Lesser people have strokes in the month of Ramazan due to decrease in tobacco use, better blood pressure and diabetes control as well as low cholesterol, leading health experts said on Wednesday as they urged the people to take the advantage of the month of fasting for brain and mental health in addition to overcoming addiction of tobacco and other harmful substances.
“In addition to improving mental health, studies have shown that fasting delays the onset of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases while it improves tremors in Parkinson’s disease as well in the essential tremor disorder. Fasting can also help patients having epilepsy and frequent migraines,” Prof Muhammad Wasey, consultant neurologist, said while speaking at the 8th International Diabetes and Ramazan Conference 2022, which is under way at a hotel in Karachi.
Several local and international experts from Middle East, North Africa, Europe, South and Far East countries are taking part the conference jointly organised by the Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE) Karachi in collaboration with the Ramazan and Hajj Study Group Pakistan, National Association of Diabetes Educators of Pakistan (NADEP) and Diabetes and Ramadan (DaR) International Alliance.
Prof Wasey maintained that fasting also helped people improve and regain their sense of taste who complained that their sense of taste had deteriorated after the Covid-19 infection.
The conference was also told that fasting was beneficial for mental health as it decreased anxiety and panic attacks, stabilised mood in patients of bipolar disorder, increased ability to manage stress and had better effects on mania.
Nephrologist Dr Bilal Jamil said that fasting could be harmful for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) with pre-exiting cardiovascular disease. He, however, added that most of the patients with CKD could fast under supervision. He advised the patients with CKD stage 3 and 4 to consult their physicians before the start of Ramazan.
Prof Dr Tahir Hussain said experts from different fields of medical sciences had proved with their scientific presentations at the conference that by and large, fasting was safe for people with diabetes, mental and neurological disorders, cardiovascular and stable kidney diseases as well as pregnant women but such patients should consult their physicians before the start of the holy month.
Endocrinologist Dr Mussarat Riaz said that as per the Islamic teachings, pregnant women were exempted from fasting if it posed risk to the mother or the unborn child.
“There are many pregnant women who insist on fasting during Ramazan and our advice to such women is to consult their physicians before doing so. For some pregnant women, fasting can be allowed and for others, they are advised to skip for their own safety,” Dr Riaz explained.
Another senior health expert Dr Saif-ul-Haq from the BIDE said there were round 1.9 billion Muslims around the world, of whom 150 million were diabetics but over 86 per cent of the Muslim diabetics chose to fast at least for 15 days of the holy month.
“Of these 150 million Muslim diabetics, around 61 per cent fast for the entire month of Ramazan. Studies have shown that fasting has positive effect on people with type 2 diabetes while it also improves physical as well as social well-being of people,” Dr Saif added.
Endocrinologist Prof Zaman Shaikh said stable patients of cardiovascular disease who already had stenting could fast after consultation with their cardiologists but added that there were some unstable patients who could not be advised to fast.
Mufti Najeeb Khan from the Darul Uloom Karachi said doctors had the authority to permit and disallow fasting for people with health issues and added that people should listen to their doctors as they knew better who could keep fast safely.
He clarified that several health interventions including ear and eye drops, getting blood sugar monitored by pricking, getting insulin and getting intravenous or intramuscular injections did not break the fast.
He added that in life-threatening situations, patients could break their fast and fast later.