In the month of Ramadan, whether it's for Suhoor or Iftar, taking care of everyone's preferences at home and adding new recipes to the food has been a part of our traditions.


According to the Islamic calendar, the fasts of Ramadan sometimes come in the cold and sometimes in the summer. Now, whether there are short-term fasts or long-term fasts, one question is on the tongue of many people what will they do if they feel thirsty?


These days, the month of Ramadan in Pakistan has come during March and April when the weather in most parts of the country is milder and milder, but as soon as fasting begins, everyone starts sharing their tried and tested tips to avoid thirst with their friends.


The top ones include eating cardamom, mint, and curd at the time of Suhoor, along with drinking lots of water. It is said about these tips that if you use these things in Suhoor, your fast of more than 14 hours will pass without thirst.


But how much truth is there in all these assumptions and do these tips prove useful in reducing thirst during fasting?


In this regard, we spoke to nutritionist Zainab Ghayor of Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad and discussed with her not only these tips in detail, but also to know what to eat for breakfast and iftar at a low cost in this era of inflation. Is it wise to throw it out off the plate?


'Best in Yoghurt Suhore, cardamom and mint not quench thirst but give a feeling of freshness'


With us, the Ramadan table has special importance from a traditional and cultural point of view. If we talk about the time of suhoor, then there is a long list from khajle phenis to parathas, eggs, and curries, especially meat dishes, curries, lassi, and milkshakes, which are consumed by fasting people.


However, according to nutritionist Zainab Ghayoor, we generally do not consume healthy foods in Suhr and Iftar. According to him, along with traditional dishes, it is important to include things that help us maintain energy during the day and yogurt is at the top of it.


'It is very good to use curd at the time of Sahri. Milk proteins obtained from milk products remain in our stomachs for a long time and due to this we do not feel hungry for a long time.


According to him, 'Yogurt contains certain ingredients that also help meet your water needs as it contains potassium and is low in sodium.


"Some people add sugar or other things to yogurt, but if they don't, yogurt helps to meet our energy needs at Suhore," says Dr. Zainib.


We asked Zainab Ghayoor whether green cardamom and mint leaves reduce thirst while fasting. It gives a feeling of freshness, but it is not directly related to reducing your thirst.'



Do not eat pickles and salt-rich foods in Suhoor



Zainab Ghayoor says that we have culturally added many unnecessary things in terms of food during Ramadan. According to him, the same food that we usually take for breakfast is better in Sahri.


She says that because in the state of fasting, we have to stay empty stomach for several hours, so we must take certain things into account in the consumption of food.


'As we try to minimize our thirst, we should eat the least amount of salt.'


According to nutritionist Zainab Ghayoor


'If we eat paratha for breakfast, eating paratha for Sehore can lead to heartburn or acidity during the day. Instead have an egg with chapati, curry can also be eaten, no harm in that.'

Pickles should not be eaten at all during Suhore because pickles contain a lot of salt. The more salty things we eat in Suhoor, the more thirsty we are during the day and we may suffer from dehydration.


Suhoor and Iftar, have accessories made especially with curds, such as chana chaat, fruit chaat, or gram salad with curd. By doing this, it also infuses the salad with milk-source protein, which is typically underutilized during Ramadan.


If you drink tea or coffee at the time of Suhoor, try not to make it too strong, or strong, but made it with more milk, because the excess amount of caffeine will cause water to be removed from the body faster.


Also, take care not to drink tea or coffee right near the end of Suhoor, but take it when there is some time in Suhoor so that you can drink water later.

According to Dr. Zebanab Ghayoor, 'Tea and coffee are diuretics, so taking them at the very last moment of Suhoor will cause frequent urination and thus the body will lose water and you may be dehydrated. .'


'Fried foods are heavy on both pocket and stomach'


And here we add something about the Iftar timetable. According to our traditions, pakoras, samosas, chicken and vegetable rolls, Syrian kebabs and many other accessories are mandatory on the Iftar table, which is appetizing because they are fried, but because they are fried in oil, they cause harm instead of benefit. can also be


Nutritionist Zainib Ghayur says, 'At the time of Iftar like we eat something light in the evening on normal days, take a light snack in the same way.'


'Two to three dates give us an instant boost of energy while fruits are very helpful in quenching our thirst. Even at the time of Iftar, eat accessories specially made with curd like chana chaat, curd mixed fruit chaat, curd bale, etc.'


Dr. Zainib says too much-fried food is heavy on both the pocket and the stomach. She says that 'We traditionally prepare fried foods and dishes at Iftar, eat them but balance their consumption. If a weekly Iftar menu is made, then in the seven days of the week, we can maintain our health along with tradition and language by making some days Chana Chaat, some days yogurt, sometimes pakodas, sometimes samosas, and sometimes rolls.'


According to him, 'if fried foods are eaten daily in Ramadan, it usually affects the work of the stomach and intestines and the problem of constipation may also be faced due to the lack of fiber and potassium.'