Foods to Avoid During Ramadan

Take Healthy Food for Best Performance

Recommended Foods to Eat During the Holy Month of Ramadan

During the month of Ramadan, please avoid the following foods & take their replacements to ensure healthy & enjoyable life with all blessing of Ramadan.

Foods to avoid	Replacement /         Healthy alternative foods
Deep-fried foods, e.g. pakoras, samosas, fried dumplings	Whole grains, e.g. chickpeas (plain, or with potato in yogurt with different Indian spices), samosas baked instead of fried, and boiled dumplings
High-sugar/high-fat foods, e.g. Indian sweets such as Ghulab Jamun, Rasgulla, Balushahi, Baklawa	Milk-based sweets and puddings, e.g. Rasmalai, Barfee
High-fat cooked foods, e.g. parathas, oily curries, greasy pastries	Alternate with chapattis made without oil, and baked or grilled meat and chicken.
Cooking methods to avoid	Replacement / Alternative methods
Deep frying	Shallow frying – usually there is very little difference in taste
Frying	Grilling or baking is healthier and helps retain the taste and original flavor of the food, especially chicken and fish
Curries with excessive oil	Start with measuring the oil used in curry and try to bring the oil content down gradually, e.g. reducing five tablespoons to four. This is a good way of reducing oil without noticing much difference in the taste. A useful tip is to use more onions and tomatoes in the bulk of the curry

Further suggestions:-

Drink sufficient water between Iftar and sleep to avoid dehydration.

Avoid spicy foods.

Consume sufficient vegetables at meals. Eat fruits at the end of the meal.

Avoid intake of high sugar (table sugar, sucrose) foods through sweets or other forms.

Normal or overweight people should not gain weight. For overweight people Ramadan is an excellent opportunity to lose weight. Underweight or marginally normal weight people are discouraged from losing weight. Analyzing a diet's energy and nutritional component, using food composition tables or computer software, will be useful in planning an appropriate diet.

Avoid caffeine drinks. Caffeine is a diuretic.

It is recommended that everyone engage in some kind of light exercise, such as stretching or walking. It's important to follow good time management practices for prayer and other religious activities, sleep, studies, job, and physical activities or exercise.

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Healthy Diet During Ramadan

Health Tips For Ramadan

Intake of a balanced diet is critical to maintain good health, sustain an active lifestyle and attain the full benefits of Ramadan.

Fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan can be good for one's health and personal development. Ramadan fasting is not just about disciplining the body to restrain from eating food and drinking water from predawn until sunset. The eyes, the ears, the tongue, and even the private parts are equally obligated to be restrained if a Muslim wants to gain the total rewards of fasting. Ramadan is also about restraining anger, doing good deeds, exercising personal discipline, and preparing oneself to serve as a good Muslim and a good person during and after Ramadan.

In Ramadan, the health problems can emerge as a result of excess food intake, foods that make the diet unbalanced and insufficient sleep. Ultimately also, such a lifestyle contradicts the essential requirements and spirit of Ramadan.

During Ramadan you need to put extra effort into including foods from all five food groups to ensure variety and a well-balanced diet. These foods include:

Breads, cereals and other grain products

Fruit and vegetables

Milk, cheese and yogurt

Meat, fish and poultry

Fats and sugars (these contain very little nutrients and are high in calories and therefore their intake should be limited).

The most commonly consumed foods by Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) were milk, dates, lamb/mutton and oats. Healthy foods mentioned in the Holy Qur’an are fruit and vegetables, such as olives, onions, cucumber, figs, dates, grapes as well as pulses such as lentils.

Complex carbohydrates are foods that will help release energy slowly during the long hours of fasting and are found in grains and seeds like barley, wheat, oats, millets, semolina, beans, lentils, whole meal flour and basmati rice. Look out for foods labeled Low G.I.

Fibre-rich foods are also digested slowly and include bran, cereals, whole wheat, grains and seeds, potatoes with skin, vegetables such as green beans and almost all fruit, including apricots, prunes and figs.

Foods to avoid are the heavily processed and fast-burning foods that contain refined carbohydrates such as sugar and white flour or fatty food like cakes, biscuits, chocolates and sweets. It may also be worth avoiding the caffeine content in drinks such as tea, coffee and cola (caffeine is a diuretic and stimulates faster water loss through urination).

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