Some Health and Fitness Tips for Ramadan and beyond: Part 2

Assalamu Alaikum.

[Here’s Part 1.]

[My apologies to anyone who might have been waiting for Part 2.]

Okay, I know this is quite late but it might be of benefit to someone out there.

In Part 1, I uploaded a health guide which mentioned the common problems that occur to those who are fasting. As I’ve suffered from some of them, I thought I’d share my experiences.

[Note: Please spare me your sympathy.]

Before I list the various problems, let me just point out one thing. No one should say that there is “no permanent cure” for a problem. This is not a statement that should come out of a Muslim’s mouth.

Allah can do ALL things and He has made a cure for every disease.

So, the first thing that we should do is turn to Him and ask Him to cure our bodies. The next thing is to use what the Prophet (salallahu alaihi wasallam) has prescribed.

Believe me, I used so many medicines. The three things that actually solved my problems were:

1) Dua

2) Black seed oil

3) Cupping (hijamah)

That’s it. Only the Prophetic remedies worked for me, subhan Allah.

[By the way, we are allowed to use other types of medicines. I’m just saying that they never really worked for me.]

[As I’m short of time, this is a summarised account of my experiences.]

The Problems:

1) Gastritis / Acidity / Heartburn:

This can get aggravated when fasting. Here’s what you need to do:

a) Stop thinking of fasting as something that will harm you and think of it as something that will help cure this problem. Do lots of dua.

b) Break your fast with some dates and water. Do NOT eat anything else until you’ve prayed Maghrib.

c) Say goodbye to oily and spicy foods.

d) Yoghurt at the time of suhoor helps.

e) Drink black seed oil (half a spoon or one spoon at suhoor and another at iftar).

Trust me, long term use of black seed oil REALLY helps keep this problem in check.

Be sure to use a good brand like Sweet Sunnah. (Many of the other brands mix the oil with something else).

f) Talbeena (check Ibn Al-Qayyim’s book in Part 1) can help. It’s made by boiling barley in water. Drinking it at the time of suhoor helps.

g) Try to avoid red meat and seafood (apart from fish). They’re really hard to digest.

h) Try to stop (or at least decrease) drinking tea and coffee. They can really aggravate the whole issue.

i) Don’t get stressed out. Stress is something that causes this condition to get worse.

j) Cupping helps improve this problem as well.

2) Migraines:

a) Do lots of dua.

b) If you get a migraine whilst fasting, first say the dua for pain.

c) Rubbing black seed oil over your head REALLY works. However, be warned: it can turn your hair white. That’s what happened to me. Still, my migraines decreased. It does take 2-3 days to have an effect.

d) Drinking black seed oil regularly helps too. I used to have helmet attacks and they stopped after I took the oil for 2 months.

e) Cupping really helps. I had it done for migraines just before Ramadan. So far, so good, alhamdulillah.

f) Drink lots of water as dehydration can cause migraines. Also, coconut water helps (slightly).

3) UTI (Urinary Tract Infection):

This happens when you haven’t been drinking much water.

a) Drink lots of water.

b) Drinking coconut water really helps.

c) Cranberry juice is said to be helpful. (It seemed to help me.)

d) Black seed oil works for everything so try that too.

4) Body pain:

This one might sound strange but I’ve noticed that everyone in Dubai seems to be having body pain during summer (it’s cold inside and hot outside so…).

Obviously, this may distract a person during the night prayers.

Black seed oil REALLY helps. Try to rub it over the area and keep it on overnight. You’ll feel the pain decrease in 2 days, insha-Allah.

Okay, this was a messy list, I know but perhaps it might be of benefit to someone who suffers from one of these problems, insha-Allah.

PS. If anyone wants to know more about any of the above, please feel free to ask.