Many of us grew up admiring Hakeem Olajuwan for his athletic ability and commitment to fasting during Ramadan, even while competing in the NBA playoffs. Most recently, Husain Abdullah, the 6-foot 204-pound Minnesota Vikings safety, has been in the news for fasting as the NFL season begins. Professional athletes consistently need to achieve high degrees of peak performance from their bodies – their livelihood depends on it – so they have professional nutritionists help them eat right. But how about the rest of us who still need to be sharp and deliver results at the office while fasting?
I recently had the privilege of speaking with Carrie Peterson, the Viking’s nutritionist who has been working with Abdullah, and Toby Smithson, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson, about how we can also stay healthy throughout the day during Ramadan.
Given that we have a limited time to consume the nutrients and calories we need, both experts stressed the importance of eating nutrient dense foods, such as lean proteins, low fat dairy, whole wheat and whole fruits and vegetables. Fortunately for us, we’re not professional athletes and probably need only half the calories Abdullah does.
I asked Peterson, a Minnesota native who was tasked with developing a plan for a Muslim athlete for the first time, what we should eat as soon as we are permitted. Noting that we probably already do this, she recommended having a glass of water to hydrate our bodies and a sugar-rich snack (eg., fruit or a cookie) to give our bodies the quick jolt of energy they need. Interestingly, it was the custom of Mohammed, peace be upon him, to break his fast with water and dates – a sugar dense fruit.
How about after breaking our fast? Pigging out is not the best route. If we eat as much as we can, we may overeat and our bodies will store the excess from that meal as fat. Plus, we’ll be throwing off our bodies’ metabolism.
We should space out our meals, having one comprehensive meal soon after we break our fasts, and then another smaller meal before bed. Meal planning is important for doing this effectively; Peterson recommends making our meals in advance, especially if we’re going to be stuck late at the office, so we’re not scrambling to eat and scarfing down whatever junk food we can get our hands on.
These meals should be balanced – consisting of carbs, proteins, and even fats. Smithson emphasizes the importance of the five food groups (bread, cereals and potatoes, proteins, dairy, fruit & vegetables and foods containing fat and sugar) to ensure we get the right balance. “Make sure lean protein foods and foods containing carbohydrates are included as protein foods tend to stay with you longer while carbohydrate foods give you energy,” says Smithson.
“Our body,” says Peterson, “prefers to run on carbohydrates, especially our brain.” There are two basic types of carbohydrates – simple, such as simple sugars, candies and sugar cereals that get into our systems more quickly, and complex, or longer-chain carbohydrates, such as foods with whole wheat, which have the added benefits of phytochemicals, which provide additional fiber, as well as cancer and heart disease risk reducing properties.
The simple carbohydrates go through our system first, then the long-chain/complex ones, followed by proteins and finally fats. As a result, the proteins and fats help us to feel fuller, longer. An example of a balanced meal is one that consists of fruit, eggs, buttered whole wheat toast, and a glass of low-fat milk. We’ll get our simple and complex carbohydrates from the fruit and whole wheat toast, respectively, the protein from the eggs and milk, and fats from the butter and eggs.
As part of Abdullah’s plan, he sets an alarm for the middle of the night to get up and have a protein shake. “I couldn’t expect non-athletes to be that serious, but make sure there’s something to drink by your bed and if you happen to wake up, then drink,” says Peterson.
Getting the hydration our bodies need and spacing it out is important. Peterson points out that our bodies can absorb only so much fluid per hour – binge drinking water before going to bed won’t do much more than wake us up in the middle of the night for a trip to the bathroom. While free water is ideal, milk or orange juice helps provide our bodies with both fluids and nutrients. The food we eat also has water content, too. For example, watermelon may be 96% fluid and two pieces of toast might be 30% water.
So is there anything we should be avoiding? Peterson recommends avoiding high fat and deep fried foods. In addition to the poor nutritional value, they’re likely to disrupt our sleeping. No use in being both sleepy and hungry.
Fasting can be tough, but with professional athletes competing at their best on empty stomachs, there’s no reason we can’t be at our best as well. As we near the last third of Ramadan, it’s easy to feel drained and lose sight of how special this experience is as a community. As Peterson said, in her distinctly Minnesotan accent, sounding like a hybrid of the Midwest USA and Canada, “It really amazes me the commitment that Husain [Abdullah] has…it’s fascinating stuff, part of the global community.”
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