Health and Islam

WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK AT IFTAR AND SUHOOR: SUHOOR  – drink plenty of fluids, choose fluid-rich foods to make sure you are well hydrated for the day ahead and go for starchy foods for energy, choosing high fibre or wholegrain varieties where possible as these can help keep you feeling fuller and can aid digestion, helping to prevent constipation. Below are some examples: ·          Oats - these are wholegrains and you could choose porridge, which will also provide fluids as it’s made with milk or water, muesli with milk or yogurt or overnight oats. You could experiment with fresh or dried fruit, nuts or seeds as toppings. ·          High fibre breakfast cereals – these provide plenty of fibre and are often fortified with vitamins and minerals, providing extra nutrients. Because they are consumed with milk, you also get fluid and nutrients like calcium, iodine and b vitamins from the milk. ·          Starchy foods like rice, or couscous – you could try rice pudding with frui

Management of patients with type 1 diabetes In general, patients with type 1 diabetes, especially if “brittle” or poorly controlled, are at very high risk of developing severe complications and should be strongly advised to not fast during Ramadan. In addition, patients who are unwilling or unable to monitor their blood glucose levels multiple times daily are at high risk and should be advised to not fast. It is currently recommended that treatment regimens aimed at intensive glycemia management be used in patients with diabetes. The DCCT and its follow-up, the EDIC (Epidemiology for Diabetes Interventions and Complications) study, have shown that intensive glycemia management is protective against microvascular complications and that the benefits are long lasting. Glycemic control at near-normal levels requires use of multiple daily insulin injections (three or more) or use of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion through pump therapy. Close monitoring and frequent insulin

DIABETES: TIPS FOR SAFE FASTING DURING RAMADAN Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, which is lunar based. Consequently, the month of Ramadan changes each year on the Western calendar, as do the number of hours of fasting, which depend on the length of the day. The holy month of Ramadan (=Ramadhan) 2020 will begin on the evening of 23 rd or 24 th of April, depending upon the visibility of moon. I HAVE DIABETES. CAN I BE EXEMPTED FROM FASTING DURING RAMADAN ? According to the Quran, diabetes is one of the situations that exempt a person from fasting because of the risks involved. Fasting is not recommended for people with diabetes. Nevertheless, the decision to fast or not during Ramadan remains a personal choice. You can follow certain healthy tips for fasting in Ramadan. Read: 10 HEALTHY TIPS FOR RAMADAN CONCERN: The main risks associated with fasting are: hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis (the presence of ketones in the