S ustained fasting over a period is a feature of several of the world’s great religions. One of the five fundamental rituals of Islam is fasting during the month of Ramadan. Muslims neither eat nor drink anything from dawn until sunset. Fasting may have negative effects on cardiac patients because of the limited time allowed for food intake and the heavy physical worship that is performed after...

AIM To study the effect of strict prolonged fasting on lipid profile, serum leptin, and high- sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in patients with different stable cardiac illnesses and look for associated new cardiac events and any correlation between entire variables. METHODS A total of 56 patients of different stable cardiac illnesses were followed in our cardiology outpatient for 3 mo...

Neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors are signaling molecules that play a crucial role in cell proliferation, differentiation, survival and functions of neurons. It is believed that caloric restriction could help the health of the nervous system by affecting the synthesis of neurotrophins and neurotransmitter and oxygen radical metabolism. The objective was to investigate the plasma levels...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics and care of patients with diabetes in countries with a sizable Muslim population and to study diabetes features during Ramadan and the effect of fasting. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a population-based, retrospective, transversal survey conducted in 13 countries. A total of 12,914 patients with diabetes were recruited u...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There are conflicting data on the effects of fasting in Ramadan in Muslim countries on Lipid profile. We aimed to evaluate the effect of fasting on lipid profiles and some ratios which are strong for predicting cardiovascular disease. METHODS This prospective observational study was done in Iran in 2012. Forty three persons were enrolled into the study. Their anthrop...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether Ramadan fasting and seasonal variation has any effect on the onset of acute cholecystitis. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in Faghihi and Namazee Hospitals between September 1999 to August 2004. All files of patients with definite diagnosis of gallstone induced acute cholecystitis were reviewed for age, gender, date and method of treatment in rel...

The effects of dehydration on mechanisms of water balance and milk synthesis were investigated in ten lactating Gambian women who were fasting during Ramadan. Ten non-pregnant, non-lactating women acted as controls. Fasting consisted of total water abstention from 05.00 hours to 19.30 hours and was accompanied by high insensible water losses. Lactating women lost 7.6% of their total body water ...

Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, a recurring annual ritual, which is passionately practiced by most Muslims across the world. It is obligatory on every healthy Muslim; however, the Qur’an and Islamic teachings specifically exempt people with acute or chronic illnesses from this duty, especially if it might have harmful consequences. Muslims with diabetes ...

We examined the variations in eating behavior, appetite ratings, satiety efficiency, energy expenditure, anthropometric and metabolic profile markers prior to, during as well as 1 and 4 months after Ramadan in normal-weight and obese men. Anthropometric, energy expenditure (indirect calorimetry and accelerometry), metabolic (fasting blood sample), appetite (visual analogue scales), and eating b...

Urine analysis was conducted on male Muslims before, during and after Ramadan. Various changes in urine volume, osmolality, total solute, sodium, potassium, titratable acidity and urea in response to altered feeding and activity regimens were found. There were no detectable levels of ketones, protein, glucose, urobilinogen and haemoglobin. It was concluded that the body adapted to fasting durin...