In This Post
Why Do We Feel Dehydrated?
Tips to Stay Hydrated While Fasting
The holy month of Ramadan is finally upon us. However, since we are in the middle of an intense summer season with temperatures soaring high every day, not drinking water throughout the day can cause severe dehydration if you don’t follow a proper schedule and keep from consuming certain food items during iftar.
Since we have already discussed how to overcome fasting fatigue, it is only fitting to list down the tips that may help you stay healthy and hydrated while fasting in Ramadan 2022.
We will begin this guide by exploring some of the most common reasons why we feel dehydrated during fasting. After that, we will share tips on how to keep yourself hydrated throughout this blessed month, so you can feel fresh and carry out your day-to-day activities without feeling fatigued or tired.
Let’s begin.
Why Do We Feel Dehydrated During Fasting?
It is critical to understand the underlying reasons behind why fatigue and dehydration set in during fasting, so you can stay active and hydrated when fasting this Ramadan.
No matter where you live, you will probably agree that the holy month of Ramadan creates some massive changes in our daily routines. We stay refrain from consuming food and water from dusk till dawn and have a small eating window in the form of a few hours between iftar and the next suhoor. Needless to say, it gets a little tough to manage our water intake, especially when you start feeling bloated after iftar. Hence, we start to feel dehydrated and tired.
So, why does it happen? Well, for starters, our body thrives and functions on nutrients, and it gets a little challenging to keep our nutrients balanced when fasting. We end up eating unhealthy meals during suhoor and iftar, which deprives our body of several nutrients that we need to stay energised. As such, try to eat healthy foods and avoid the ones that enhance thirst. We will discuss such food items in the latter part of this blog.
Water consumption is a crucial component of staying hydrated. Going without water for more than 15 hours a day can cause dehydration. It is important to understand that our water consumption decreases during this month, so we need to make some massive changes to our routine to solidify the pattern of our liquid intake.
Besides long fasting hours, another reason that makes us feel tired during Ramadan is the intense heat of summer. Do not go out unnecessarily and stay indoors as much as you can.
Here are a few more things that you should do to stay hydrated while fasting this Ramadan:
- Stay indoors and try to order everything online. However, if you must go out for some work, you may want to wait for your body temperature to return to normal before taking a cold shower.
- Wear light clothes, whether you are heading outside or staying indoors.
- Try to stay away from stove heat and prepare easy to cook meals when you are fasting.
- Too much screen time can also cause fasting fatigue, headaches, and dehydration. So, reduce your screen time and spend more time with your family.
- Sleep deprivation is also a major cause of dehydration and fasting fatigue, so ensure plenty of sleep to feel fresh and active.
Now that you have a better understanding of the hidden reasons behind dehydration while fasting, let’s take a look at a few changes that you can incorporate into your routine to stay hydrated while fasting.
How to Stay Hydrated While Fasting?
There’s a long list of blessings and positive reinforcements that the holy month of Ramadan brings for us, but some of the best things that the month teaches us include gratitude, sacrifice, and caring for others. So, do not let your fatigue and dehydration overrule you when you are fasting and follow these tips to stay active and fresh during Ramadan:
- Break Your Fast with Water
- Avoid Excessive Use of Salty and Sugary Drinks
- Decrease Caffeine Intake
- Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake
- Incorporate Chia Seeds in Your Beverages
Break Your Fast with Water
No matter in what region we are living, most of us will agree on this – when we are fasting, we mostly think of one thing: water. However, for some reason, we forget about water during Iftar and end up breaking our fast with other items present on the table.
Quite frankly, it can sometimes get a little tough to go against the temptation, but all you have to do is to plan your water intake and keep track of it. Keep a small glass of water beside you and sit at a distance from other beverages – of course, you will lay your hands on the first available thing, so make water the only thing available to yourself.
You can also track your water intake by using multiple health and fitness applications available on App Stores. If you keep a water bottle with you at all times after iftar, you will automatically have the urge to drink from it. Remember to keep small bottles with yourself or drink from small cups, it will help trick your brain and increase your water intake.
Avoid Excessive Use of Salty and Sugary Drinks
The next point on our tips to stay hydrated while fasting is to avoid excessive use of salty and sugary drinks. We understand that avoiding cold beverages during iftar is a mountainous task, almost impossible for many.
Salty and sugary drinks might make us feel refreshed, but they can also increase thirst, make you feel bloated, and dehydrate your body eventually. We will not ask you to completely cut out these drinks from your table. However, you can do the following two things:
Firstly, reduce your intake of these drinks. Do not buy excessive quantities of such beverages and mark a few days in the week when you can have such drinks. If it becomes completely unavoidable, the second idea might help you out.
Store-bought beverages are prepared with harmful chemicals. Not only do these drinks make you feel bloated, but they can have adverse effects on your health in the long run. You can replace such drinks with homemade sherbet and fresh juices. For further guidance, take a look at our list of best summer drinks to keep you refreshed this summer.
Decrease Caffeine Intake
Decreasing caffeine intake might be the hardest thing to do on our list of tips to stay hydrated while fasting.
Given the fact that we Pakistanis have a different relationship with tea, no matter how hot or cold the weather may be, asking one to altogether avoid tea is nothing short of a challenge. Whether it is iftar or suhoor, our meal is incomplete without a cup of piping hot tea. It wasn’t quite easy for us to tell you to avoid this, so we are only recommending you lower your caffeine intake. Not only will it help you keep your thirst in control when you are fasting, but it will also help you enjoy better sleep.
You can also replace your regular tea or coffee with healthier alternatives, such as green tea or herbal tea.
Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake
This one is self-explanatory. Fruits and vegetables are usually rich in nutrients, and they can help you stay active when you are fasting in Ramadan. Whether you like eating them raw or like experimenting with smoothies or fruit chaat, fruits and vegetables should be a part of your meals in suhoor and iftar.
Try to break your fast with small portions of fresh fruits and vegetables after drinking a glass of water. It will help you feel full without making you uneasy or bloated. Try to take vegetables and fruits that are exceptionally known for high quantities of fibre, you can easily check the nutritional facts of any food on Google.
Incorporate Chia Seeds in Your Beverages
If you ask us about the most effective way to avoid dehydration during Ramadan, we will say that chia seeds are a lifesaver for most of us. Not only do they go well with any beverage, but they can also help you stay hydrated while fasting. One of the simplest ways to add chia seeds to your meals is to have them included in your drinks or just water. Take a spoon of dry chia seeds and soak them in water for 15 minutes. These seeds will expand with a gel-like consistency. You can add these to your breakfast cereal or drink – whatever you prefer. We recommend that you make it a part of your suhoor; you will feel a great difference.
This brings us to the end of our post on tips to stay hydrated during Ramadan. We have mentioned some of the common things that we all like to have during iftar and suhoor. You can make these small changes to your routine to prevent dehydration in Ramadan when fasting. Tell us how you plan to make Ramadan 2022 exciting at blog@zameen.com.
On a side note, if you have not stocked up on groceries yet, take a look at our recently published guide on the Ramadan shopping list.
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