Anyone who wants to detoxify the body should observe Ramadan. In fact, the festival coincides with Nirjala Ekadeshi of Hindus, which is a full day fast without food and water. The festival of Ramazan is ideal way to detoxify the body and coincides with the most crucial sandhikal of the year, the time of seasonal change between summer and rainy season. This is the most drastic change of the year, besides the strength of body is low during this time because of summer’s effect on the It. Lack of internal cleansing at this time is an invitation to a hound of diseases or their aggravation in the rainy season. Comparatively, the transition from winter to summer is easier because the strength of the body is at its peak.
Ramazan gives body ample time to detoxify body because of full day fasting and the long duration.
But unfortunately, the important body Cleansing function of Ramazan is rendered ineffective because of heavy food consumption by the fasting crowd at the end of the day. The body gets a physiological shock, of digestion of a heavy meal when the body metabolism is slowing down after the sunset.
Prophet Muhammad has observed that the worst thing a man can fill is his stomach. Ideally, the fasting should start with the day break with a light meal called suhoor. And at the end of the day, the fast should end with water and light food. The fast can be broken with fruit juice, dates, light food like plain rice with soup or curry. Heavy use of oil and spices in the food only eliminates the detoxification effect of the fast. Also the amount of food should be minimal, just enough to satisfy the hunger. One should not try to consume the amount of 3 meals to compensate for the missed meals.
In totality, Ramadan should be observed with a sense of abstinence and moderation, not only during the day fasting but also during the meal times.
Ascending and descending phase of fasting
Total days of fasting are approx. 30 days. Ideally every fast should have a ascending and a descending period to prevent any blow to the normal body physiology. If I am eating full meal today, which I stop suddenly tomorrow, my body will have to drastically change its metabolism to adjust to this change. Therefore any dietary change should be gradual to bring expected detoxification benefits to the body.
During Ramadan, breakfast and dinner are the only meals. Lunch is the one missed meal. The most important meal of the day is the breakfast because the body is fresh, clean and hungry (ready to digest) after the night.
The meals should be changed gradually. The first change is the lunch , therefore there should be no other change on the first day.
Gradually the dinner should be reduced to minimum, approx. 50% of the normal diet by the mid of Ramadan month. Same should be done with breakfast gradually, by reducing some amount each day.
From the 15th day , the amount of food should be increased in both meals gradually to reach the original amount in next 15 days.
This gradual phasing is like slowing down your vehicle while taking a sharp turn, and then regaining the speed. A car trying to take a sharp turn with full speed is highly vulnerable to accident. Same goes for the body.
Have a Happy and Healthy Ramadan Fasting !
Ritucharya 