Benefits of fasting highlighted: ‘Unbalanced diet may lead to upset stomach, intestinal disorders’

LAHORE: Advising the faithful to avoid oily, unhealthy products at the time of Iftar, health professionals said unbalanced diet could lead to stomach upset and intestinal disorders that may worsen health condition.

Senior health professional Captain Dr Niaz, who is former MS of Lahore General Hospital (LGH) told this scribe that taking excessive quantity of food or an unbalanced diet may deteriorate health condition. Due to long duration of fasting in summer, citizens should consume slow-digesting foods including fiber-containing foods, he said.

To a query, he said that people with diabetes must limit foods that are high in saturated fats such as ghee, samosas, and pakoras. He also urged people to eat fruit, vegetables, milk-based products, especially yogurt and drink plenty of water, to prevent themselves from stomach gasses, acid reflux and other gastric problems.

Dr Niaz said: “Intermittent fasting during the holy month not only uses your fat reserves, but also cleanses your body of harmful toxins that might be present in fat deposits. With the digestive system on a month-long overhaul, your body naturally detoxifies, giving you the opportunity to continue a healthier lifestyle beyond Ramazan”.

According to him, fasting increases the red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), platelet (PLT) count, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), and decreases the blood cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-c).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022