Religious Fasting; the Purgation of Soul and Body

JOURNAL OF NUTRITION FASTING AND HEALTH Religious Fasting; the Purgation of Soul and Body Ramona Massoud 1, Anoosheh Sharifan2*, Armita Massoud 3 1. Department of Food Research, Standards Organization, Tehran, Iran. 2. Department of Food Science and Technology, Science and Research branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. 3. Department of Emergency Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. ARTICLEINFO ABSTRACT Article type: Review Article Introduction: Nearly one billion adult Muslims across the world refrain from eating, drinking, and smoking from dawn until dusk during the holy month of Ramadan. The duration of Islamic fasting varies depending on the coinciding season and geographical location. The present study aimed to review the health benefits of Islamic fasting. Methods: This review was carried out after searching in several databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, Medline, PMC, Google Scholar and also the related articles. Results: Islamic fasting is along with many health benefits such as the reduced risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and cancer. Although, some health problems have mentioned during Islamic fasting like dehydration, headaches. Conclusion: According to the results of this review, religious fasting positively influences the body weight and lipid and glucose levels, while exerting antioxidative effects, increasing longevity, and improving the renal and immune function. The health benefits of fasting could be reinforced through the balanced intake of various nutrients, such as dairy products, fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, cereals, and grains, as well as beverages such as water and milk, during Ramadan. Article History: Received: 09 Jun 2019 Accepted: 03 Jul 2019 Published: 1 Jan 2020 Keywords: Religious fasting Ramadan Health Soul Body Please cite this paper as: Massoud R, Sharifan A, Massoud A. Religious Fasting; the Purgation of Soul and Body. J Nutrition Fasting Health. 2020; 8(1): 17-22. DOI: 10.22038/jnfh.2019.40984.1201 Introduction There are several types of fasting that are followed for the promotion of health and religious reasons across the world. Fasting is defined as restraint from the consumption of food and drink for variable durations of time, which is associated with increased longevity and has potential advantages for human health (1). Fasting is a dietary behavior that is performed mainly as a health-promoting pattern (2). Religious fasting involves the avoidance of consuming food and drink as a religious duty at various times of year in different regions of the world (1). According to Islam, fasting protects believers against sins and passionate desires. Muslims practice fasting by refraining from eating, drinking, and smoking from Sahur (before sunrise) until Iftar (after sunset) during the holy month of Ramadan for 28-30 days (3). One of the primary aims of religious fasting is the purification of the human soul and body simultaneously (1). Furthermore, this restraint dietary pattern could help individuals attain high spiritual piety (4). Islamic fasting is an effective approach to health development and is associated with numerous health benefits, including the reduction of hypertension (5), improvement of insulin sensitivity (6), weight loss (7, 8), elevation of endorphin levels (9), improvement of asthma (10), immune cell regeneration (11), reduction of inflammation (12), detoxification (13), and improvement of rheumatoid arthritis (14). It is notable that Islamic fasting may cause some health discomforts, such as dehydration, headaches, constipation, sleep deprivation, and poor sleep quality (15). Therefore, it is essential for fasting individuals to adhere to a balanced diet in order to eliminate the adverse effects of fasting. It is advisable that such diets contain dairy products, fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, cereals, and grains. Additionally, fasting individuals must consume adequate beverages, such as water, milk, juices at Iftar and Sahur (3, 15). Fasting Muslims are highly recommended to avoid fatty, sweet, and salty foods, as well as carbonated and caffeinated drinks (3). Islamic fasting is mostly considered safe for those who are obligated to perform this religious duty (16). * Corresponding author: Anoosheh Sharifan, Assistant Professor, Department Food Science and Technology, Science and Research branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Email: ; Tel: 00989126178388. © 2019 mums.ac.ir All rights reserved. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Massoud R et al The present study aimed to review the potential protective effects of religious fasting on human health. Material and methods This review study was conducted via searching in databases such as ScienceDirect, Medline, PubMed, PMC, and Google Scholar for relevant articles using keywords such as religious fasting, health benefits, Islamic fasting, and Ramadan. The articles focused on the health benefits of Ramadan fasting on individuals and its effects on the body weight, lipid and glucose levels, antioxidative activities, longevity, and renal and immune functions were selected and reviewed. Results and Discussion This review study aimed to discuss the impact of religious fasting on the health of fasting individuals. Religious fasting simultaneously affects the soul and body of humans. Effects of Religious Fasting on the Human Body -Reduction of Body Weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) In most of the retrieved studies, a significant trend was reported in weight loss in Ramadan fasting, while the reduction of body weight was more significant in men compared to women (17, 18). Islamic fasting may result in weight loss through various mechanisms, such as the reduction of energy intake (19-21), daily energy consumption (22), body fluids (23), and consumption of food and drink at night, which often lower food absorption compared to daytime food intake (24). According to the current review, the reduction in the body weight of fasting individuals could be influenced by several factors, including age, the initial body mass index (BMI), fasting duration, regional residence, and reduction of the calorie intake (25, 26). Among the other influential factors in this regard are the changes in the frequency and time of eating, physical activities, and sleeping habits during Ramadan (27). -Reduction of Lipid and Glucose Levels After Ramadan fasting, the levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose have been reported to decline (28). Furthermore, the studies in this regard have denoted the significant reduction of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), as well as the significant increase in the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in Islamic 18 JNFH Religiou (...truncated)