Ramadan: Healthy ways to break your fast

Dr. Longwap Abdulazis Saleh, Senior Registrar Department of Chemical Pathology Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), has advised people to break their fast with warm liquid gradually before a heavy meal to avoid gastrocolic reflex.

He said gastrocolic reflex is a movement that happens with the intestines or lower gastrointestinal tract following a meal. “If the intestines are dormant, like during the fasting period, and you take in a heavy meal, there would be a kind of sudden movement in the intestines that can twist your intestines. And if that remains permanent, the only thing that can relieve that twisting of the intestine is surgery,” he said.

Dr. Longwap advised that people breaking fast should start with fruits or warm liquid and remain for some time to allow the intestine to adjust before taking any heavy food.

“People should not take heavy meals or fill up their stomach when they want to break their fast,” he said.

Dr. Longwap who is also a lecturer at the Department of Chemical Pathology at the University of Jos, said in areas that the weather condition is hot, people are often advised to take things that contain liquid at night to rehydrate and avoid kidney failure.

He said it is also very important to take a lot of fluids between the period one breaks the fast and the period one commences the next one.

“It is also advised to take a lot of vitamins during the period. Take a lot of fruits and vegetables. People are also supposed to take it easy because they are fasting for about 10 - 12 hours,” the medical expert advised.