How does a diabetic avoid any harm during fasting? Are there risks to fasting for a pregnant woman? How do we turn Ramadan into a healthy month?
Several questions have been answered by health experts, to help turn the holy month into an opportunity to change the wrong daily life behaviour and unhealthy practices.
Health and psychological care experts interviewed by Qatar News Agency (QNA) stressed the need to consider the holy month as a starting point for adopting healthy nutritional, physical and psychological practices, as the holy month, specifically fasting, is an opportunity to focus on improving health and a healthy lifestyle. They stressed that fasting throughout the month of Ramadan as well as its religious and spiritual aspects, its benefits on the body are innumerable, but there are also some risks associated with fasting for patients with health problems.
They pointed out that one of the benefits of fasting is that the body first gets rid of old or damaged cells and then turns to renewing cells and replacing them with new ones after taking breakfast to provide the body with strength, vitality and activity.
Therefore, the month of Ramadan is an opportunity to renew vitality and enhance the performance and function of cells.
Doctors called for dividing food into three or four portions and eating them at the permitted meal times between Iftar and Suhoor, taking into account the amount of food consumed at breakfast, which should not exceed that eaten during lunch on any normal day, to provide the body with what it needs and avoid cold drinks because they affect the secretions of the stomach and cause muscle spasms.
Experts at Hamad Medical Corp (HMC) advised patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and blood pressure to take precautions during the fasting period, and to consult a doctor in order to find out whether their health condition allows fasting or not, to obtain the necessary medical advice, and to know the appropriate dates for taking their medications while fasting.
Health experts also cautioned against changing the dates of taking medications during fasting without referring to the specialist doctor in order to avoid losing the desired benefit from the medication and the occurrence of serious complications.
Health experts also advise diabetic patients to ensure that their blood sugar is checked several times a day, especially in the first days of fasting and at any time when the patient feels a low blood sugar level, while avoiding sleep in the last hours of fasting, and said it is preferable to consult a doctor several times during the month of Ramadan to make the necessary adjustments in diabetes medications or any other medications the patient is taking.
As for heart patients, fasting brings many benefits to them, according to the cardiology consultants at Hamad Medical Corp, as the rate of various heart diseases decrease such as heart attack (thrombosis), heart failure, and irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) during Ramadan.
Research has also proven that fasting and the accompanying religious rites lead to calmness of the soul and a decrease in the excitability of the parasympathetic nervous system, which leads to a decrease in pressure and heartbeat, which are good medical signals for most heart patients, and fasting during Ramadan also leads to an increase in the proportion of beneficial cholesterol by
30-40%, which in turn protects the heart's arteries from harmful cholesterol deposits.
On the other hand, doctors believe that pregnant women are able to fast, except for some cases who suffer from health problems, such as pregnant women with diabetes who take insulin doses, and who suffer from high blood pressure.
Doctors have advised pregnant women during the month of Ramadan to drink plenty of water and fluids during the period between Suhoor and Iftar in order to avoid dehydration, which may expose them to premature birth. Such cases increase during Ramadan because pregnant women do not drink enough fluids.
The Senior Consultant in Obstetrics/Gynaecology at HMC's Women's Wellness and Research Center Dr Faten El Taher, advised pregnant and lactating women who are unable to fast or who fear that fasting will negatively affect fetuses and infants to consult specialised doctors and conduct a general medical tests before deciding to fast, adding that Islamic law allows pregnant women, nursing women, children and the sick to break their fast in Ramadan.
Dr Faten stressed the need to communicate with the doctor on an ongoing basis to ensure that the fetus is not affected by the fasting during the month.
She warned that fasting may affect the development of the fetus in the mother's womb, and that there may be a relationship between fasting and early labour, as some studies indicate that some children are born early because a pregnant woman fasts for the month of Ramadan.
