Changing the Way We Look at Food during Ramadan

The excessive eating habits of people during Ramadan are looked at with thoughts on how to curb this.

Ramadan is the time of the year when people’s habits change to adapt to the fasting period, which can be quite difficult especially in the hot summer months of the UAE. And so, it is understandable to want to spend the evenings indulging in whatever food or sweets you can get your hands on, but it is also important to remember to do so in moderation.

As this years’ Ramadan is already upon us, families are gathering night after night to break their fast together and relish in the lavish displays of delicacies presented at the time of Iftar. For many, this indulgence in eating goes well beyond Iftar into the late hours in anticipation of Suhoor, where they must once again start their fast.

Fasting all day and then breaking your fast with fried and oily foods, only to be followed by sugar laden sweets and desserts, can only have adverse effects on your body, and tarnish any cleansing or detoxing that may have taken place during the fast. Many have claimed that Ramadan is when they tend to gain weight and lose control of their diets, and this defies the purpose of this Holy Month as it is supposed to be a time of abstinence and self-discipline. It is important to remember this and to break one’s fast with a light meal controlling the portions that are being consumed. We may be blessed to have all this food available to us, but it does not mean that it all has to be devoured in one night. These blessings can be spread over each day of the month instead or throughout the hours when we are not fasting.

In addition to the self-discipline and control of one’s own appetite, Ramadan is a time for generosity where doors are opened, and meals are shared with neighbors, friends, and families.

It is customary to hear your doorbell ring just before Iftar and to find yourself with a dish that has been prepared for you by a thoughtful family. These are some of the special moments that Muslims cherish during Ramadan as they reach out to one another especially that people are otherwise preoccupied with their own busy lives, and so it is nice to slow down a little and remember the simpler joys in life.

However, it is equally important to remember to share this generosity with the less fortunate and to participate in charities as well. It is not very difficult to take a look around and see where these meals that they are generously sharing would be most needed. While the meals that go around from neighbours to families are truly appreciated, there is a chance that it could go to waste since they already have their own lavish feasts ready as well, and therefore, it may be more beneficial if it went to a home where they may not be able to afford any meal to begin with. Now that would be a true act of generosity.

This Ramadan, let’s remember to eat less, waste less, share more, give where it is needed, and teach our children these values that they can hopefully carry forward as they make their own tradition.