EATING RIGHT DURING THE HOLY NIGHTS "Do not make your stomach a graveyard for animals." – Imam Ali (as)
With the Holy Month of Ramadan just around the corner, several dishes float to our minds for those sleepy sehris and long-awaited iftaars. Although the thought of samosas, cutlets, kachoris, and a variety of kebabs may produce a drop or two of saliva, they aren't always the ideal choice of food. Making the right decisions about what to eat and when to eat does not only affect your physical health, but your spiritual one as well. It is considerably harder to wake up for Salatul Layl when you've gone to bed bloated, stuffed to the brim with a stomach full of starch and fatty acids. The act of fasting is immensely beneficial, both physically and spiritually. From increasing the body's self-healing capacities to helping against preventing disease, fasting is a true miracle medicine of the Almighty. But sometimes, all that hard work is dumped down the drain when we sit at our dinner tables for iftaar. Below are some pointers which can help ensure that you are getting the most out of your fasts. DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS Sehri: With the family half asleep while they make their way to the dining table for sehri, it's an ideal time for YOU to take the initiative and make sure you and your family members eat the right things. Be sure to eat slow-digesting foods like whole grains (brown bread, oatmeal, porridge) and proteins (boiled egg, lentil soup, barley soup and the like) which will take between 8-12 hours for the digestive system to mull over.
It is best to put those sugary breakfast cereals and oily kachoris away, and get your fast off to a smashing start by consuming complex carbohydrates like porridge and wholegrain breads. Fruits are also a great source of vitamins and nutrients at sehri time.
Iftaar: After breaking your fast with the Prophetic tradition of dates (always eat dates in odd numbers: 1,3,5), it is recommended to drink two glasses of lukewarm water. A small serving of fruits is beneficial in getting some much needed vitamins back into your body.
Soups are a great source of energy once you have broken your fast. The recipe for Onion Potato Soup that was sent out a couple of weeks ago is easy to make, as well as filling. Do give it a shot at least once on your iftaar menus. We all love our fried delicacies. The tantalizing waft of fried badjiya floating from the kitchen as the time for iftaar nears is enough to make anyone sink to their knees. But the fact of the matter is that the consumption of fatty and fried foods often results in indigestion, heartburn, and weight problems. A high price to pay for just for a few square centimeters of fried goodness. After a long fast in the sweltering heat of Dubai, it may be tempting to just sink into your favorite sofa with a bottle of ice chilled Mountain Dew. But the deal behind soft drinks is that they actually remove water from your body. Being diuretics, soft drinks like Coke and 7up steal water from our bodies, thus making us weak and dehydrated. Water is by far the best choice of drink during this month, or during any month for that matter. The water we lose from our bodies through sweating, breathing, and bathroom breaks constantly needs to be replenished. Constantly drinking water, not chai, is the best way to do this. Take a bottle of water along with you on the prayer mat for those lengthy a'maals, or on the drive to mosque. Make an effort to drink 8-10 glasses of water every day to ensure your body remains hydrated during this holy month.  
A friend once mentioned that eating binjraa (sunflower seeds) was the best Ramadan tradition in our community. A delicious and nutritious snack to munch on during those late five-setters of vollyeball at Irani Club, make sure that your pack of binjraa (sunflower seeds) are low in salt or preferably unsalted. Pumpkin seeds are a great option, and outweigh sunflower seeds in terms of nutritional value.
Sure, one samosa might be OK. Two just to reaffirm that's its really as good as your hunger made you think it was. Three is pushing it. Four – game over. The dangers of overeating are immense. Apart from the various digestive problems that overeating can cause; such habits reflect a state of greed and gluttony that is second to none. Allah (swt) says in the Holy Quran, "Eat and drink, but avoid excess" (7:31) Let us make this Ramadan one where we pay as much attention to what we eat, as we do to our deeds.
Contributed by: Mohamed Kazim Suleman Mohamed Kazim Suleman recently graduated from high school through home-schooling. He is off to Canada in September to pursue a career in journalism. Mohamed enjoys playing cricket, tennis, ice hockey, and ultimate frisbee.
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