A healthy and balanced food system

01/08/2010| IslamWeb

Many people get into the bad habit of overeating during the month of Ramadan, which often causes different types of diseases, like constipation, rapid weight gain, and many others. This is because they are heedless of the instructions of the Prophet, , and the etiquettes one must adhere to at the time of breaking the fast when eating Iftaar. The instructions of the Prophet, , are all about healthy practices. They also include measures to prevent stressing the body and over-exhausting it, as well as not subjecting it to pain. These measures therefore reflect the great benefits of fasting.

In order to achieve benefit from this healthy system, we must adhere to certain instructions related to our eating habits during the period of fasting. The following are some of these instructions:

Hastening to break the fast immediately at sunset:Sahl ibn Sa`d, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, , said: “People will continue to adhere to good as long as they hasten to break their fasting.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] “Adhere to good” here means the welfare of the religion as well as that of this world. Breaking the fast early does not mean that it is terminated before the prescribed time. What it means is that it is done without any delay immediately after sunset. Hastening to break ones’ fast has many benefits and effects on the fasting person who has been fasting for a period that ranges from 10-14 hours. The fasting person at the time of breaking his fast is in dire need to make up for the fluids and energy that he has lost during the day. The one who delays breaking the fast usually suffers from a drop in his blood sugar level, which results in total weakness.

Breaking the fast on dates: The fasting person has been instructed by the Messenger of Allah, , to start breaking his fast by eating a ripe or dry date. The benefit from this lies in it making up for the sugar he consumed during the day while fasting. If he cannot find dates, then the next best thing is water, and one may also drink milk or warm soup. One should take a short break (by going to pray Maghrib), in order to allow the body to prepare itself for the next step of eating the main meal.

Eating the main meal after performing the Maghrib prayer: In order to attain a healthy, balanced food system, the main meal must include all the primary food components, namely: protein, starch, sugar, fat, vitamins and minerals. There is no restriction on any type of food unless the person suffers from a certain disease which requires him to maintain a special diet. We would like to draw attention to the following important matters:

• Avoid overeating.
• Reduce the consumption of fat in general, especially saturated fat, and sweets.
• Do not eat a lot of pickles, spices and pepper.
• Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.
• Do not drink a lot of coffee and tea because they exhaust the stomach.
• Stay away completely from soft drinks and fruit juices that include preservatives.

Means to avoid constipation: It is a known fact that an empty stomach, after long hours of fasting, will not accept large amounts of food all at once. It can only do so in stages. Eating large amounts of food in one go therefore will cause pain to the stomach and the intestines. Additionally, this causes indigestion in the form of gases and constipation as well as other symptoms like feeling lazy and fatigue. Therefore, we highly advise people to break their fast in two stages:

• First: Eating dates, which acts as an introduction and prepares the stomach for the main course.
• Second: Eating the main meal after having performed the prayer.

A warning against some bad eating habits: People exercise very bad eating habits at the time they break their fast during the month of Ramadan, and we will shed light on some of them in the following:

• Sleeping after eating Iftaar.
• Smoking: Many people rush to light their cigarettes and start smoking as soon as the sun sets, thinking (mistakenly) that this satisfies their hunger or thirst. They forget the immensely harmful effects smoking has, especially on an empty stomach, let alone its bad impact on the fasting person’s appetite - in addition to the numerous bad effects on the rest of the human body.
• Drinking a lot of tea or coffee and other sweetened juices, all of which negatively affect the stomach.

Finally, the fasting person must always remember the advice of the Messenger of Allah, . Al-Miqdaad ibn Ma`dikarib, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “I heard the Messenger of Allah say:‘No man fills a container worse than his stomach. A few morsels that would keep his back upright are sufficient for him. If he has to do so, then he should keep one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for his breathing.’”[At-Tirmithi] This narration dissuades us from overeating as this causes laziness and negatively affects one's health.