“Suhoor” is basic meal for fasting

Nutritionist, Heba Akef Rosas said that, suhoor is a basic meal that provides the body with energy to do the everyday activities without feeling fatigue during fasting, confirming that, the Prophet Mohammed recommended having this meal, and neglecting it will lead to the loss of muscle mass and to  slow the metabolism of the body.

During an interview with “Arab Today”, said that suhoor meal is important because it activates the digestive system to work more efficiently, maintains a balanced level of sugar in the blood, prevents the feeling of laziness, inactivity and headache and helps to reduce the feeling of hunger and thirst.

She advises choosing useful kinds of foods during suhoor that contains all ingredients, such as starches that reduce hunger, proteins found in vegetables with high percentage of water that helps reduce the thrist feeling, and potassium found in dates as they contain simple sugars that are easy to digest and absorb, and have a number of fibers that prevent constipation. Eating a banana during suhoor can also reduce thirst, along with dried apricots and milk. She also advises avoiding salted foods like as pickles, hot spices, salty cheese and canned foods that can cause severe thirst during the day.

Rosas suggested some suhoor meals like, “12 of brown bread loaf, 2 slices of white cheese, chickpeas, beans, cucumber, fresh tomatoes, glass of milk, 5 dates, a cup of milk with oatmeal and a large spoon of raisins”, along with salads that are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibers such as, fattoush dish with pieces of toast, tabbouleh with lettuce, cucumber salad with mint, radish salad with celery, green apples, pomegranate and olive oil.