The myriad of benefits of fasting for people with diabetes

For those of you who have diabetes, it may be a dilemma whether to fast or not in this month of Ramadan. Not a few diabetics who skip fasting for fear of having an impact on their blood sugar levels. In fact, if you dig deeper, you can get a lot of good things for people with diabetes when fasting. What are the benefits of fasting for diabetics?

Various benefits of fasting for diabetics

For diabetics, fasting is a challenge in itself.

Reduced food intake, blood sugar can drop dramatically. If you don't eat, your blood sugar level will drop below the normal range, this condition can lead to hypoglycemia.

This also applies to diabetics who eat too much when breaking their fast. You might, this habit will make your blood sugar spike higher than the normal range. Be hyperglycemic.

Even though there are several risks, fasting still brings benefits for diabetics. Before deciding whether to fast or not, let's first understand what are the benefits of fasting for people with diabetes.

1. Glucose is more regular

When you've fasted for 8 hours, your body goes through a lot of changes. The biggest change is when using and processing the energy to be used.

Initially, the body did use glucose as the main energy. However, when the sugar is used up, the body will begin to break down fat reserves for energy.

If fat is continuously used as energy, it is not impossible that you will lose weight.

Well, apparently, this weight loss can affect the body's work in regulating blood sugar levels, blood cholesterol, and blood pressure.

That is why fasting is known to have benefits as a way to control blood sugar levels.

2. Reducing dependence on drugs

As reported by the WebMD page, there is a small study conducted on 3 people with type 2 diabetes for 10-25 years.

In this study, they were asked to fast for 3 days a week and sometimes every day. Of course this is done under the supervision of a doctor.

After a month, the three people were able to reduce dependence on insulin treatment, even completely stopped. In less than a year, they managed to stop diabetes treatment.

Well, from these studies it can be seen that the benefits of fasting for diabetics, one of which is reducing dependence on drugs.

However, of course other studies are needed that are more promising in this regard.

Especially research on whether this condition lasts only a short time or can it last forever.

3. Maintain the health of the body's organs

Apart from reducing dependence on drugs, the benefits of fasting can also have a good effect on most of your organs, including for people with diabetes.

In general, your body stores glucose just in case. Well, this stored glucose is called glycogen which is stored in your liver. Glycogen takes about 12 hours to use.

If you stop eating long enough, your body will start burning fat instead of glycogen.

This burning of fat produces energy and rests your liver and pancreas. The liver and pancreas are the two organs in the body that are responsible for producing insulin as a hormone that regulates blood sugar.

4. Improve discipline

According to Prof. Dr. dr. When met in an exclusive interview in Cikini, Central Jakarta (9/5), Sid journalist Soegondo, Sp.PD, KEMD, FINA, one of the benefits of fasting for diabetics is to increase discipline in taking drugs.

"When fasting, you are only allowed to eat and drink 2 times, namely during sahur and breaking the fast. So, like it or not, people with diabetes must follow this pattern and obey the use of drug doses that have been given by the doctor, "said dr. Sid journalist.

This more regular diet and drug consumption is what makes them more disciplined than on normal days. That way, blood sugar control can be better.

Safe fasting rules for diabetics

In fact, diabetics can fast like any other normal person. Sahur and iftar at the same time.

However, small things such as food and drink need to be aware of the content. Too much of it can worsen your condition.

1. Diet at dawn

First of all, you should not miss the meal because this is one of your opportunities to provide nutrition to the body.

Try to create a balanced diet with carbohydrates, protein, and fats. It aims to aid the digestion process and make you feel full.

The following are foods that are recommended in order to experience the benefits of fasting for diabetics:

Whole grain cereals with low-fat milk
Plain Greek yogurt sprinkled with blueberries and cinnamon. Also accompanied by toasted whole wheat bread with peanut butter.

2. Diet when breaking the fast

After breaking the fast, you will usually drink water and are often served dates to break the fast.

Try to limit your consumption of dates to 1-2 per day. Then, drink sugar-free drinks that don't contain caffeine.

Several ways that diabetics can also apply to get the optimal benefits of fasting, including:

Replace packaged fruit juices with fresh fruit juices without added sugar.
Avoid consuming foods that are fried in excess oil, such as fried foods.
Don't overeat

3. Exercise

Exercise while fasting also brings benefits, including for people with diabetes.

The fasting month does not mean that you are excusing yourself from healthy physical activity.

This can be done at night, after tarawih or just before breaking the fast. In addition, you can also pay attention to some of these things when you want to exercise while fasting:

For people with type 2 diabetes, choose moderate to moderate exercise.
Avoid excessive exercise while fasting for diabetics on insulin and sulfonylurea medications.

How? As long as there is a will, there will definitely be a way. It's a shame, isn't it missing the various benefits of fasting for diabetics?

Before fasting, it's a good idea to consult your doctor first and follow the instructions for fasting properly as directed by your doctor.