Fasting not detrimental to health, experts say

Fasting not detrimental to health, experts say

By Dian Utami Soekanto

BOGOR (JP): "Not eating or drinking a whole day? Your children
will dehydrate," an Australian school principal commented to an
Indonesian mother who told him that her two children, both under
the age of 10, would be fasting during the holy month of
Ramadhan.

"They will fast until maghrib (dusk), you don't have to treat
them differently," Retno, the mother, said. "And they're not
going to dehydrate or anything. Millions of Moslem children fast
every year and they are perfectly healthy."

The school principal, however, insisted on barring the
children from physical education, despite the children's
protests.

Retno was glad to return home and observe the fasting month
where no one would question her.

"Here, even children five years old fast, if only for several
hours. They are still healthy," she asserted.

Health and nutrition experts have proven that fasting is not
detrimental to your health. It may even improve it, as long as
you follow some basic rules. Paying attention to nutritional
intake when breaking the fast is the most important rule.

There are two kinds of fasts. The first is prolonged fasting,
like Mahatma Gandhi's 40 day protest of British rule. Moslems are
forbidden to conduct a prolonged fast. The Ramadhan fast is
partial fasting, beginning at dawn and ending at dusk.

Fasting gives the digestive system a breather and helps your
body dispel waste and toxics. It also lessens the job that body
enzymes have to do.

Obesity

When you fast, your body ceases to have its usual source of
energy -- food. However, your body adapts to this state of
deprivation by using the glycogen that it has stored. Next, it
will burn fat and body protein to fuel daily activities.

No wonder many overweight people see Ramadhan as an
opportunity to shed one or two kilograms.

Fasting is an effective way to manage your weight by
controlling calorie intake. It helps reduce the risk of heart
disease, hypertension, diabetes and respiratory problems; all the
dangers brought about by that excess poundage.

However, don't expect to begin Ramadhan overweight and end the
month dozens of kilograms lighter. You still need consume enough
calories to fuel your activities and ibadah (religious rituals).

Women should consume at least 1,200 calories per day, while
men need about 1,600 calories. Female and male teenagers need
1,400 and 1,800 calories a day, respectively.

If you want to count your calorie intake, consider that a
plate of boiled rice contains 201 calories, while a slice of
white bread has 63 calories.

A pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories. Therefore, if you
reduce your energy consumption by 500 calorie a day, within a
week you will be able to shed one pound from your body weight.

A study conducted by Hardinsyah from the Bogor Institute of
Agriculture (IPB) found that during Ramadhan, people lose an
average of two to five percent of body weight, which is still in
the healthy range of weight reduction.

You still need to select your food carefully. The same study
found that fat consumption actually increases during the fasting
month because many people indulge in tasty, fatty foods when
breaking the fast.

Therefore, if you really want to lose weight, stay away from
fried foods and coconut milk. Another thing is don't let go after
Ramadhan is over. You can gain back the excess weight very
rapidly.

Nutritional balance

Apart from the concern of calories, you need to select food
with enough nutrients. In fact, because you have to reduce food
consumption, you need to improve the quality of the food you
consume.

Protein will help allay hunger pangs because this nutrient
takes longer to digest. Animal protein found in eggs, milk,
meat, fish and oysters is a good source and is high in amino
acids.

Ideally, 30 percent of your protein intake should come from
animal protein. Adults should consume between 50 to 60 mg of
protein a day.

Other nutrients such as carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals
should also be consumed proportionately. So, make sure your
family gets enough of these nutrients during the fasting month.

As soon as the time to break the fast arrives, drink something
sweet to help restore blood glucose levels and gives you instant
energy. But don't overdo it; a glass of milk would be fine.

Take special care if you are diabetic, as high amounts of
sugar intake may stimulate the production of insulin in your body
and deplete your blood sugar level; you will feel poorly
afterwards.

Facts

The IPB study also found that 31 days of controlled fasting
doesn't cause a significant change in blood hemoglobin levels,
blood pressure and heart beats. Fasting does not adversely affect
your health condition.

It also found that the blood sugar level drops within the
normal range and does not cause hypoglycemia.

There's no fixed pattern in the cholesterol level changes,
however, because that is influenced by what kind of food you eat.

Pregnant women may also fast, as long as they are healthy to
begin with; fasting did not affect the nutritional status of the
babies of the women in the study.

Nursing women -- with babies under one year old -- must be
more careful because their babies' nutritional intake may be
affected if they fast.

Dian Utami Soekanto is a final-year student in the School of
Agriculture, Bogor Institute of Agriculture.