Fasting in Ramadan is an obligatory command from Allah SWT that must be done by Muslims. The suggestion to do this fast has good benefits for health. As mentioned in the hadith from Abu Hurairah RA, Rasulullah SAW said “fasting you will be healthy” (HR. Ath Thabrani in Mu’jam al Awsath).

A study entitled Ramadan Fasting Decreases Body Fat but Not Protein Mass explains that when we fast what happens is a decrease in fat mass, but has no effect on protein mass. Fasting will increase fat burning, resulting in weight loss and changes in the waist & hip ratio (a decrease).

When fasting the digestive system does not receive food and drink for ± 14 hours. Then what is the relationship between fasting and dyspepsia? What will happen?

As explained by Prof. Ari Fahrial Syam, MD, Ph.D., MMB, FACP, FACG the President of ISDE at the SakinahTV Health Talk program, when fasting people will tend to eat regularly, eat less fatty snacks, reduce smoking, and reduce drinking coffee and soft drinks, and more self-control. This is a positive thing, because of that person who have stomach ulcers when the fasting will mostly recover or their complaints will decrease. Why? Because his life becomes healthier, his stomach will also be healthier.

Dyspepsia can be divided into functional dyspepsia and organic dyspepsia. Functional dyspepsia can be detected by normal endoscopy. Meanwhile, organic dyspepsia during endoscopy showed abnormalities such as GERD, gastric ulcers / duodenal ulcers, polyps/cancer of the esophagus, duodenum, and stomach. People with functional dyspepsia will improve if they fast. For people with organic dyspepsia, it depends on the cause, whether fasting is allowed or not. If fasting is allowed, it is balanced with the consumption of anti-acid drugs.

How to stay healthy and fit while fasting Ramadan?

The following tips and tricks from Prof. Ari Fahrial Syam, MD, Ph.D., MMB, FACP, FACG to stay healthy and fit while fasting:

1. Continue to do suhoor and iftar (not excessive)
2. Keep taking medicine for chronic disease
3. Keep doing the Taraweeh prayers
4. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables
5. Drink lots of water at iftar and suhoor
6. Avoid foods that contain gas such as fatty foods, mustard greens & cabbage, jackfruit, Ambon bananas, ambarella fruit, dried fruit, and soft drinks
7. Avoid foods that stimulate gastric acid secretion, such as coffee, alcoholic beverages, white wine, citrus juices, and full cream milk
8. Avoid hard-to-digest foods such as tarts and cheese
9. Avoid foods that directly damage the stomach lining such as vinegar, spicy, pepper, and stimulating spices.
10. Get enough sleep

During fasting, metabolic changes occur due to restriction of food and drink and return to normal after Ramadan fasting. Good food regulation will improve dyspepsia during fasting. Generally, functional dyspepsia can lead to fasting, while some organic dyspepsia (depending on the cause) can foam with proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs.

Source:

Kemenag RI. Puasa dan Kesehatan. diakses melalui https://kemenag.go.id/read/puasa-dan-kesehatan-740ql pada 28 Maret 2022

SakinahTV. Forum Sehat – Health Talk Tips & Trik Puasa Aman dari Gangguan Pencernaan.

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