Evidence-based Health benefits of Fasting

https://authoritynutrition.com/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting/

10 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

By Kris Gunnars, BSc |

April, 2016

 |

314,488

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Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting.

Numerous studies show that it can have powerful benefits for your body and brain.

Here are 10 evidence-based health benefits of intermittent fasting.

1. Intermittent Fasting Changes The Function of Cells, Genes and Hormones

When you don’t eat for a while, several things happen in your body.

For example, your body initiates important cellular repair processes and changes hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible.

Here are some of the changes that occur in your body during fasting:

• Insulin levels: Blood levels of insulin drop significantly, which facilitates fat burning (1).
• Human growth hormone: The blood levels of growth hormone may increase as much as 5-fold (2, 3). Higher levels of this hormone facilitate fat burning and muscle gain, and have numerous other benefits (4, 5).
• Cellular repair: The body induces important cellular repair processes, such as removing waste material from cells (6).
• Gene expression: There are beneficial changes in several genes and molecules related to longevity and protection against disease (7, 8).

Many of the benefits of intermittent fasting are related to these changes in hormones, gene expression and function of cells.

Bottom Line: When you fast, insulin levels drop and human growth hormone increases. Your cells also initiate important cellular repair processes and change which genes they express.

2. Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight and Belly Fat

Many of those who try intermittent fasting are doing it in order to lose weight (9).

Generally speaking, intermittent fasting will make you eat fewer meals.

Unless if you compensate by eating much more during the other meals, you will end up taking in fewer calories.

Additionally, intermittent fasting enhances hormone function to facilitate weight loss.

Lower insulin levels, higher growth hormone levels and increased amounts of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) all increase the breakdown of body fat and facilitate its use for energy.

For this reason, short-term fasting actually increases your metabolic rate by 3.6-14%, helping you burn even more calories (10, 11).

In other words, intermittent fasting works on both sides of the calorie equation. It boosts your metabolic rate (increases calories out) and reduces the amount of food you eat (reduces calories in).

According to a 2014 review of the scientific literature, intermittent fasting can cause weight loss of 3-8% over 3-24 weeks (12). This is a huge amount.

The people also lost 4-7% of their waist circumference, which indicates that they lost lots of belly fat, the harmful fat in the abdominal cavity that causes disease.

One review study also showed that intermittent fasting caused less muscle loss than continuous calorie restriction (13).

All things considered, intermittent fasting can be an incredibly powerful weight loss tool. More details here: How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight.

Bottom Line: Intermittent fasting helps you eat fewer calories, while boosting metabolism slightly. It is a very effective tool to lose weight and belly fat.

3. Intermittent Fasting Can Reduce Insulin Resistance, Lowering Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes has become incredibly common in recent decades.

Its main feature is high blood sugar levels in the context of insulin resistance.

Anything that reduces insulin resistance should help lower blood sugar levels and protect against type 2 diabetes.

Interestingly, intermittent fasting has been shown to have major benefits for insulin resistance and lead to an impressive reduction in blood sugar levels (12).

In human studies on intermittent fasting, fasting blood sugar has been reduced by 3-6%, while fasting insulin has been reduced by 20-31% (12).

One study in diabetic rats also showed that intermittent fasting protected against kidney damage, one of the most severe complications of diabetes (13).

What this implies, is that intermittent fasting may be highly protective for people who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

However, there may be some differences between genders. One study in womenshowed that blood sugar control actually worsened after a 22-day long intermittent fasting protocol (14).

Bottom Line: Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance and lower blood sugar levels, at least in men.

4. Intermittent Fasting Can Reduce Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in The Body

Oxidative stress is one of the steps towards aging and many chronic diseases (14).

It involves unstable molecules called free radicals, which react with other important molecules (like protein and DNA) and damage them (15).

Several studies show that intermittent fasting may enhance the body’s resistance to oxidative stress (16, 17).

Additionally, studies show that intermittent fasting can help fight inflammation, another key driver of all sorts of common diseases (17, 18, 19).

Bottom Line: Studies show that intermittent fasting can reduce oxidative damage and inflammation in the body. This should have benefits against aging and development of numerous diseases.

5. Intermittent Fasting May be Beneficial For Heart Health

Heart disease is currently the world’s biggest killer (20).

It is known that various health markers (so-called “risk factors”) are associated with either an increased or decreased risk of heart disease.

Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve numerous different risk factors, including blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers and blood sugar levels (12, 21, 22, 23)

However, a lot of this is based on animal studies. The effects on heart health need to be studied a lot further in humans before recommendations can be made.

Bottom Line: Studies show that intermittent fasting can improve numerous risk factors for heart disease such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides and inflammatory markers.

6. Intermittent Fasting Induces Various Cellular Repair Processes

When we fast, the cells in the body initiate a cellular “waste removal” process calledautophagy (7, 24).

This involves the cells breaking down and metabolizing broken and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells over time.

Increased autophagy may provide protection against several diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease (25, 26).

Bottom Line: Fasting triggers a metabolic pathway called autophagy, which removes waste material from cells.

7. Intermittent Fasting May Help Prevent Cancer

Cancer is a terrible disease, characterized by uncontrolled growth of cells.

Fasting has been shown to have several beneficial effects on metabolism that may lead to reduced risk of cancer.

Although human studies are needed, promising evidencefrom animal studies indicates that intermittent fasting may help prevent cancer (27, 28, 29, 30).

There is also some evidence on human cancer patients, showing that fasting reduced various side effects of chemotherapy (31).

Bottom Line: Intermittent fasting has been shown to help prevent cancer in animal studies. One paper in humans showed that it can reduce side effects caused by chemotherapy.

8. Intermittent Fasting is Good For Your Brain

What is good for the body is often good for the brain as well.

Intermittent fasting improves various metabolic features known to be important forbrain health.

This includes reduced oxidative stress, reduced inflammation and a reduction in blood sugar levels and insulin resistance.

Several studies in rats have shown that intermittent fasting may increase the growth of new nerve cells, which should have benefits for brain function (32, 33).

It also increases levels of a brain hormone called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (32, 34, 35), a deficiency of which has been implicated in depression and various other brain problems (36).

Animal studies have also shown that intermittent fasting protects against brain damage due to strokes (37).

Bottom Line: Intermittent fasting may have important benefits for brain health. It may increase growth of new neurons and protect the brain from damage.

9. Intermittent Fasting May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the world’s most common neurodegenerative disease.

There is no cure available for Alzheimer’s, so preventing it from showing up in the first place is critical.

A study in rats shows that intermittent fasting may delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or reduce its severity (38).

In a series of case reports, a lifestyle intervention that included daily short-term fasts was able to significantly improve Alzheimer’s symptoms in 9 out of 10 patients (39).

Animal studies also suggest that fasting may protect against other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease (40, 41).

However, more research in humans is needed.

Bottom Line: Studies in animals suggest that intermittent fasting may be protective against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

10. Intermittent Fasting May Extend Your Lifespan, Helping You Live Longer

One of the most exciting applications of intermittent fasting may be its ability to extend lifespan.

Studies in rats have shown that intermittent fasting extends lifespan in a similar way as continuous calorie restriction (42, 43).

In some of these studies, the effects were quite dramatic. In one of them, rats that fasted every other day lived 83% longer than rats who weren’t fasted (44).

Although this is far from being proven in humans, intermittent fasting has become very popular among the anti-aging crowd.

Given the known benefits for metabolism and all sorts of health markers, it makes sense that intermittent fasting could help you live a longer and healthier life.

You can find more info about intermittent fasting on this page: Intermittent Fasting 101 – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide.

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Suhoor food ideas

https://www.buzzfeed.com/emofly/foods-to-eat-at-suhoor-that-release-energy-throughout-the?utm_term=.xjvzzVG2or#.xlAZZwKbVW

Great food ideas for suhoor

The Dollar a Day Fast

Eating dollar a day meals this Ramadan By Abdul Malik Mujahid Over one billion people worldwide live on $1 a day. And that includes everything not just food. To put it in practical Ramadan terms, there are Muslims around the world who survive on an Iftar and Suhoor meals that are simple, inexpensive, and limited. Those of us blessed to enjoy a table full of a variety of foods when we break our fasts perhaps don’t consider this. Maybe we feel entitled to eat our fill. But for many, this is clearly not an option. A good number of them are probably Muslim Americans. I heard Dr. Mehmood Khan, PepsiCo's Chief Scientific Officer, say that while there is so much hunger in the world, 20 percent of the world population I obese. In the United States, the statistics say that we have 40,000,000 obese people. (I intentionally spelled out the 40 million so it does look as big as it is.) ;This Ramadan I invite you to take the dollar a day Ramadan challenge. I have done it for the last couple of years and count it as a true blessing of Ramadan. The idea is simple. You reduce the food and drink consumption at Suhoor and Iftar times to one dollar. Trust me, it’s not a big deal. If you can do it as a family whatever you can save can go to fight hunger in your neighborhood and across the world. If you cannot commit to a month try it for a week or at least a weekend during this blessed month. Remember that this is a time in which we are expected to experience hunger, give charity so that we are grateful to God, and have better character, key goals of Ramadan. I found it was not hard at all. It is not a starvation diet. There is a plenty you can eat within a dollar a day fast. I did not lose more than ten pounds during the month. Ramadan, in which we are supposed to experience hunger to achieve a better connection with God’s Creation and with the Creator Himself, somehow has become a marathon feast. It is self-defeating. Those who cook are overburdened and do not have enough energy left for extra worship recommended for Ramadan. There is no Hadith about feasting at Iftar. There is no Sunnah of food celebrations and special cooking at Iftar throughout the life of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Companions. May Allah be pleased with all of them. The feast actually is supposed to be Eid at the end of Ramadan not at the end of each day of fasting. The Prophet, who encouraged us to fill only one-third of our stomachs even on normal days, ate far less in Ramadan. Do a family Shura (consultation) before Ramadan and develop a menu of simplicity. Reduce the burden of cooking and divide it up across all family members. Suhoor Options I have eaten quarter to half a flat bread… with a couple of dates and water and felt it was good enough or dipped the bread in leftover curry from the night before once in a while I have take half a bread with a fried egg I have eaten half a cup of oatmeal… prepared with a little milk or prepared it with water on which I poured some left over curry or some fruit like an orange or an apple I have eaten a small portion of anything left over from the previous night At times I have just taken one banana just taken one banana All of the above, if done at home, is around half a dollar. If I was invited to an Iftar party, I would reduce my Suhoor to just one date and water so my Iftar could be little more. Please don’t skip Suhoor. The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, asked us not to skip it. Eat just a little as he did and as simply as he did. Allahumma Salle Ala Muhammad. Iftar Eating Iftar is not supposed to be a feast. Don’t divide up Iftar into snack followed by an evening meal. Just stick to one eating session. If you prefer to pray as soon as the time comes, break your fast with one date or water only, and after prayer sit down for the rest. It is important to achieve a variety while maintaining simplicity at the Iftar table. Try to limit it to just one main dish per evening. Or maybe just have a various snacks instead of a main dish once a week. I have done the following for Iftar Just taking a tablespoon or two of whatever is being served The more variety the less portion you take If I have not taken a date in the morning, I will take one in the evening I will take half to one piece of whole wheat flat bread or a couple of scoops of rice with two tablespoons of any vegetable or curry on the table. if there are more than two types of dishes on the table, I would just take one spoon each For drinks, avoid those bottles. They break your dollar a day budget just by themselves. Maybe a small glass of milk, homemade lemonade or for Pakistanis who want to ardently maintain their Ramadan tradition, Rooh Afza Iftar party eating Iftar parties have become an important part of Muslim culture, which unfortunately encourages the following Too much food Too much preparation time Insisting that guests eat more by almost harassing them Overeating Wastage of food since no food rescue programs are organized The Prophet encouraged us to invite each other for Iftar and he was a generous man. He was not always poor. Initially he was married to the richest lady of Makkah and in the later part of his life, he had enough wealth to sacrifice as much as 70-plus camels during his last Hajj. But he chose to live simply and eat less. An Iftar party must not defy the Prophet and the spirit of Ramadan. Here is what I have done in Iftar parties to stick to my dollar a day diet: Be the last in the line to take food. It will allow more time to socialize without food. It would bring time for Isha closer so there will be no time left for the host to insist on seconds. Take half of what you plan to eat. So when hosts insist on you taking more, you have room left for it. Make Ramadan and fasting a topic of the table instead of the usual useless discussions. There is nothing wrong in discussing the Prophet’s lifestyle and simple eating habits. There is nothing wrong with talking about hunger and how 15 million Muslim refugees live. Eating less while traveling Initially I found I had most difficulty eating under a dollar while traveling. You cannot demand at the Secretary of State’s Iftar dinner or some other important official evening to be served such a small amount of food. Nor can you easily find very low cost restaurants. So initially, I accepted eating as little as possible in these types of situations which resulted in me probably violating my dollar a day meal plans for about seven eight times a Ramadan. However, I eventually found a very delicious solution. I started visiting local grocery stores while traveling to a city and buying a few items: Some bread A small amount of grapes or 50 cents worth of peanuts or other fresh produce which would last me for a couple of days during the trip I was surprised to see how much variety I was able to find to stick to my dollar a day Ramadan. Now when it is not Ramadan, I enjoy doing this. On a recent trip to Switzerland, that is all I did for three days and enjoyed every bit of it, or shall I say every bite of it. Some More Tips 1. Skip the meat Meat, in most cases, is more expensive than other foods. Cutting it out of a meal is a surefire way of cutting costs. Limiting meat consumption is also considered healthier. If you cannot completely eliminate it due to what is available on the dining table, just take a small piece or limit yourself to the gravy around the meat. 2. Skip eating out or ready to eat meals Hardly anything comes cheap in this category. So avoid it completely. It is not very healthy anyway. 3. Eat more fruits and vegetables These are not only necessary to maintain optimum health, they are also less expensive than meat and other processed or packaged foods. Although I rarely eat canned food, don’t shun frozen fruits and vegetables. These are often cheaper while retaining health and flavor. Look up this dollar a day healthy food guide by WebMD. 4. Eat beans and lentils And here, you’ve got a great amount of variety. From the garbanzos familiar to lovers of Hummus to black eyed beans, you can experiment and find your favorite for a tasty, protein-rich, low-cost meal. 5. Yummy yogurt Yogurt is inexpensive but offers you great taste and calcium either by itself, as a spread or added to some fruit to make a smoothie. But buying ready-made yogurt could be costly. Try making your own. 6. Water, water, water The Prophet’s drink of choice when breaking his fast was water. Not even milk, which he loved. This is not only free, but it’s an alternative that replenishes what your body needs most to survive after a long day of fasting. 7. Skip the Shawarma …and opt for nuts of all kinds for your protein intake, as well as eggs every other Iftar. 8. Add inexpensive pasta, rice, and/or noodles This helps round out a meal and gives you some carbohydrates. 9. Make food from scratch Processed foods, frozen dinners, and other convenience foods are costly and very often not healthy. Cooking from scratch does not have to be difficult or intimidating. It’s one of the best ways to save money and maintain your health. Do it for the right reason I was fasting with a dollar a day food very silently. But those close to me who knew about it encouraged me to share this with others. Our intentions should be two-fold with the dollar a day Ramadan: Pleasing our Lord by following His Prophet’s path of sharing more and consuming less through simple living Developing a higher level of connectedness with those more than a billion human beings who go to sleep hungry most nights. A conservative South Asian scholar, Ashraf Ali Thanvi, once said you must become a good human being before you can ever become a good Muslim. Ramadan can help us become better Muslims to fulfill the twin tests of faith given by God in the Quran. These require a better connection to service to God’s Creation and a better connection with the Creator through worship: Have you ever seen a human being who contradicts the essence of faith? That is the person who pushes the orphan aside and does not promote feeding the needy. Woe, then, unto those who pray, but their hearts and minds are remote from the essence of their prayers, those who want but to be seen and praised, whereas they refuse to help others who need help. (Meaning of the Quran 107:1-7) May Allah give us life to see Ramadan and use it as a month-long exercise in simple living, consuming less and sharing more as the Prophet did. Ameen.

Something to think about this month of Ramadan: Eating Less Meat is better for your soul and the planet

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/aug/26/meat-islam-vegetarianism-ramadan

For most of the billion-plus Muslims who sit down each evening to break their Ramadan fast, meat will be on the menu. Lots of it. But how Islamic is eating meat?

Not very, according to Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, who argues that historically Muslims ate so little meat they were almost vegetarian. "Meat is not a necessity in sharia, and in the old days most Muslims used to eat meat – if they were wealthy, like middle class – once a week on Friday. If they were poor – on the Eids."

In today's world, meat-eating has taken on a new fervour, with many Muslims demanding animal flesh as part of their daily diet. Just the other day, an Egyptian journalist was relating to me how he attended a dinner at a local organisation here in Cairo. When people arrived, questions began to fly across the hall: "Where is the meat? We aren't going to have enough for everyone."

According to a recent study by the Egyptian cabinet's Information and Decision Support Centre, 89% of Egyptians eat more than 2kg of meat monthly. This figure rises along with social class. The study revealed that wealthy Egyptians often consume more than 8kg of meat each month.

The prophet Muhammad was not an advocate of daily meat-eating. Instead, the Islamic Concern website says, he warned his followers against constant meat consumption as it could become "addictive". It seems that 1,500 years later his concerns are not being heeded.

Early Islamic leaders and scholars repeatedly emphasised that animals were to be cherished and treated in a humane manner, but many Muslims nowadays view animals as the dominion of people. A sheikh at the Egyptian ministry of religious endowments told me: "Animals are slaves for human purposes. They were put here for us to eat, so talk of vegetarianism is un-Islamic."

This statement by the ministry official goes against everything the prophet stood for, in the opinion of Gamal al-Banna, a prominent Islamic scholar who has come under attack in recent years for his "liberal" stance. Al-Banna told me that being a vegetarian and Muslim does not break any tradition and is in no way un-Islamic.

"When someone becomes vegetarian they do so for a number of reasons: compassion, environment and health reasons," he began. "As a Muslim, I believe that the prophet would want the followers to be healthy, compassionate and not destroy our environment. If someone believes not eating meat is that way, it is not like they are going to go to hell for it. It may be the right thing to do."

Al-Banna continued, when I asked him about the Eid al-Adha sacrifice (which many argue is obligatory), that any Muslim who believes in being vegetarian does not have to slaughter a sheep. "In today's modern world, ideas and religion change and Islam is no different. We must not remain rigid in our understanding of faith to mean the blind acceptance of anything, killing living beings included. There is no obligation to kill."

Others disagree, arguing that meat-eating is part of the Islamic tradition and, thus, vegetarianism is a foreign notion for the Middle East. Muslims who eat meat at every iftar (fast-breaking evening meal) this month undoubtedly believe they are doing the right thing. On the other hand, the idea that animals are merely slaves to humans is not only abhorrent to animal-rights advocates, but seems to be at odds with the prophet's teaching.

Some would argue that the prayer said before halal slaughtering is part of Islam's humanity when animals are killed for food. This may have been true historically, but in today's "halal" slaughterhouses, a pre-recorded prayer often blares nonstop as the animals are lined up and killed. That is a cop-out from what Islam teaches about "humane" slaughter.

Ultimately, the argument is simple. The Qur'an reveals that all living animals are sentient beings, just as human beings are.

"There is not an animal on earth, nor a bird that flies on its wings – but they are communities like you." (Qur'an, 6:38)

Sensitivity about posting food pictures on Facebook

BEING RAMADHAN SENSITIVE

Sunday, 29 July 2012

Salaam Alaikum,
Disclaimer- This post is no reproach or criticism.
From:  http://thegirlintheawesomechador.blogspot.com/2012/07/being-ramadhan-sensitive.html?showComment=1343600077325#c5484544226925493714

We're all excited about Ramadhan, and iftaars form a great part of it. Sometimes, to show our happiness or high spirits, we post pictures of what we ate for iftaar, how me made it and how delicious it looked/tasted and share recipes. This is all good in itself, except for the fact that maybe we need to be a bit more sensitive about our other fasting brothers and sisters who might be looking at those pictures.

I recently learnt that it is morally undesirable for a non-fasting person to be eating or drinking in the presence of a fasting person. I remember last Ramadhan when I was in my hawza in Qom, whenever a non-fasting sister (not fasting for obvious female reasons) was obliged to eat in front of me, she always looked at me gingerly and apologized for eating in front of me. I always replied by saying it wasn't a big deal. Alhamdulillah having some experience with fasting, it does not bother me when somebody eats in front of me when I'm fasting. But I realized that there could be some brother/sister who is new at fasting and attractive stimuli as food and its heightened aroma could cause them some discomfort. Here is where we need to be sensitive. Usually on facebook, blogger or other social networking sites, we have friends from different countries or time-zones for whom it is still fasting time while for us it is eating time. Or maybe we have friends/relatives who live alone or are far from family and owing to a busy schedule, cannot prepare a delicious iftaar for themselves. Or- I don't know, maybe someone's just having a real tough fasting day.

Why take the risk of unintentionally hurting them?
Why take the risk of indulging in riya' by showing off our cooking skills or access to delicious food?

I know we have good intentions most of the time. But still, I just thought I'd remind myself just in case and be careful about posting food pictures on my social networking sites.

Have a lovely Ramadhan, and Iltemase du'a! :)

Eid brings a sense of loss

Posted from Spirit 21.

Anticipating the first coffee of Eid, and the pleasure and sadness it brings
This is my weekly newspaper column at The National, in anticipation of Eid this week.
Eid celebrations will be taking place around the Muslim world this week. It’s a time, rightly or wrongly, of indulgence and pleasure: fine clothes, good food, high-fat, high-carbohydrate sweets. It’s a day when the spiritual focus of the previous 30 days is mostly forgotten, even though Eid is supposed to be a celebration of spiritual renewal, a cleansing of sins and of a fresh start.

Dear cappuccino, let me count the ways I love you
I confess that although I aim to uphold this sacred meaning of Eid, I’m not immune to engaging once more in the pursuit of pleasure in the daytime. The first exciting thing about the day of Eid for me is my morning cup of coffee. Its consumption is a celebratory ritual. My husband and I will usually go to our favourite cafe and breathlessly order a cappuccino, excited at its return to us after 30 days of daytime exile.
The cappuccino – above other kinds of coffee – offers us the opportunity for a beautifully decorated reintroduction to the flavourful morning shot of caffeine. The froth is elegantly smoothed over, like the icing on a birthday cake, and freshly ground cocoa is sprinkled on it in the shape of a pretty heart or coffee bean.
We normally stare at the coffee, then at each other, then back at the coffee. After a month of absence, our hearts have grown fonder, and we are enraptured by the return of the beloved. Lifting the coffee cup to my lips after a month of daytime separation, I experience the reunion of lost lovers.
Even now as I write this in anticipation of Eid morning, I feel mixed emotions about my longing for that first sip of coffee. The shiver of delight as the first warm drops slide down my throat. The disappointment in myself that, having given up coffee for a month, I should so easily return to my (mild) addiction. The sadness at the loss of Ramadan’s intense spirituality.
What my cappuccino also reminds me of is the distinction that each human being faces between the pursuit of contentment and the pursuit of pleasure. These are clearly different things, although at times we may confuse them. Pleasures need not be shameful or sinful. My coffee is neither, and gives me intense pleasure, and pleasure is rightly a part of the human experience. But as the coffee warms my mouth, I can’t help but recall the preceding month of Ramadan where it was the pursuit of contentment that was paramount.
Contentment is a funny beast. Talking of its pursuit is perverse – you cannot chase it, rather it must come to you. Sometimes you don’t know you were contented till the moment has passed. That is the essence of Ramadan. The emptiness of the belly, the lightheadedness of the body, when first experienced, feel like physical torture. But slowly – and often in hindsight – we learn to identify that the absence of pleasure has created a space and a stillness that allows contentment to settle, despite its elusiveness.
Rumi says: “There is an unseen sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness. We are lutes. When the soundbox is filled, no music can come forth. When the brain and the belly burn from fasting, every moment a new song rises out of the fire.”
Eid is a day of transition where we learn to reintroduce the pursuit of pleasure into our daylight hours. Will I still be able to hold on to the slippery creature that is contentment? I’ll let you know after I’ve enjoyed my first cup of coffee.

How do we eat?

Food, glorious food!
But is it just about the food? When we are concerned about our eating habits and diet plans, it usually has to do with what we should consume, in which proportions, whether or not our body's nutritional needs are being met, etc. Whilst this is indeed important to learn, practice, and maintain, we must not allow our eating to become mindless beyond this point. For along with what we should eat there is a whole other dimension of how we should be eating. Let us explore some of the teachings of our Infallible Guides (peace be upon them all) with respect to this, making efforts within ourselves to transform mindless eating into mindful eating.

Time of Eating

If we only ever ate to satisfy hunger, the time of meals and snacks would not be such an issue. The problem arises when we turn to food on a daily basis not just to appease hunger, but for comfort, enjoyment, stress relief, and as a medium to socialize. Yet we must realize that these emotional tendencies need to be controlled and altered, and replaced with a mental attitude that will not only help our body but also our true selves, our nafs (soul).

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) has said, "A person who would like the food to not cause him harm should not eat until his bowels are clear and he feels very hungry. When he begins to eat, he should recite 'Bismillah'. The food should be chewed, and when there is a little bit of hunger left to be appeased, he should stop eating." Indeed Allah says in the Qur'an, "...eat and drink, and be not extravagant" (7:31) and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) has said, "We are a people who do not eat until we feel hungry, and when we eat we do not satiate ourselves (we do not eat excessively)." A very simple narration of the Prophet that we can always keep in mind: "Eat when you desire and stop while you still desire." (Bihar al-Anwar)

It is recommended to eat early in the morning, go without food for the whole day, and eat again for the second time after Isha prayers. If this is too difficult, it is a good idea to eat only fruits between breakfast and dinner. According to a reliable tradition, the nephew of Shahab went to Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) complaining of stomach ache and the heaviness of bowels. The Imam asked him to eat only twice a day – day and night – for Allah has said the same in the praise of food in Heaven: "For those whose abode is Heaven, they will get their food already prepared both times, morning and evening." (19:62)

It is highly discouraged to eat in the state of Janabat, yet the rigidity of this is relaxed if one performs Wudhu or washes the hands, gargles, and puts water in the nose, or simply washes the hands and face and gargles. Traditions state if this direction is neglected, one may suffer from the disease of white spots.

Quantity of Food

There are numerous traditions that warn of the consequences of excessive eating and inform us of the benefits of hunger and eating in small quantities. The Prophet has said that a man whose consumption of food is little has a healthy stomach and a pure heart, and a man whose food is plenty has a sickly stomach and a hard heart. (Tanbih al- Khawatir) Further warning us against excessive food, he has said it poisons the heart with hardness, slows the limbs in performing acts of obedience, and blocks the souls from hearing counsel. (Bihar al-Anwar)

Imam Ali said that overeating is the greatest aid to acts of disobedience, and that when the stomach is filled with even permissible food, the heart becomes blind to goodness. (Ghurar al-Hikam)

On the night of Mer'aj (the Prophet's heavenly ascension), the Prophet asked, "O Allah, what is the outcome of hunger?" He said, "Wisdom, protection of the heart, drawing closer to Me, lasting sorrow, less burden on the people, telling the truth, and lack of concern whether one lives in wealth or poverty." (Ibid)

General Recommended Acts

According to Imam Hasan (peace be upon him), every Muslim should keep 12 points in mind regarding food. Four are compulsory, four are recommended, and four pertain to general manners:

The compulsory

To know one's Giver
To know that all we have is from God and be satisfied with the food He gives
To say "Bismillah"
To thank Allah
The recommended

To wash one's hands before eating
To sit by keeping one's weight to the left side
To eat with at least three fingers
To lick the fingers
The general manners

To eat the food placed before one
To take small morsels
To chew the food
Not to look at others' faces while eating (Wasael al-Shi'aah)
Other Recommended Acts

To eat with the right hand whilst sitting on the knees.
To wash the hands before and after eating, and not to dry them with a towel. Numerous traditions state that if a person wants his house to be blessed, he should wash his hands before every meal. This also prevents poverty and body pains.
Having a little salt before and after each meal. This has countless benefits; it is narrated that the Holy Prophet asked Imam Ali to do this, for a man who takes salt before and after meals is saved from 70 types of curses, a major one being leprosy. Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) has also said regarding salt: "It is the cure for 70 diseases, if people would know the advantages of salt they would not use any other cure except salt."
General Discouraged Acts

To eat while walking, except when forced, as per the tradition of Imam Sadiq
To take very hot food, but if one does, (s)he should not cool it by blowing on it; rather it should be allowed to cool itself.
To eat while lying or relaxing; however, there is no harm in resting on the left hand while eating.
To eat alone. It is recommended to eat with one's servants and slaves, sitting on the ground.
To leave plates uncovered. Imam al-Sadiq said, "Do not leave your plates uncovered, for Satan spits on uncovered plates and takes from them what he wants." (Mustadrak al-Wasail)
Supplications at the Time of Eating

According to the Holy Prophet, when food is served, thousands of angels descend from heaven and surround the food. For those who start their food with "Bismillah", the angels pray to God to send His blessings on them, increase their daily bread, and order Shaitan to leave them alone, as he is the one who broke the law of God; thus, he cannot join them. After having eaten, for those who say "Alhamdulillah", the angels say these people are the thanks-givers, as they have thanked God for the good food He has given them. If they do not say "Bismillah" while eating, they invite Shaitan to have food with them, and if they do not say "Alhamdulillah" after their meal, the angels remark these people are those who are not satisfied with what good food God has given them, for they have forgotten to thank God for the blessing; as such, they are cursed.

Imam Ali has said one should remember Almighty Allah whilst eating and should not talk too much, as the food is a blessing from Him, and when one consumes that blessing, it is time to praise and thank Him.

According to Imam Sadiq, "While drinking water, whoever remembers Imam Hussain and his family members, and invoke the removal of Allah's Mercy from his murderers and tormentors, 100,000 good deeds will be written in his record, 100,000 sins will be forgiven, he will be elevated 100,000 times, and he will be rewarded to the extent as though he has freed 100,000 slaves in the name of God, and on the Day of Judgment Allah will look towards his welfare."

He furthers says it is better for one to recite the following while drinking water: "May Allah shower His blessings on Hussain and his family members and his companions. May He remove his Mercy from the murderers of Hussain and his enemies."


Unless otherwise referenced, narrations in this article are taken from Allama Majlisi's book Tahdhib ul-Islam.

Source: article by Farah Masood, posted at Islamic Insights.