BANDUNG, unpas.ac.id – During fasting, our body sometimes feels limp. It is because we are not allowed to eat or drink for about 12 hours. Therefore, maintaining body stamina is the important factor to be paid attention to during fasting.
Unpas Health Expert as well as Vice Dean III of Faculty of Medicine, dr. Trias Nugrahadi explained that fasting during Ramadhan forces our body to use up reserves of sugar and fat.
Other than focusing on the dietary/ eating habit, people also need to know the mechanism of food digestion. According to dr. Trias, foods we consume in sahur must be able to fulfill our energy need until the time we break our fasting.
These are following tips from dr. Trias to maintain body stamina during fasting:
Pay attention on the intake of staple food
In sahur, it is not suggested for us to consume a too-sweet food because it will be easily digested. Therefore, we tend to be much hungrier; and so it does when we break our fasting. Eating too much foods containing excessive sugar will also cause drowsiness.
“Consume fiber-rich foods at sahur, such as vegetables and fruits. Both are digested more slowly, so you can endure hunger. When breaking the fast, don’t get crazy, avoid foods with complex sugar content, for example kolak, or fruit juices that have been mixed with milk and sugar,” he explainded at Unpas Campus V, Jalan Sumatera No. 41, Bandung, on Monday (April 19th, 2021.
Sugary foods that are consumed in excess when breaking the fast give more burden to digestion, especially on an empty stomach. Digestion, which should be resting, is forced to digest food and the oxygen capacity in the brain is also insufficient.
Avoid breaking the fast with spicy and oily food
We should avoid to consume fried foods when breaking the fast, because it will inhibit digestion and bind almost 20 percent of oxygen; while our brain needs the oxygen in order to make our body stay fresh and kept from a quick-drowsiness, especially when doing night-pray (tarawih).
“We should keep spicy food away in our list during fasting. Other than being a ‘burden’ to the digestion process, it is difficult for our body to burn the fat. Spicy food also has the potential to cause diarrhea which can also cause our body lose a lot of fluids,” he said.
Avoid drinking coffee during sahur and fulfill it with mineral water instead
We should make sure our body’s need of mineral water fulfilled, at least 8 liters a day. The water should be sufficient, so we will not suffer from dehydration. We also should try not to drink too much coffee during sahur. We can consume or eat foods that can absorb water, such as banana.
“Eating a banana during sahur is good, because it contains potassium which will bind the water in our body. We will not suffer from dehydration and become fresher,” he said.
Find out the mechanism of food digestion
Other important things that needs to be paid attention to during fasting is to find out the mechanism of food digestion. In 8 hours after sahur, our body will digest the food and make it into energy. After 12 o’clock in the afternoon, our body starts to take the energy from our body fat.
“Therefore, avoid eating too-sweet foods which is quickly digested so that the stomach does not suffer from emptiness. We should balance our nutrition by fulfilling carbohydrates, fiber, and protein from animal and vegetable sources,” he ended (Reta Amaliyah S)*