Millions of Muslims around the world (including myself!) are preparing for the holy month of Ramadan. While many of us are setting our spiritual and religious intentions for the month, Ramadan provides an opportunity for us to reset our health, as well.
It is no secret that fasting serves a host of health benefits; some of the most cited benefits include weight loss, reduction of inflammation, and increased brain plasticity (my personal favorite).
As a Holistic, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, I want to share some tips on how to maximize the health benefits of fasting + develop habits that center nourishing your body with the nutrients it needs to function at its optimal level — before, during, and after your fast.
1. Small Portion Sizes to Support Digestion
After a long day of fasting, it makes sense that by the time the sun sets, we feel overwhelmed with hunger and lean into binge-eating behavior. I highly encourage folks to s l o w d o w n when they sit down for iftar.
Overeating at iftar will cause you to bloat and may strain your digestive tract. Proper digestion and assimilation of food is absolutely key for the body to extract nutrients from your food and deliver those nutrients to all of its organs…
