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Haven't almost 1Bn people intermittently fasted during Ramadan for centuries? Shouldn't there be enough evidence to get an idea if there's possibly a correlati

Haven't almost 1Bn people intermittently fasted during Ramadan for centuries? Shouldn't there be enough evidence to get an idea if there's possibly a correlation?

sieste 2y ago
The benefits can be negated by what you eat outside the fasting window. Anecdotally, a few guys I knew feasted on baclava and super sweet tea first chance they got. also not drinking any water during the fast, especially in hot climates might be net unhealthy independent of any fasting benefits. I don't know any studies on that though, happy to stand corrected...
himinlomax 2y ago
They also abstain from drinking water. Medical science has clearly shown that this is bad for your kidneys. Possibly catastrophically bad. Who should I believe, science or medieval superstitions?
- decremental 2y ago
  [dead]
- thisislife2 2y ago
  Then religious muslims around the world, who all fast every year, must have the highest rate of medical issues related to their kidneys. Is there any such studies showing this?
  - qzw 2y ago
    Any studies done on potential health effects due to Ramadan will need to deal with the issue of noncompliance, i.e. to what degree do people observing Ramadan actually stick to the fast and not “cheat” at all. But I can imagine that due to the religious significance of the fast, you likely won’t get accurate self-reports of noncompliance. It would also be hard to conduct an accurate observational study since the subjects’ behavior will change due to being observed, again, because of the religious aspects. Without good noncompliance data, I’d be skeptical of any firm conclusions.
    - thisislife2 2y ago
      If there isn't any evidence to back it up, then it's just an assumption.
  - pvaldes 2y ago
    Should be compensated by the lack of alcohol intake
thebiss 2y ago
There have been recent studies on the impact of fasting during pregnancy. Here's two: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8377932/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8377932/ > A total of 215 women were included in the study, 123 women fasted, and 92 women did not fast. Only 2.8% of women knew that fasting is forbidden in pregnancy. Sixty five percent of women reported weakness as the main reason for not fasting. The rate of gestational diabetes, pregnancy induced hypertension and preterm delivery was higher among women who fasted (17% vs 14%, 7% vs 2%, 9% vs 9%) respectively, compared to non-fasting women, but were not found statistically significant. There was no difference in anthropometric measurements of newborn, among both groups. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9931121/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9931121/ > Fasting during pregnancy was associated with reduced birthweight, in particular for fasting during the first trimester (-352ˑ92g, 95% CI: -537ˑ38; -168ˑ46). Neither dietary composition nor altered sleep were directly associated with birthweight. However, dietary composition during Ramadan outside of fasting hours seems to moderate the fasting-birthweight association, which disappeared for women switching to high-fat diets.
kamaal 2y ago
>>Haven't almost 1Bn people intermittently fasted during Ramadan for centuries? As a Muslim, I can tell you we tend to over eat, generally after we break our fast. It kind of defeats the whole point of fasting. In most cases its unavoidable as breaking fast is a social event for most people. Im guessing before food got abundant the results would be quite different, but again back then most of the world had little to eat any way. The goals of fasting during Ramadan are not to train people for intermittent fasting. Its because the religion/god said so, and to some extent make you feel how the poor feel as thats how life works for them everyday. There is also a thing about fasting every Monday and Thursday which pious people tend to do often. But in general I have seen only good things happen to people who eat less. Muslims or not.

Haven't almost 1Bn people intermittently fasted during Ramadan for centuries? Shouldn't there be enough evidence to get an idea if there's possibly a correlation?

sieste 2y ago

The benefits can be negated by what you eat outside the fasting window. Anecdotally, a few guys I knew feasted on baclava and super sweet tea first chance they got. also not drinking any water during the fast, especially in hot climates might be net unhealthy independent of any fasting benefits. I don't know any studies on that though, happy to stand corrected...

himinlomax 2y ago

They also abstain from drinking water. Medical science has clearly shown that this is bad for your kidneys. Possibly catastrophically bad. Who should I believe, science or medieval superstitions?

decremental 2y ago
[dead]
thisislife2 2y ago
Then religious muslims around the world, who all fast every year, must have the highest rate of medical issues related to their kidneys. Is there any such studies showing this?
- qzw 2y ago
  Any studies done on potential health effects due to Ramadan will need to deal with the issue of noncompliance, i.e. to what degree do people observing Ramadan actually stick to the fast and not “cheat” at all. But I can imagine that due to the religious significance of the fast, you likely won’t get accurate self-reports of noncompliance. It would also be hard to conduct an accurate observational study since the subjects’ behavior will change due to being observed, again, because of the religious aspects. Without good noncompliance data, I’d be skeptical of any firm conclusions.
  - thisislife2 2y ago
    If there isn't any evidence to back it up, then it's just an assumption.
- pvaldes 2y ago
  Should be compensated by the lack of alcohol intake

thebiss 2y ago

There have been recent studies on the impact of fasting during pregnancy. Here's two: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8377932/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8377932/ > A total of 215 women were included in the study, 123 women fasted, and 92 women did not fast. Only 2.8% of women knew that fasting is forbidden in pregnancy. Sixty five percent of women reported weakness as the main reason for not fasting. The rate of gestational diabetes, pregnancy induced hypertension and preterm delivery was higher among women who fasted (17% vs 14%, 7% vs 2%, 9% vs 9%) respectively, compared to non-fasting women, but were not found statistically significant. There was no difference in anthropometric measurements of newborn, among both groups. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9931121/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9931121/ > Fasting during pregnancy was associated with reduced birthweight, in particular for fasting during the first trimester (-352ˑ92g, 95% CI: -537ˑ38; -168ˑ46). Neither dietary composition nor altered sleep were directly associated with birthweight. However, dietary composition during Ramadan outside of fasting hours seems to moderate the fasting-birthweight association, which disappeared for women switching to high-fat diets.

kamaal 2y ago

>>Haven't almost 1Bn people intermittently fasted during Ramadan for centuries? As a Muslim, I can tell you we tend to over eat, generally after we break our fast. It kind of defeats the whole point of fasting. In most cases its unavoidable as breaking fast is a social event for most people. Im guessing before food got abundant the results would be quite different, but again back then most of the world had little to eat any way. The goals of fasting during Ramadan are not to train people for intermittent fasting. Its because the religion/god said so, and to some extent make you feel how the poor feel as thats how life works for them everyday. There is also a thing about fasting every Monday and Thursday which pious people tend to do often. But in general I have seen only good things happen to people who eat less. Muslims or not.