Here are some fun facts for you: March was National Nutrition Month, April is National Food Month, and according to the Islamic calendar (which is lunar, so the months shift along the Gregorian calendar), April is also going to be Ramadan!
As a quick primer, Ramadan is an Islamic holy month best known for being the time in which Muslims fast from sun-up to sun-down. Yup, we don’t even drink water. But don’t be alarmed! We don’t avoid food and drink entirely; our meals just happen at a specific time. We have the suhoor, a pre-dawn meal to help us through the day, and the iftar, a post sunset meal to recover!
…And if you’re anything like me, you then snack throughout the night since we tend to be up late anyway, considering that 1) during spring and summer, sunset is fairly late in Canada, and 2) Muslims are encouraged to spend our nights in worship, so really I end up feeling like I got all three of my meals.
Furthermore, the fast is not required of those who are menstruating, travelling, pregnant, breastfeeding, underage, chronically ill, temporarily ill, or if it will put anyone’s health at risk. In fact, it’s discouraged to fast in those cases. Health above all!
Which might make you wonder: is fasting itself healthy and safe?
According to this article from John Hopkins Medicine and many other studies, the answer is yes, depending on how it’s done, who by, and individual reactions to it! The benefits to intermittent fasting include weight loss, boosted memory and clarity of mind, heart and tissue health, the slowing of the aging process, the prevention of obesity, and the lowering of the risk of diabetes and other disease or chronic illness factors.
If you’re interested in further reads on Ramadan specifically or intermittent fasting in general, here are some recommendations!
Ramadan
Ramadan: the Holy Month of Fasting by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Featuring bright and colourful photos, this guide to the Ramadan holiday is divided into chapters and contains facts on Ramadan and the reasons for fasting. It also follows the experiences of several children as well as Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who explains how she trains while still observing the fast, without putting her health at risk.
The children also show their unique ways of celebrating Ramadan according the customs of their countries (which include Egypt, Kenya, and India). There are even recipes included of common iftar meals!
Ramadan by Suhaib Hamid Ghazi
Set in America, readers are invited to learn about Ramadan’s origin, its elements of celebration, and its purpose by following the experiences of Hakeem and his family. Featuring Arabic terms described in context and with a helpful glossary, it doubles as an excellent way to pick up some of the language.
The illustrations are a beautiful mix of watercolours with traditional Islamic artistic styles. (I especially love the detailed frames enclosing the scenes of everyday life).
Moon Watchers: Shirin’s Ramadan Miracle by Reza Jalali
Islamic, Persian, and western cultures are explored in this lovingly illustrated picture book. Shirin is a nine year old excited to watch for the moon, which signals Ramadan’s beginning. (A practice undertaken by many Muslims, as majority opinion is that the month hasn’t commenced unless the hilal, or crescent following the new moon, is seen by the human eye).
Shirin is too young to fast, but she can observe the month in other ways, and she eagerly demonstrates these methods. Moon Watchers also depicts various Shiʿah practices (which differ slightly from Sunni ones), the many phases of the moon, and the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan: Eid al Fitr!
Intermittent Fasting
Everything Guide to Intermittent Fasting by Lindsay Boyers
This guide conveys everything you might need to know to start safely incorporating intermittent fasting into your everyday life. The first half talks about nutrition and the human body, which I found to be a great primer! It also includes information on the different ways to fast, ideal times to eat, how fasting benefits your body, which foods to eat to help you feel your best, and how to figure out which intermittent fasting plan best suits you.
The second half of the book contains recipes and meal plans, which might sound like a strange thing to have in a book about fasting, but that’s where the intermittent part of the title comes in!
Life in the Fasting Lane: How to Make Intermittent Fasting a Lifestyle—and Reap the Benefits of Weight Loss and Better Health by Jason Fung
Feel intimidated by the very concept of intermittent fasting? Well, then this book is the right guide for you! Dr. Jason Fung is a world renowned fasting expert, and along with his colleagues Eve Mayer and Negan Ramos, he breaks down what intermittent fasting is and how to make it work for you. There’s a focus on making this a lifestyle change rather than turning this into another diet fad, which as we all know, tend to be unsustainable in the long term.
Furthermore, Mayer talks about her personal experience with intermittent fasting, including the highs and the lows, which offers an insider’s perspective that is sure to help anyone curious and yet wary of starting to fast.
Fast, Feast, Repeat: the Comprehensive Guide to Delay, Don’t Deny® Intermittent Fasting—Including the 28-day Fast Start by Gin Stephens
This specific fasting guide caught my eye with its title, because it’s so representative of my experience of fasting! Rather than fasting feeling like a deprivation, it’s more like a break! And then I get to, well, feast. (Of course, I have to be careful not to overdo it, lest I leave my poor body struggling to digest).
This guide is more about delaying rather than denying, and focuses more on the weight loss aspect of intermittent fasting with the intention of not falling into the traps and dangers of diet culture and its often unhealthy mindset. There’s even an exhaustive FAQ section that should have most, if not all, the answers to any fasting questions you might have!
Speaking of questions, here’s mine: have you fasted before? If so, what motivated you? Was it a personal goal, a religious or cultural commitment, or for a different reason? How’d you find it? I tend to get a little hangry if I haven’t rested and hydrated well enough beforehand, but for the most part (maybe because I’ve been fasting Ramadan for several years now) I find it’s not too difficult a transition.
(Though the coffee addicts—ahem, I mean, coffee enthusiasts in my life tend to have a harder time adapting if they don’t plan their caffeine intake properly/wean themselves to fewer cups before fasting).
Until next time, I hope you eat well and safely, with or without little breaks!