Muslims observe Ramadan fasting for a month. In Indonesia, fasting will last for 13 hours. During this time, the body will experience a lack of energy intake needed to carry out daily activities due to the unavailability of food and drink during the fasting period.
There are many benefits that can be gained from fasting, such as reducing body weight. However, behind the various benefits of fasting, there are many myths and facts about fasting that are often questioned and even become a concern for some people. One of them is the fact that swimming is not recommended while fasting because it can cancel fasting due to swallowing water while swimming.
Facts and Myths About Fasting
The following are some facts and myths about fasting:
- Myth: Exercising while fasting is illegal!
Fact: Eits, not so! Exercising while fasting is safe as long as the intensity is light to moderate, such as cycling, yoga or walking, which can be done 3 to 5 times a week for 30 minutes. The best time to exercise while fasting is before breaking the fast, namely 30 to 120 minutes before breaking the fast, especially for heavy exercise, it can be done 1 to 2 hours after eating.
- Myth: Fasting can make stomach acid worse.
Fact: Fasting actually helps regulate eating patterns to be more regular, so it can help relieve stomach acid. Fasting also helps us protect ourselves from unhealthy snacks that worsen stomach acid. There are several tips you can use to carry out your fasting smoothly, such as not skipping suhoor, breaking your fast on time, avoiding eating too fast, and consuming small portions of food.
- Myth: Suhoor is not important, what is important is breaking the fast.
Fact: In fact, suhoor with a complete and balanced nutritious meal is an important asset in fasting. In addition, consuming water at suhoor can fulfill your fluid needs throughout the day and prevent your body from dehydration. If you skip suhoor, your body will more easily feel tired, dizzy, constipated and have headaches.
- Myth: Taking drugs must be stopped while fasting.
Fact: There is no need to worry because during fasting, the doctor will re-recommend drugs that can be consumed 1 or 2 times a day, e.g. the anti-hypertension drug captopril which is consumed 2-3 times a day can be replaced by another medicine such as telmisartan which can be consumed once a day. Apart from that, doctors can also rearrange drug consumption times to suit fasting times, such as taking drugs at 6 pm, 11 pm and 4 am.
Healthy Fasting Tips
1. Some tips for staying healthy during fasting:
2. Invite family and friends to fasting together to be more enthusiastic.
3. Make a regular suhoor and iftar schedule.
4. Eat nutritious food at suhoor and iftar, especially vegetables and fruit.
5. Drink enough water.
6. Try to sleep early so you can have dawn on time
7. Do positive activities during Ramadan to increase worship and spirituality.
That's a brief review of some facts and myths when fasting. Let's carry out fasting in the month of Ramadan with a healthy body.
References:
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2. Asri Meiy Andini. Tips Berolahraga Saat Puasa. Alodokter. Last reviewed: January 30, 2023. Available on: https://www.alodokter.com/tips-berolahraga-saat-puasa
3. Verury Verona Handayani. Bagaimana Puasa Bisa Menyembuhkan Asam Lambung?. Halodoc. Last reviewed: May 12, 2023. Available on: https://www.halodoc.com/artikel/bagaimana-puasa-bisa-menyembuhkan-asam-lambung
4. Rizal Fadli. Ini Bahaya Puasa Tanpa Sahur yang Wajib Diketahui. Halodoc. Last reviewed: April 5, 2021. Available on: https://www.halodoc.com/artikel/ini-bahaya-puasa-tanpa-sahur-yang-wajib-diketahui
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