Your best pre and post fast meals?

[Anonymous]

As ramadan is coming, please share tips to make meals more enjoyable and nutritious. I know mostly only Muslims fast in Ramadan but most religions and cultures have some variations of fasting.

What do you eat or drunk to maximize nutrition and hydration? Any tasty recipes from your culture? If you are athlete, have a tough schedule or have a medical issue, how do you make it work without compromising your health?

If you are a physician, nutritionist or health coach, which mistakes do you want people to avoid and what alternatives you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As ramadan is coming, please share tips to make meals more enjoyable and nutritious. I know mostly only Muslims fast in Ramadan but most religions and cultures have some variations of fasting.

What do you eat or drunk to maximize nutrition and hydration? Any tasty recipes from your culture? If you are athlete, have a tough schedule or have a medical issue, how do you make it work without compromising your health?

If you are a physician, nutritionist or health coach, which mistakes do you want people to avoid and what alternatives you recommend?

I am pretty sure them muslim faith exempts people with medical issues (even women on their periods) from fasting for health reasons.

I am not one of those professionals but I have tons of students who fast. They are generally very healthy eaters all year because fasting keeps them attuned to nutrition. In addition to hydrating a lot when allowed, they will eat water-heavy fruits too. The main thing I notice is that they will adjust their sleep schedule to maximize the ability to eat, which means they may alter their day-schedule (come in late, leave early, be more tired that usual).

[Anonymous]

Pregnant women and those with health issues that would be affected are often exempt from fasting.

An athlete likely wouldn't compete around major fasts. They have to prioritize proper nutrition and hydration other days. That according to a guy on ds's high school team, hoping for an athletic scholarship.

[Anonymous]

I'm Jewish and when preparing to fast for Yom Kippur, I eat:
-High water content foods, like grapes and tomatoes to help with dehydration
-Drink lots of water (I set an alarm for every hour to make sure I'm refilling my water bottle)
-Protein (eggs, chicken, avocado)
-Complex carbs (pasta, beans, brown rice, green vegetables)

Avoid: salty foods (they will dehydrate you)

Ending the fast, I start with some sips of juice. And eat bagels, eggs (usually quiche, but also hard boiled eggs), and fruit. Stuff that will be easy on your stomach, not spicy or greasy.

[Anonymous]

Doing a spiritual detox is as important as nutritional detox, great time to quit any addictions, no matter gossiping, anger, video games, tobacco, social media or whatever anyone wants to manage better or quit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm Jewish and when preparing to fast for Yom Kippur, I eat:
-High water content foods, like grapes and tomatoes to help with dehydration
-Drink lots of water (I set an alarm for every hour to make sure I'm refilling my water bottle)
-Protein (eggs, chicken, avocado)
-Complex carbs (pasta, beans, brown rice, green vegetables)

Avoid: salty foods (they will dehydrate you)

Ending the fast, I start with some sips of juice. And eat bagels, eggs (usually quiche, but also hard boiled eggs), and fruit. Stuff that will be easy on your stomach, not spicy or greasy.

Good tips. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

https://health.cornell.edu/about/news/ramadan-fasting

[Anonymous]

Ramadan Mubarak!

For the pre-fast meal (suhoor), I eat usually eat peanut butter toast, eggs and toast, or oatmeal. Plus some fruit, water, and my essential cup of chai.

For iftar, I don't go all out. I usually have dates and water to break the fast, then a bowl of fruit. After a short break for the prayer, we just eat a regular dinner with a side salad.

I also maybe eat some more fruit before bed and try to drink more water in the evening and early morning, like when I first wake up. Usually this tides me over.

When I was a teenager, I would eat things like frozen pizza for suhoor. Then when I was in college, I would eat sugary cereals. Not very nutritious or even filling, but I could get away with it when I was young!