Get ready for Ramadan

Dr Sohail Abbas, Deputy Medical Director for NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, and Dr Waqas Tahir, Clinical Diabetes Lead, West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, offer these tips to help people have a healthy and happy Ramadan.

The holy month of Ramadan begins next month (22 March – 21 April) and will be observed by Muslims in Britain and around the world as a month of fasting (sawm), prayer, reflection, and community engagement.  

Ramadan is an exciting time for us and our families. As we alter our routines to accommodate the fast to seek the spiritual benefits of the month, we can also look to material gains in our health. This can be through maintaining the Ramadan spirit and discipline in moderating our diet to lose weight, stopping smoking, and continuing to practice mindfulness to promote good mental health.

For people with some long-term health conditions, Ramadan can be demanding. Ultimately, if you have such a condition, whether to fast or not is a very personal decision, but your healthcare professionals are here to support you.

As doctors, we want to help our community to plan for a happy and healthy Ramadan, so we’d encourage people to talk to their healthcare team about their faith and their physical and mental health. This is particularly important if they have an existing medical condition, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, epilepsy, and want to talk about their medication and changes to their daily routine.

Having a health condition doesn’t mean people can’t fast, but they do need to take precautions – for example, people may need to change the time they take medications and closely monitor how they’re feeling – so getting the right advice is vital. It’s also important to plan ahead, so if you or a family member has a long-term condition or takes regular medication, contact your GP practice.

Your doctor, nurse or local pharmacist will also be able to advise you on how you can look after your health and wellbeing so that you stay well, not just during Ramadan but throughout the year.

Fasting can also be challenging for healthcare professionals and anyone who works long hours in a role that requires high levels of concentration or physical effort. Again, though, with some preparation, our minds and bodies can quickly adjust.

These simple steps can help everyone have a successful and healthy fast:

• Take breaks – take a couple of short breaks instead of a lunch break.
• Stay hydrated – in the non-fasting hours, drink plenty of water to help your body stay hydrated. Try to avoid tea, coffee and salty foods as these can cause dehydration, which can in turn cause headaches and fatigue
• Eat well – when not fasting, it’s tempting to indulge in unhealthy foods, but it’s important to eat a healthy balanced diet for our bodies and our brains.
• Stay active – many of us, including us GPs, often spend most of the day at our desks. This is never healthy, but when we’re fasting, we may be more tempted to rest rather than be active. Exercise is good for our bodies and for our minds, so try to incorporate some light physical activity into your day, such as going for a walk after iftar.
• Do what you can to prepare – for example, if you usually drink caffeinated drinks such as tea, coffee or cola, the lack of caffeine during the fast may initially lead to headaches and tiredness. This should ease as your body adjusts to going without caffeine, but you can help by cutting down on tea and coffee or trying decaffeinated drinks for a couple of weeks before Ramadan starts.

Finally, we’d like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Ramadan.