Can we prepare our bodies over the year to cope with Ramadan fasting more easily? Imam Reza’s health and dietary recommendations for different months of the year

Can We Prepare our Bodies over the Year to Cope with Ramadan Fasting more Easily? Imam Reza’s Health and Dietary Recommendations for Different Months of the Year Masoumeh Roudi1, Fatemeh Resketi2, Akram Behrouznia3, Gholamreza Khademi4* 1. 2. 3. 4. MSc of Philosophy and Islamic Wisdom, Mashhad, Iran MSc of Jurisprudence and Principles of Islamic Law, Mashhad, Iran Resident of Gynecology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Assistant Professor, Neonatal Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran ARTICLEINFO Article type: Review article Article History: Received: 24 Apr 2016 Accepted: 28 June 2016 Published: 1 June 2016 Keywords: Health recommendations Imam Reza Monthly changes of weather Nutritional recommendations Ramadan fasting ABSTRACT Weather conditions, comprised of multiple parameters (e.g., atmospheric pressure, wind, temperature, moisture, and heat) vary during different months of the year. These variations influence almost all organisms including humans (1). Proper nutritional diet is one of the factors which can lead to human adjustment with atmospheric changes. Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam, has presented the most effective and thorough dietary suggestions for different months of the year. In this article, we studied his debates in his medical book, known as “Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiah fi alTibb” (the golden medical dissertation), using the analytical library method. We reviewed and highlighted these recommendations and tried to determine if they could promote the body stamina to cope with Ramadan fasting. Please cite this paper as: Roudi M, Resketi F, Behrouznia A, Khademi Gh. Can We Prepare our Bodies over the Year to Cope with Ramadan Fasting more Easily? Imam Reza’s Health and Dietary Recommendations for Different Months of the Year. J Fasting Health. 2016; 4(2): 77-81. Introduction Different factors can affect weather conditions over the year. In addition, massive stars of the solar system (e.g., the sun and the moon) can cause changes in the weather. Weather conditions, comprised of multiple parameters, such as atmospheric pressure, wind, temperature, moisture, and heat, lead to drastic environmental changes for all types of organisms, even microorganisms. The human body encounters these variations, as well. Now, this question arises as to whether we can cope with these changes more easily. Different branches of medical sciences have proposed some suggestions in this area. However, the propositions mainly include different types of foods and do not highlight health activities such as physical activities, sexual activities, bathing, and sleeping. Also, these recommendations are basically made on seasonal weather changes instead of monthly changes. Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam, has discussed major issues in medical care with respect to monthly weather changes. On the other hand, many critiques have been issued against the Islamic ritual of Ramadan fasting. In fact, the critics blame fasting as a health depressant of the human body. However, as claimed by the proponents, fasting can be easily * Corresponding author: Gholamreza Khademi, Neonatal Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Email: © 2016 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. Roudi M et al endured by devising a good plan for promoting the body stamina. In this regard, compliance with Imam Reza's recommendations seems to be a proper solution. As recommended by Imam Reza, the best model of food consumption is eating food in appropriate seasonal cuisines (2); He has also described the characteristics of each month in each season. Here, we randomly introduce some of these features. Imam Reza's guidelines for spring Imam Reza has discussed the effects and features of spring months (i.e., Adar, Nisan, and Iyar). Moreover, he has introduced particular health and hygiene guidelines for each month (3). Imam Reza's suggestions during Adar (the first month of spring) (4) In this month, the mucus stability is damaged and blood circulation is stimulated. Therefore, the following guidelines are recommended: • Eat light meals and drink special home-made juice. • Add eggs to foods containing meat. • Abstain from garlic, onion, and pickle. • Use medical phlebotomy and different laxatives in this month. Imam's advice for the month of Nisan (the second month of spring) (4) During this month, days are rather long, blood circulation is stimulated through the veins, and the eastern winds blow. Therefore, adherence to the following guidelines is recommended: • Use cold-natured foods. • Consume less fat and meat (especially the meat of hunted animals) and use vinegar along with meat. • Drink more water, but not before breakfast. Imam Reza's recommendations for Iyar (the third month of spring) (4) In this month, adherence to the following guidelines is recommended: • Abstain from indigestible meat and salty meals. • Abstain from exercise before eating. • Take a shower in the morning. Imam Reza’s advice for summer Imam Reza has also proposed certain recommendations for summer. For instance, he 78 Imam Reza’s Health and Nutritional Recommendations Concerning Different Months of Year has suggested abstinence from sex at the beginning of the night during summer and winter (5). Imam's advice for Hazeraan (Sivan) (the first month of summer) (6) • Avoid exercise and aromatic fragrances. • Abstain from indigestible fatty meat; instead, use foods prepared with lamb or goat meat. • Consume poultry meat and fish. Imam's advice for Tammuz (the second month of summer) • Drink cold water before breakfast. • Eat light meals. • Smell aromatic flowers (e.g., rose). Imam's advice for Ab (the third month of summer) (7) This month consists of 31 days, during which poisonous winds blow. • Eat hydrating (moisturizing) meals such as yogurt. • Smell aromatic flowers. • Abstain from excessive sexual activities. • Use laxatives. Overall, these recommendations help protect the body against liver disease. Imam Reza’s recommendations for autumn Imam's advice for Elul (the first month of autumn) (8) • Consume lamb (the age of sheep should be less than one year) and male goat meat. • Abstain from beef, fried meat, and different types of barbecued foods. • Consume sweets. Imam's advice for the first Tishrei (the second month of autumn) (9) • Reduce the amount of consumed water. • Consume fatty meat. • Eat fruits, especially pomegranate after meals. • Avoid phlebotomy. • Perform physical exercise and activities. Imam's recommendations for the second Tishrei (or Cheshvan, the third month of autumn) (10) • Drink warm water in the morning (avoid it (...truncated)