The spiritual clouds of Ramazan have spread all over the world and being Muslims we are all ready to warmly welcome this Holy Month.

But stop here………

Do you think you are actually prepared to purify not only your soul but your body too?

Sadly we take Ramazan as a festive of eating and introducing a number of unhealthy lifestyle patterns. We encourage Iftar parties, late night gatherings where we don’t put an eye on the fact that we compromise our health.

So what we have to do on a genuine basis in this gifted month of Ramazan?

Firstly prepare yourself in a spiritual way. Secondly, mental preparation is very important to lead and maintain a healthy living during this period.

Refine your intentions to get a fruitful outcome in all aspects. In the end, do physically prepare yourself.

Make your goal to feed your body needs not your cravings.

Replace lavish Iftar items with limited healthy food products that can fulfil your stomach easily and that do not exceed beyond the requirements. Avoid intake of heavy meals just after breaking fast. Go for healthy eating options with fruits and vegetables at that time.

We are more into eating brown coloured foods like samosas, pakoras, kachori etc that further slows down your metabolism and interferes in proper digestion. Don’t completely avoid but portions of these things you are taking matters and these eatery products must be used on alternative weekdays, not on the daily basis.

Make your food colourful with the addition of different available options in fruits and salads.

Always choose foods having high water content because besides normal days there are more chances to get dehydrated as you have to fast from dawn to sunset.

So to avoid this situation must drink plenty of water from the time of breaking fast to Suhoor. Moreover, if you want to fast you must eliminate caffeine sources from your diet as it is responsible for removing water from your body.

The selection of foods in Suhoor must include all food groups if you don’t want to feel lethargic during the whole day. So never skip whole grains during Suhoor because they are rich in fibre that keeps you full and active for the day along with that always take a good amount of protein and dairy sources with nuts and seeds in your cereals.

Eating clean by controlling your portions of food is the key here. If you will overeat ultimately you will be prone to gaining excess weight and developing a different kind of health issues. So if you care about yourself have mindful eating during Ramazan.

The writer is a Doctor of Nutrition Sciences.