Hello.
My name is Dr.
Sayma Ahmed and I'm a GP.
Lots of people with diabetes
feel quite worried about fasting.
The main worry is, is should I fast?
Can I fast?
I don't want to miss any fast.
Unfortunately it’s not as simple as yes, go and fast.
The majority of Islamic scholars and our imams will say that, you know,
speak to your healthcare professionals before the time Ramadan comes.
So it's a common misconception that people often the way
we've been brought up in communities where you must fast, you know, there is
you can't say no.
Yes, you can say that, you know, there are certain
times that you don't fast for example, if you're pregnant, you're breastfeeding,
or if you have chronic conditions and those chronic conditions are affecting
you day to day.
So if fasting is detrimental to your health, then you become exempt.
And that's clearly written in the Quran.
So it's really important then have a chat to your health care professional.
Maybe you can come up with a plan of what's best for you.
But if you're on insulin or your diabetes is very uncontrolled, or you’re
very unwell with it, for example, you shouldn’t be fasting.
And if you shouldn't be fasting, what that means
is that you're exempt from fasting.
Okay, slightly different there. You are exempt.
So the Islamic advice is that if you're exempt
then you're allowed not to fast.
So it's not a sin if you're not fasting.
The British Islamic Medical Association
have a lot of great resources made by diabetologists,
okay to talk about, you know, ways
and who shouldn’t be fasting and what the reasoning is.
There are people, for example, on metformin.
So that's one of the tablet therapies of diabetes.
You can fast, like we said, in some circumstances,
if it doesn't cause any detriment to your health.
And so your metformin dose needs to be altered.
So you need to speak to your healthcare professional to get that advice.
It doesn't matter what medication you're on, come and have a chat to us
if we don't know there's lots of different resources
about fasting and we can find that information.
And like I said on the British Islamic Medical Association,
anybody can access that information and it's got really clear guidance of
who should not be fasting, when fasting isn't advised
and when you could fast, but you need to get that information
from your health care professionals.
So as a muslim, lots of people ask, you know, what kind of foods
can I eat when I'm breaking my fast and going back to the healthy eating,
I think we need to just remember healthy eating throughout, whether it's
Ramadan or not, Ramadan is a great time.
I absolutely love it myself, mainly because you have, again, a whole
table of food and everyone gets together and it’s family time.
So every day is really exciting.
The kids are excited.
Family members, you maybe you go to family members homes,
you're visiting friends and you're breaking a fast together.
So I absolutely love it.
And the question does come up, though, is what kind of food should we be eating?
Focus on the healthier foods.
So if you haven't eaten all day,
we generally advise trying to get the water intake in.
And that's not just through your glasses of water that you should be drinking,
but that's also through fruit such as melons and watermelon,
specifically, cucumbers, those kind of fruits and vegetables.
So one of the key messages when you're breaking your fast is don't
drink lots of water in one go, maybe have a glass at the beginning
and then throughout, then the night, in between your prayers,
for example, after you've had your snacks and food and everything,
have some sips of water, but regularly to get that hydration going.