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Ramadan has little to do with intermittent fasting: the former is a religious prescription enforced by law in some countries [1], the latter is completely up to

by zvmaz 3y ago

Ramadan has little to do with intermittent fasting: the former is a religious prescription enforced by law in some countries [1], the latter is completely up to the individual. Happy Eid. [1] https://www-lepoint-fr.translate.goog/monde/algerie-2-ans-de-prison-ferme-pour-un-non-jeuneur-lors-du-ramadan-21-10-2010-1252584_24.php?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp https://www-lepoint-fr.translate.goog/monde/algerie-2-ans-de...

axus 3y ago
Fasting is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. Maybe someone could explain what "non-intermittent" fasting would be?
- skinkestek 3y ago
  I'd say the difference is if there is some regularity to it. Intermittent fasting can be fasting Monday to Friday and only eating in the weekends like how I think one HN-er described his 5/2 diet. It can be OMAD (one meal a day) or something else. The main thing is you fast and stop fasting repeatedly. None-intermittent fasting is when you just skip food for a day like I did last week or for a few days like I did as a teenager.
  - broast 3y ago
    An important distinction is while fasting for Ramadan, you can't ingest anything at all, including water. Unlike intermittent fasting where practitioners might still have 0 calorie coffee to stay stimulated, and water to stay hydrated.
    - skinkestek 3y ago
      Agreed. I think it is correct to say that Ramadan fasting is intermittent but intermittent fasting is not Ramadan fasting, except the subset of fasting that is Muslims fasting during Ramadan. I also think some others, among them Christians, fast completely. Personally I am Christian but when I fast, the vast majority of the times it has been because I was bored or needed to focus, and I didn't punish myself by breaking fast once a day but just went without food a day or two or three until I became bored of that too or family demanded I ate.
qntty 3y ago
Intermittent fasting is when you fast intermittently
- iso1631 3y ago
  Well if going 10 hours (say in Scotland in winter) without food is "fasting", I do that pretty much every day, I rarely eat or drink between 2200 and 0900, and rarely eat between 2000 and about 1230 Not convinced that not drinking water during the day is a good idea, especially in hot countries
  - shepherdjerred 3y ago
    You're right, most people do... > Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.
    - mdp2021 3y ago
      To be honest, "breakfast" was more probably originally meant as "breaking the discipline" (see form "fasten"), and only then translated to the action without general involvement of discipline.
    - iso1631 3y ago
      https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/breakfast-adults-skipping-meals-survey-b1840280.html https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/breakfast-adults-sk... > One in four adults skip breakfast most days, says survey
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - shepherdjerred 3y ago
        Which means they're participating in a comparatively longer fast
  - 3y ago
JumpinJack_Cash 3y ago
> > enforced by law in some countries "Enforced by law"...if you want to eat in the privacy of your home that's between yourself and Allah. And besides...lockdowns were also enforced by law, but the law will never have enough men to police all the population, it would require a 1:1 ratio or thereabout. That's why the physical world is important as opposed to the virtual world where the ratio can be reduced drastically, that's also why I never understood the fixation with the 2nd amendment beyond a certain treshold more stuff and provisions are only a waste of money.
- beebmam 3y ago
  I think the point is: should we really be enforcing religious laws in our societies? Seems deeply coercive and unethical
  - JumpinJack_Cash 3y ago
    There will always be somebody who believes in their stuff so much that will try to enforce on others. And that type of personality usually also aggregates in groups. You are essentially able to escape from them as long as you are in the physical world, but in the virtual world everything can be policed much more easily.
  - mardifoufs 3y ago
    You can eat in practically every muslim country during ramadan, if you aren't muslim. It will be hard to find open restaurants during the day, but no one will bother a non-muslim about eating openly.
natrys 3y ago
At least it doesn't seem like the law in question was specifically about enforcing Ramadan, rather a sinister abuse of the general "Blasphamy law"[1] which exists in some non-muslim countries too. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20171211105140/http://freethoughtreport.com/countries/africa-northern-africa/algeria/ https://web.archive.org/web/20171211105140/http://freethough...

by zvmaz 3y ago

axus 3y ago

Fasting is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. Maybe someone could explain what "non-intermittent" fasting would be?

skinkestek 3y ago
I'd say the difference is if there is some regularity to it. Intermittent fasting can be fasting Monday to Friday and only eating in the weekends like how I think one HN-er described his 5/2 diet. It can be OMAD (one meal a day) or something else. The main thing is you fast and stop fasting repeatedly. None-intermittent fasting is when you just skip food for a day like I did last week or for a few days like I did as a teenager.
- broast 3y ago
  An important distinction is while fasting for Ramadan, you can't ingest anything at all, including water. Unlike intermittent fasting where practitioners might still have 0 calorie coffee to stay stimulated, and water to stay hydrated.
  - skinkestek 3y ago
    Agreed. I think it is correct to say that Ramadan fasting is intermittent but intermittent fasting is not Ramadan fasting, except the subset of fasting that is Muslims fasting during Ramadan. I also think some others, among them Christians, fast completely. Personally I am Christian but when I fast, the vast majority of the times it has been because I was bored or needed to focus, and I didn't punish myself by breaking fast once a day but just went without food a day or two or three until I became bored of that too or family demanded I ate.

qntty 3y ago

Intermittent fasting is when you fast intermittently

iso1631 3y ago
Well if going 10 hours (say in Scotland in winter) without food is "fasting", I do that pretty much every day, I rarely eat or drink between 2200 and 0900, and rarely eat between 2000 and about 1230 Not convinced that not drinking water during the day is a good idea, especially in hot countries
- shepherdjerred 3y ago
  You're right, most people do... > Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.
  - mdp2021 3y ago
    To be honest, "breakfast" was more probably originally meant as "breaking the discipline" (see form "fasten"), and only then translated to the action without general involvement of discipline.
  - iso1631 3y ago
    https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/breakfast-adults-skipping-meals-survey-b1840280.html https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/breakfast-adults-sk... > One in four adults skip breakfast most days, says survey
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - shepherdjerred 3y ago
      Which means they're participating in a comparatively longer fast
- 3y ago

JumpinJack_Cash 3y ago

> > enforced by law in some countries "Enforced by law"...if you want to eat in the privacy of your home that's between yourself and Allah. And besides...lockdowns were also enforced by law, but the law will never have enough men to police all the population, it would require a 1:1 ratio or thereabout. That's why the physical world is important as opposed to the virtual world where the ratio can be reduced drastically, that's also why I never understood the fixation with the 2nd amendment beyond a certain treshold more stuff and provisions are only a waste of money.

beebmam 3y ago
I think the point is: should we really be enforcing religious laws in our societies? Seems deeply coercive and unethical
- JumpinJack_Cash 3y ago
  There will always be somebody who believes in their stuff so much that will try to enforce on others. And that type of personality usually also aggregates in groups. You are essentially able to escape from them as long as you are in the physical world, but in the virtual world everything can be policed much more easily.
- mardifoufs 3y ago
  You can eat in practically every muslim country during ramadan, if you aren't muslim. It will be hard to find open restaurants during the day, but no one will bother a non-muslim about eating openly.

natrys 3y ago

At least it doesn't seem like the law in question was specifically about enforcing Ramadan, rather a sinister abuse of the general "Blasphamy law"[1] which exists in some non-muslim countries too. [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20171211105140/http://freethoughtreport.com/countries/africa-northern-africa/algeria/ https://web.archive.org/web/20171211105140/http://freethough...