Tips to Relish the Feast during Eid al-Fitr without Getting Fat from Prof. I Ketut Adnyana
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – During Ramadan, Muslims around the world are obligated to observe fast. Not only ‘thawab’ or reward for enduring hunger or thirst, observing fast also gives a lot of health benefits both physically and mentally.
According to Prof. I Ketut Adnyana, a professor in Pharmachology- Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy of ITB, fast can improve metabolism. It means that foods are processed quicker into energy within the body so that the energy can be allocated for other activities. However, changes in metabolism can turn out bad without proper handling.
“Efficient metabolism tricks us into thinking we can have another meal, while consciously we are not hungry,” he said. For that reason, people who observe fast or other kind of diet can get rebound when the eating pattern back to normal. “After Ramadan, people usually serve foods at Eid al-Fitr and might overeat. This phenomenon is called yoyo diet,” Prof. I Ketut explained.
“Why do we want to eat even when we are not hungry? Basically, there are two kind of hunger, physiological and psychological hunger. Physiological hunger is generated by the body. So if we lack of energy, the body will ‘ask’ for food. Meanwhile, psychological hunger is a mere desire that ignores actual hunger,” he added.
Hence, fast is effective to eliminate psychological hunger. “If it’s physiological hunger, then we do not need to be afraid because our body controls it automatically. Our body only need 3-4 days to change from non-fast to fast state,” said this lecturer who finishes his doctor degree in Japan.
Besides restraining ourselves, there are other tips from Prof. I Ketut to keep our dietary under control during Eid al-Fitr. “There are two things that I think are important to pay attention to, the ingredients and how to cook it,” he said.
The recommended ingredients are fibrous foods such as vegetables and fruits. Those fibrous foods could help to satiate hunger and are easier to process. “Cooking method, including the serving method is important. Psychological aspect is important, so we have to make the foods look delicious,” He said.
About the nutrition, he said that everyone should be able to understand their own bodies so that specific drug consumption is unnecessary. “Depending on age, activities, old or young, busy or not, the nutrition needs are different,” he said.
If specific vitamins are needed, our body will show signs. Then, we can choose specific drugs for our needs. Besides additional nutrition, Prof. I Ketut said that people need basic nutrition such as protein, carbohydrate, fat, and other minerals. Fortunately, all those nutrition are received in sufficient amount from daily foods.
Reporter: Ferio Brahmana (Engineering Physics 2017)
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