Contents:
- Medical Video: How to Stop Being Lazy in 3 Practical Steps
- Why at the beginning of the fasting period the body feels weaker?
- Important nutrition when opening and sahur so as not to weaken when fasting
- 1. Complex carbohydrates
- 2. Zinc
- 3. Vitamin C
Medical Video: How to Stop Being Lazy in 3 Practical Steps
Entering the fasting month, it's important for you to keep your body fresh and energetic every day. Indeed, when it's been lived, fasting feels easier and more refreshing. But in the first days of fasting, the body tends to be weak and powerless.
Why do you feel weak when fasting is usually the most severe in the first days? Is there a way to avoid it? Well, see complete information about the body limp during fasting below.
Why at the beginning of the fasting period the body feels weaker?
When you are fasting, your body does not get nutrients for hours after dawn. In fact, the body needs carbohydrates that will be processed into sugar. Then sugar will be processed into your fuel or energy source throughout the day(4).
However, according to an expert on the endocrine system and metabolism, Dr. David McCulloch, this energy source only lasts a few hours after you eat(4). This is why in the afternoon and evening your body begins to lose energy and you are weak.
Don't worry, your body is able to adjust to changes in your diet when fasting(1). The body will begin to read your new habits, which will not get carbohydrate intake again until it's time to break the fast. So, the body will store sugar in a longer time than usual. If when you are not fasting, the sugar from the cabbage is immediately burned in just a few hours, the time for fasting sugar will be slowly burned, which is until the time for breaking fast.
However, this adjustment cannot occur in the blink of an eye. The body takes a few days or even a week to adapt to this process(1). So, usually you will only feel tired and weak at the beginning of the fasting month.
Important nutrition when opening and sahur so as not to weaken when fasting
To prevent the body from becoming weak during fasting, especially in the first days of Ramadan, make sure your body is getting the following important nutrients.
1. Complex carbohydrates
When dawn, multiply the consumption of complex carbohydrates rather than simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates contain more sugar while complex carbohydrates contain more fiber and yeast(7).
By consuming complex carbohydrates, the processing of carbohydrates into energy sources lasts longer. So, your body can last for hours before breaking fast without carbohydrate intake again in the afternoon or evening. Increase the intake of complex carbohydrates from whole wheat processed products, vegetables, fruits and nuts(7).
2. Zinc
As explained by a clinical nutritionist from the United States Dr. Josh Ax, zinc or also known as zinc is needed to process carbohydrates in the body. If you lack zinc, the carbohydrates that you consume at dawn will be difficult to convert into energy sources(3). As a result, you will feel weak when fasting all day.
For that, make sure you meet zinc intake during dawn and breaking fast. Choose a menu that is rich in zinc such as beef or mutton. However, eating meat at dawn and breaking the fast is not enough for zinc in a day. So if necessary, at dawn and breaking fast you can take supplements that are rich in zinc.
3. Vitamin C
Limp body during fasting can also be caused by a weakening of the body's resistance(5). The reason is, when fasting the body does not get as much nutritional intake and as complete as usual. As a result, the immune system has trouble keeping you healthy. One way to maintain endurance is to consume vitamin C.
Therefore, don't forget to consume vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C such as guava, red chili, and broccoli. If necessary, you can also take supplements that already contain vitamin C and zinc after eating sahur, or after breaking the fast. This can help you maintain stamina in the early days of fasting and throughout the month of Ramadan.
