Every aspect of the holy month of Ramadhan is well blended with science and do's and don'ts are based on various facets of science, according to the speakers who took part in the third edition of the ‘Observer Round Table’ held at the Ministry of Information premises last week.
The Round Table discussions, aiming at shedding light on a contemporary topic on which the experts shared with the participants, had panel of sharing their views on 'Ramadhan in the eyes of science'. Experts included Dr Khalid Shaikh, Senior Diabetologist and Specialist Medicine at the Royal Oman Police Hospital, Engineer Abdulwahab al Busaidy, PDO Amateur Astronomer; and Mini Padikkal, Clinical Dietician at NMC.
They shared their views on how fasting and hunger help in abstaining from evils, benefits of fasting, how 'revenge' eating is landing us in trouble as well as lessons learnt during Ramadhan that can be followed through the rest of the year.
Abdullah bin Salim al Shueili, Editor-in-Chief, Oman Daily Observer was the Chief Guest of the event that was moderated by Shaddad al Musalmy, Senior Editor at the newspaper.
Benefits of fasting
Dr Shaikh said during fasting, a person goes through several processes. "During fasting, a man goes through several stages that vary in degrees. They include feeds stage, energy stage, ketosis stage, starvation stage, and the like," he said.
"All these stages have their role in a fasting regime and these stages help in staying hydrated hence, one should avoid unhealthy foods immediately after breaking the fast," Dr Shaikh added.
In regards to broken sleeping patterns during Ramadhan, Dr Shaikh said fasting, energy and sleeping go for a drastic change during the first few days of fasting but the fasting person gets used to it as the days progress.
"We tend to move around a circadian clock which is already set by our past habits and habitual actions. The circadian clock has an internally driven 24-hour rhythm that tends to run longer than 24 hours but resets every day by the sun's light/dark cycle," he said.
Need for physical exercise, good diet
One can do mild to moderate physical exercise post-Iftar to strengthen the muscles. "Light to moderate exercises are suggested after breaking fast, but not immediately after iftar and one should avoid heavy exercises for the sake of our breathing and heartbeat patterns," Dr Khalid said.
Mini Padikkal, Clinical Dietician at NMC, who joined the discussions online from her workplace, said an eating regime that incorporates fruits, vegetables, and other foods rich in fibre content is highly suggested for Iftar and above all, one should follow a disciplined lifestyle.
"Any fruit, vegetable or any food which is rich in fibre or leafy vegetables are highly desired. The dates with which we break our fast are ideal for the digestive system. Furthermore, it is all about falling into a disciplined lifestyle during the holy month and after," she said, joining live from her workplace.
Lunar system and Islam
Abdulwahab al Busaidy, retired PDO official and Amateur Astronomer, said Islam as a religion and Ramadhan fasting and all other rituals are based on the lunar system and that Islam rotates around human beings to make us a better person and Ramadhan is a period for expanding horizons.
"All Islamic rituals are based on the planet movements star sightings and timings are followed according to the lunar movements," Al Busaidy said. This is because Islam emerged in Arabia at a time when travel along the desert trade routes was largely by night, and navigation depended upon the position of the moon and stars.
The moon thus represents the guidance of God on the path through life. If the crescent moon is visible shortly after sunset on the evening of day 29, the following day is the first day of the new month. If no sighting is made, a 30th day is added to the current month, which is then followed by the first day of the subsequent month. Since the Islamic calendar is lunar, the days change relative to the Gregorian calendar.
The panel members of the Observer Round Table discussions concluded that Islam is closely intertwined and all celebrations and observations are based on lunar, and star movements which keep the believers grounded and lead to truthfulness.
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