normal’ portion sizes.

During fasting, you are more at risk of experiencing difficulties with food becoming stuck. The longer you go without eating, the more saliva that can build up in your stomach near the small pouch – this may cause food to become stuck leading to regurgitation to remove. Usually, a warm drink before eating (breaking your fast) will help dissolve the built up saliva. Similarly, the warm soup traditionally consumed when the fast is broken should also help. The warm drink/soup may take 10-15 minutes to take effect, so try to delay eating solid food by at least 10-15 minutes after your soup.

It is important to limit high fat/high sugar foods (particularly traditional sweets) as these can not only limit your weight loss, they may lead to nausea, or cause you to feel faint and unwell (dumping syndrome). Limit sweets to 1-2 per week.

In line with Prophetic tradition, you may wish to break your fast with a small portion of dates. It is useful to follow this with a more sustaining and nourishing meal.

Dinner

The dinner meal provides the opportunity to consume lean protein and vegetables and should not differ from your normal healthy diet.

1 Comment

  1. Wafaa

    Thank you so much for this! I was really nervous about Ramadan coming up and thought a beautiful month might become a nightmare but this really was a helpful read. Thank you so much once again for remembering us who will be fasting.

    Reply

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