Islamic fasting has huge physical, mental health benefits

Fasting helps maintain self-discipline, self-management

Islamabad

Islamic fasting brings miracles if observed in accordance with the teachings of Islam by improving physical and mental health of a person and maintaining self-discipline and managing anger while convincing one to think seriously of taking steps to improve self-management.

Fasting for a whole month in Ramazan helps breaking addictions to harmful substances like tobacco, drugs, alcohol, tea, coffee and other habit-forming beverages. It improves functioning of almost all body systems along with minimising personal hostility and brings peace of mind and heart.

Fasting also serves as a means to improve the fabric of society by improving humanistic approach and increasing tolerance among individuals. It also serves as a means of self purgation. Statistics reveal that the crime rate in Muslim countries falls during the month of Ramazan.

Health experts believe that fasting in Ramazan provides opportunity to Muslims for an exercise in self-discipline as it helps breaking bad habits of those who are chain smokers or who nibble food constantly, or drink coffee or tea every hour.

Medically it is proven that fasting gives complete rest to the stomach, intestines and colon enabling the body systems to repair damaged structures. Piles, colitis, and gastritis etc speedily recover under the fast.

The alimentary tract becomes practically free of bacteria during fast and the small intestine become sterile. The process of decomposing and eliminating waste toxic materials by means of Islamic fasting improves and it can help curing cardiovascular and circulatory diseases, diseases of the digestive system, diseases of locomotor system, including rheumatism, respiratory system diseases including asthma, and the early stages of malignant cancer.

A number of health experts have expressed to ‘The News’ that fasting helps normalising metabolism in the body and dissolving mucus diseases such as colds, asthma, sinus and bronchial troubles.

Experts say that metabolism is improved through fasting and it strengthens the capability of the body to absorb proteins, fats, carbohydrates, starches, sugars, minerals, vitamins and all other essential nutrients necessary because all organs work properly due to fasting for a month.

Fasting has great physiological effects as it helps lowering of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol and lowering of systolic blood pressure. Many experts say that fasting can be an ideal recommendation for treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity and essential hypertension.

Head of Community Medicine at CMH Lahore Medical College Professor Dr Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry believes that fasting is a natural way to normalize body weight as it dissolves all unnecessary and unnatural fat deposits all over the body and the body is relieved of a tremendous burden. Those who fast look younger than those who don’t, he said.

He said fasting in Ramazan has great psychological effects as it brings peace and tranquillity for those who fast for a whole month. Fasting is a means of conquering one’s anger and during fasting; recitation of the Holy Quran not only produces a tranquillity of heart and mind, but also improves memory, he said.

It is important that psychological improvement results in better stabilization of blood glucose during fasting. Studies have revealed that stress increases the blood glucose by increasing the catecholamine level and any tool to lower the stress like biofeedback or relaxation improves diabetic control. Thus, Islamic fasting during Ramazan has a potentially beneficial effect with regard to diabetic control.

According to Deputy Director at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Dr. Waseem Ahmed Khawaja, extra prayer during Ramazan including ‘taraveeh’ are highly beneficial as these help controlling body weight apart from giving a deep feeling of satisfaction.

He, however, opines that patients with diabetes having higher levels of sugar in their blood should not fast without informing their doctor while patients with stomach ulcer should fast after taking doctor’s advice. Patients with hepatitis B or C must consult their physicians before going for fasting while patients who have developed complications of hepatitis B or C should not fast at all, said Dr. Khawaja.

Health experts say that to get maximum benefits of fasting, individuals should follow a proper diet plan during Ramazan.

Dr. Ashraf explains that one should take healthy diet in Íftar’, and ‘Sehar’ such as ‘fruit chaat’, ‘vegetable salads’, along with ‘macronis’; simple ‘chapati’, whole wheat bread, pulses, fish, poultry, milk, yoghurt, dates, juices, soups, boiled rice, potatoes, and peas etc and should avoid unhealthy diet such as deep-fried foods including ‘samosas’, ‘pakoras’, ‘kachoris’, ‘jalabis’, and ‘parathas’, excessive usage of spices, tea, coffee, cola or other beverages etc. because all these foods increase your blood Low Density Lipoproteins (bad cholesterol) which is bad for your health and for your heart.

He suggested that one should limit the amount of sweet food during Ramazan. Consumption of excessive amounts of food during ‘Sehar’, or Iftar’ is a dangerous practice. Instead, it is advisable to have a modest dinner around one to one-and-a-half hour after ‘Iftar’, but not later. Delaying dinner until the very end of the night is a dangerous practice, and it is important to finish eating at least two hours before going to bed, he said.