RAMADAN: YOUR GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAL YOUR BODY, MIND AND SOUL

Prevent weight gain, fatigue and poor health during Ramadan

Every year, muslims around the world observe the month of Ramadan. They abstain from food, drink and sexual activities from sunrise till sunset. Ramadan is a month for healing the soul, letting go of earthly pleasures and reconnecting with God and loved ones. It’s a month for prayer, kindness, charity, repentance, reconciliation and gratitude. 

Interestingly, this religious practice started in seventh century Arabia long before the emergence of the scientific evidence in favour of fasting. Fasting is now widely recommended by health gurus and functional medicine doctors for its well established benefits:

1. Activates autophagy: the process by which the body breaks down old cells and gets rid of harmful components 

2. Reduces inflammation: in the joints, the gut and the brain

3. Boosts the immune system (may help prevent cancer)

4. Balances blood sugar and reduces insulin

5. Enhances cognitive function and the regeneration of neural pathways which in turn may prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s 

6. Helps with weight loss due to caloric restriction and fat mobilisation

7. Reverses chronic conditions like diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease 

8. Boosts Growth Hormones which is essential for regeneration, muscle growth and an efficient metabolism

9. Extends the life span 

Many muslims today, however, experience negative health outcomes during the month of Ramadan. 

If you fast the month of Ramadan, do you

🔲 Gain weight?

🔲 Feel exhausted?

🔲 Feel sick?

HOW CAN YOU TURN THIS SITUATION AROUND TO REAP THE BENEFITS OF FASTING?

HEAL YOUR BODY

The key principle to reducing metabolic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, cancer) is to regulate blood sugar levels. Every time we eat carbs (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, starchy vegetables, legumes, deserts, sugars, honey and even fruits), our blood sugar spikes quickly leading to a spike in insulin to remove the sugar from the blood and into the cells. Following the insulin spike, blood sugar drops leading to a crash or feeling of sluggishness and hunger— a cue to eat again as the body is attempting to regulate blood sugar. As we eat more carbs, another spike is caused leading to a blood sugar roller coaster ride. This process is very harmful to the body leading to many chronic diseases. 

The key is to eat less meals and to eat food that doesn’t spike your blood sugar like proteins, non-starchy vegetables and good fats.

Here are some health tips to follow during Ramadan and hopefully after…

Remember anything you practise for 30 days becomes a habit.

1. Avoid eating out. Cook at home.

2. Eliminate all processed food from your diet. Use wholesome ingredients

3. Reduce your toxic load (from your food, drinks and your self-care products)

4. Cook with good fats (coconut oil, butter, ghee). 

5. Use sea salt or Himalayan salt

6. Use bone broth in your stews and soups

7. keep good carbs to ¼ of your plate, preferably for a maximum of once a day

8. Get your daily requirement of proteins (1 g of protein per ideal body weight) and as much non-starchy vegetables as you’d like 

9. Reduce sweets to once per week. Make your sweet with wholesome ingredients at home (good fats, organic flour, seeds, 85% dark chocolate, honey or maple syrup). 

⚠️ Even with healthy ingredients, sweets are still sweets and they will spike your blood sugar level and increase insulin secretion.

10. Fruits also contain sugars so try to limit them to 1 or 2 small fruits consumed right after a meal to avoid a blood sugar spike

11. Get some physical activity. Walk for 30 min to one hour. Mild exercise like pilates, stretching and yoga can be done any time of the day. More strenuous exercise like weight lifting or running is best done right before Iftar or a couple of hours after. 

12. Hydrate adequately 1.5-2 L of water and herbal teas.

⚠️ Avoid drinking water with a meal. It dilutes your stomach acid and causes indigestion. Drink water on an empty stomach or two hours after a meal. 

13. Try to get 6-8 hours of sleep.

14. If you smoke, quit smoking. If you can stay without a cigarette all day, you can stay without it at night. The nicotine will clear out of your body in one week. This is your chance to change your lifestyle.

FOR MORE EASY SWITCH IDEAS, CHECK OUT THE SWITCH CHALLENGE

SAMPLE RAMADAN DAY:

SUHOOR: (At 11-12 pm before you sleep OR before sunrise)

eggs + mushrooms, broccoli, carrots (no bread)

OR 

cheese slices + cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, pepper (no bread)

Have a herbal tea

⏰ 1 hr before Iftar- Exercise for 30-45 min (yoga, pilates, gym, run)

IFTAR: 

Break your fast with 750 ml of water + 1-2  dates

⏳  Wait 15 min (maybe do your prayer)

Eat your salad + soup 

⏳ Wait 30 min (go for a walk)

Eat your main meal: 

stew with animal protein and vegetables (made with bone broth)

OR 

steak/fillet with vegetables 

Have a small fruit

Have a herbal tea

⏳ Wait  2hrs 

Drink 750 ml of water

🍭 BONUS RAMADAN SWEETS AT THE END

HEAL YOUR MIND

1. Practice mindfulness: This practice will help shift your brain from stress and foolish mode to calm and wise mode.

Homework #1:

Take 1-2 min breaks throughout the day to focus your attention on physical sensations coming from any of your five senses, notice any intruding thoughts non-judgmentally and let go of them then shift your attention back to your physical sensation. 

• Look intently at the designs of your prayer carpet or your Ramadan decoration or the sunset

• Listen carefully to the call to prayer or a recitation of the Quran

• Feel the running water as you are doing ablution or feel the beads of your rosary as you are doing Tasbeeh (remembrance of God)

• Eat mindfully during Iftar and Suhoor. Notice the taste, texture and smell of your food

• Focus on your breath. Notice your chest rising and falling. Label your breathing as inhale-exhale. Label any intruding thoughts and let go of them

(You could also practise mindfulness during Quran recitation or prayer. Just let go of intruding thoughts and go back to your activity)

🔲 I will set alarm reminders to help me take 1-2 mindfulness breaks throughout the day

2. Practice forgiveness: Reconcile with a loved one or a friend. Holding grudges and resentments only hurts your mental wellbeing. Clear your heart and extend your hand in peace towards others.

Homework #2: 

Try this video using the SEDONA METHOD for relationships

🔲 I will schedule 20 minutes in my calendar to forgive ______________

3. Practice letting go of negative feelings around a particular issue. Remember most events that we perceive as bad may turn out to be gifts in disguise. First let go of your negative feelings then try to turn the situation into an opportunity or a new beginning. 

Homework #3:

Try this video using the SEDONA METHOD for situations

🔲 I will schedule 10 minutes in my calendar to let go of ___________________ 

Save the Sedona Method process in your notes. You can repeat this process alone as needed.

Step 1: Focus on an issue that is causing you distress. Allow yourself to feel whatever you are feeling at this moment. Stay with the feeling. Notice where the feeling is building up.

Step 2: Ask yourself one of the following three questions:

• Could you allow this feeling to be there?

• Could you accept this feeling?

• Could you let this feeling go?

“Yes” or “no” are both acceptable answers.

Step 3: Then ask yourself: 

Would you let go of this feeling? 

Are you willing to let go?

Would you rather have this feeling or would you rather be free of it?

Step 4: Finally, ask yourself this simple question: 

When? When would you like to let go of this feeling?

4. Practice gratitude: There are numerous mental and physical benefits to the practice of gratitude like stress reduction, better sleep, less fatigue, better cognitive function, improved health and wellbeing and better connectedness. You can be grateful for material things, experiences, qualities and abilities you have, people in your life...

Homework #4:

1. Name three things/people you are grateful for first thing in the morning or before you sleep or keep a gratitude journal and write in it once a week. Reflect on how much better your life is with these blessings or people in your life

2. Express gratitude towards a loved one, a friend or a colleague. Tell them what you appreciate about them and what positive impact they have on your life. Be SPECIFIC. You could also write them a gratitude letter.

3. Find the gifts in difficulties. Draw your timeline and divide it into decades. Under each section list the bad events that happened in your life then try to see the gifts that came out of them

🔲 I will schedule 10 minutes to write my gratitude journal

🔲 This week I will tell ____________ how grateful I am they are in my life

🔲 I will schedule 15 minutes to write a list of bad events in my life & their gifts

5. Practise empathy towards yourself and others. It will improve your relationships and boost your happiness.

• Speak to yourself as you would speak to a dear friend

• Put yourself in the shoes of the other person

• Imagine yourself or the other person as a child. This will activate your caring instinct.

6. Practise random acts of kindness: This practice alleviates depression, uplifts your spirit and leads to a positive cycle of reciprocity. A smile, a greeting, ceding your seat to an elderly ….

🍭 BONUS: RAMADAN SWEETS 

⚠️ Remember sweets are sweets and they can spike blood sugar even when made with wholesome ingredients

Desert #1: Cottage cheese with honey drizzle

Desert #2: Nuts butter (hazelnut or peanut or almond butter) with cocoa powder and a drizzle of honey. Add raspberries or strawberries or banana slices.

Desert #3: Seeds cookies

Desert #4: Pancakes with walnuts and honey (a substitute for this)

Find any pancake recipe you like with the following ingredient: organic flour, milk or water, sea salt, vanilla (optional: coconut oil, baking powder, eggs)

Crush walnuts (soft or crunchy). Add cinnamon, nutmeg, orange blossom water, honey

Spread the walnut mix in the middle of the pancake and roll it then drizzle honey on top. Eat it raw. 

Bon Appétit! Or as we say in Lebanese, Sahten!! (which means ‘I wish you double health’)

Disclaimer: All  information provided by Abir Ballan is solely intended for educational purposes and is not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.

About the author

Abir Ballan has a Masters in Public Health, a graduate degree in special needs education and a BA in psychology. She is a children’s author with 27 published books. 

Follow on X, Telegram