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Fasting: Regiment for healthy body and brain
This might contribute to biochemical, physiological and spiritual variations in the people who fast during Ramadhan; especially in those for whom there is a marked change in dietary and sleep habits from their normal daily lifestyle at other times of the year.
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During Ramadhan, Muslims are required to refrain from all intakes of food, water, beverages and tobacco products and from sexual intercourse from dawn until dusk. (Shutterstock/*)
F
asting over a prescribed period of time is a common religious tradition practiced not only by Islam but by several prominent faiths. It is also well known in medical practice, both as a preventive measure and as therapy.
For Muslims, fasting during Ramadhan is one of the pillars of Islam. During Ramadhan, Muslims are required to refrain from all intakes of food, water, beverages and tobacco products and from sexual intercourse from dawn until dusk. Fasting is obligatory for all adult Muslims, male and female except for individuals with medical conditions that prohibit them from fasting.
All these changes of schedules in dietary intake are accompanied by major changes in sleep patterns that might lead to sleep deprivation during this month. Furthermore, some patients who follow the religious rituals rigidly arrange to change their medication schedule to suit the fasting schedule.
Furthermore, during Ramadhan, there is also a tendency to consume more fat-rich, carbohydrate-rich, sugar-rich sweet food and liquid. Hence, fasting during Ramadhan is essentially a drastic change in the lifestyle of the devotees for a full lunar month ( 29 or 30 days).
This might contribute to biochemical, physiological and spiritual variations in the people who fast during Ramadhan; especially in those for whom there is a marked change in dietary and sleep habits from their normal daily lifestyle at other times of the year.
But how do health scientist respond to those issues? Conflicting with our point of view, many health journals have stated that Ramadhan fasting is healthy. Sultan Ayoub Meo, a medical scientist from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia in 2015 stated that among healthy adults, there were no adverse effects from fasting during Ramadan on the brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, hematologic, endocrine profile, or cognitive functions.
In terms of cardiovascular disease, Turin in Journal of Family and Community Medicine in 2016 stated that the incidence of cardiovascular events during the Ramadhan fast was similar to the nonfasting period. The Ramadhan fast is not associated with any change in incidence of acute cardiovascular disease.
Fasting is a natural health regiment to reduce one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, namely obesity. Fasting is proven to decrease body weight, waist circumference, body mass index, body fat, blood glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and anxiety levels.
Furthermore, it has been scientifically demonstrated that Ramadhan fasting can decrease proinflammatory and cancer markers. Norouzy A et al in Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetic in 2013 stated that Ramadhan fasting leads to weight loss and fat-free mass reductions. There were significant reductions in weight and Body Mass Index in almost all subjects, with the biggest being in males aged 35 years or less. Waist and hip circumferences fell in most subjects. Fat mass fell in most subjects, ranging from 2.3 to 4.3 percent from baseline.
Ramadhan fasting is a healthy nonpharmacological means for minimizing the risk factors and improving health, only if Muslim continue to eat healthy food and not overeat.
Although Ramadhan fasting is safe for all healthy individuals, those with various illnesses such as diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, renal and eye illness should consult their physicians and firmly follow the scientific recommendations.
Now, how about our brain function during intermittent fasting in Ramadhan? Although it is hard for humans to concentrate during fasting, according to Farooq et al in Journal of Academy Nutrition and Dietetic, in the fourthweek of Ramadhan fasting, performance on the spatial planning, working memory task and working memory capacity test increased significantly.
It is human to think that certain aspects of psychological performance and mental health, such as coping and decision-making strategies, can be negatively affected by daylight fasting. One of the assumptions is that fasting can decrease significant blood flow to the brain.
But according to Mehrpour in 2016, although some studies showed metabolic changes during Ramadhan fasting, the findings suggest that Islamic fasting has no significant effects on cerebral blood flow.
How about the impact of exercise on brain function during fasting? It is a common opinion to think that sports during Ramadhan is harmful for brain function. But according to Cherif et al in Journal of Sports Medicine in 2016, exercise interacts with dietary factors and has a positive effect on brain function.
Exercise, in combination with diet, affects the management of energy metabolism and synaptic plasticity by affecting molecular mechanisms through brain-derived neurotrophic factor, an essential neurotrophic that acts at the interface of metabolism and plasticity.
Moreover, recent findings reveal that immunological variables are also involved in cognitive function and that intermittent fasting might impact the relationship between cytokine expression in the brain and cognitive deficits, including memory deficits. Ghayour et al in 2015 examined the effects of Ramadhan fasting on cognitive function in 17 females.
Digit span test (DST) and Stroop color test were employed to assess short-term memory and inhibition/cognitive flexibility at each time point. There were no significant changes for DST and Stroop task 1 in either group, whereas Stroop task 2 and task 3 showed significant improvements in Ramadhan condition.
Sleeping disturbance is also a problem during the fasting month. People tend to be awake at night and sleepy during daytime. Such a sleeping disorder can make many Muslims very emotional during the day, especially in stressful situations, such as in traffic jams.
Prophet Muhammad taught us to control our emotions and remain healthy even under stressful circumstances. Many studies that have assessed psychomotor performance during Ramadhan fasting have reported conflicting results. But Bahammam et al in Journal of Behavior Brain Function in 2013 stated that Islamic intermittent fasting has no impact on drowsiness and vigilance only if the quality, not quantity of sleep, during nighttime is good.
At last, the aim of fasting is to control human desires and emotions through the emaciation process. This aim will not be achieved if Muslims overindulge in eating and drinking and do not control their emotions. Stay healthy during Ramadhan everyone!
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The writer is a medical doctor and PhD student at Gunma University, Japan.
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