Advice on hand for healthy fasting during Ramadan

Muslim residents in the borough are being advised about healthy fasting during Ramadan, which is expected to start in the UK on Friday 20 July 2012 for one lunar month.

Dr Chris Duffy, Clinical Chairman, NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group said: “During the holy month of Ramadan, your diet should not differ very much from your normal diet and should be as simple as possible.

“If you follow a well balanced diet, fasting can be good for your health and it can also help you kick some of those bad habits, like smoking for example. There are many different types of free support available from the NHS to help you quit smoking including your local NHS stop smoking service.”

General tips for healthy fasting:

• Eat slow-digesting foods that contain grains and seeds like barley, wheat, oats, beans, lentils and unpolished rice. These foods can last for up to eight hours, making them more suitable for fasting.
• Eat a well-balanced diet, including foods from all of the food groups.
• Increase fluid intake during non-fasting hours.
• Eat complex carbohydrates at suhoor so that the food lasts longer, making you less hungry.

Try to avoid:

• Fried and fatty foods.
• Foods containing too much sugar.
• Over-eating, especially at suhoor.
• Too much tea at suhoor. Tea makes you pass more urine, taking with it valuable mineral salts that your body would need during the day.
• Smoking and chewing tobacco.

If you do have any concerns about you or your family’s health during fasting, speak to your local doctor.