Table of contents:
- Maintain stamina during the fasting month amid the COVID-19 pandemic
- 1. Sahur with high nutritious food
- 2. Set a drinking schedule
- 3. Get enough rest
- 4. Healthy food when breaking the fast
- 5. Vitamin C supplements
Almost all types of work are carried out at home during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Even though you are at home, of course, it is still important to maintain your stamina during the fasting month. Physical condition must be maintained, so that you can be healthy doing work and activities with your family.
So that all activities can run smoothly, know how to maintain stamina during the following fasting month.
Maintain stamina during the fasting month amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Changes in eating and sleeping patterns during fasting make the body need to adapt. The body does not receive food and drink intake for approximately 13 hours. You need to adjust your lifestyle properly during the fasting month, so that your stamina can be maintained properly.
When your stamina is not properly maintained, your immune system can weaken and you get sick easily. For example, when you can't regulate sleep time, don't pay attention to nutritional intake, and force yourself to work. This can affect the body to be more stressed, so that you get sick easily when fasting.
Even though you were fasting during the COVID-19 pandemic, you can still maintain your stamina in the following ways.
1. Sahur with high nutritious food
Maintain stamina during fasting, starting with a healthy suhoor. Choose healthy foods at dawn, such as complex carbohydrates, high fiber and protein.
Complex carbohydrate foods turn into sugar in the blood and are used as energy by the body slowly throughout the day. That way, these foods help you get fitter. Complex carbohydrates include whole grains, beans, oatmeal, and rice.
Meanwhile, high-fiber foods also help you to be full longer. Of course, it can be obtained from fruits and vegetables.
Do not forget about protein sources, such as beef and chicken, fish and eggs. These protein foods support the body to stay energized throughout the day.
2. Set a drinking schedule
Remember, drinking water at dawn is important to stick to the rule of drinking 8 glasses or 2 liters of water during the month of Ramadan. Water is an important key to maintaining stamina and body energy during fasting.
The body that does not get fluid intake can have an impact on dehydration. When this happens, the body becomes weak and it becomes difficult for you to concentrate on activities. Therefore, keep on fulfilling your fluid intake at dawn and breaking your fast. How to?
The Directorate of Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, provides the following tips.
- 1 glass before bed
- 1 glass after waking up sahur
- 1 cup after dawn
- 1 glass when breaking the fast
- 1 glass after sunset prayer
- 1 glass after dinner
- 1 glass after evening prayer
- 1 cup after tarawih prayer
Remember, at dawn it is better to avoid drinks that are diuretic or that trigger the body to continue urinating. For example, coffee or tea. Better, consume water for the good of your health while fasting.
3. Get enough rest
Try to set a bedtime every night and try not to stay up late. Sleep is the body's time to collect energy and fight infection and disease.
Sleep helps maintain stamina during fasting. There are important things that happen in your body when you sleep. The body secretes cytokines when you sleep. Cytokines also help fight infection or inflammation, as well as lower your stress levels. Cytokines can work best when you get enough sleep.
So, try to get eight hours of sleep each night.
4. Healthy food when breaking the fast
After a day of fasting, there is always the temptation to indulge yourself by consuming cold drinks, sweet foods, or fried foods. However, the month of Ramadan will still continue for the next few days and you need to maintain your stamina while fasting the next day.
A healthy alternative is breaking your fast by eating dates. Dates are easy to digest, reduce hunger and prevent you from overeating. Dates contain natural sugars and can increase your body's energy.
So, it is important, of course, to eat healthy foods when breaking your fast. Choose a nutritious diet with a high content of carbohydrates, fiber, protein and healthy fats. Choose the iftar menu with a cooking process that is steamed, boiled, or baked.
You can steam or boil the vegetables so that the nutrients can still be optimal when consumed. Not many vitamins and minerals are lost. Meanwhile, for the meat you can boil or grill it. This cooking method is healthier than frying in a lot of oil.
5. Vitamin C supplements
You can supplement how to maintain stamina while fasting with vitamin C supplementation. It is said in the journal Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry, vitamin C plays a role in boosting immunity by fighting inflammation due to infection.
Vitamin C has immunostimulant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibacterial properties. Vitamin C supplementation can help the body improve the immune system during the fasting month.
Better to choose a vitamin C supplement type Ester, which is safe for consumption every day. The recommended daily dose of vitamin C for women is 75 mg per day, while 90 mg per day for men. The body can still receive vitamin C intake with a maximum dose of 2000 mg.
You also need to pay attention to vitamin C with low levels of oxalate, such as vitamin C types of esters, so it is safe for the kidneys. In addition, vitamin C supplement type Ester is also non-acidic and can last 24 hours in the body. This non-acidic nature makes vitamin C Ester safe for the stomach when consumed.
Take care of your health during fasting and choose the right vitamin C supplement. That way, the body's endurance is well maintained and stamina remains excellent in the month of Ramadan.
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