Several of the world's great religions recommend a period of fasting or abstinence, and of these, the Islamic fast during the month of Ramadan is strictly observed. One whole month of intermittent fasting every year is particular to Islam. The experience of fasting teaches Muslims self­ discipline and self-restraint and reminds them of the feel­ ings of the impoverished. Fasting is not obligato...

BACKGROUND To determine whether Islamic fasting would change cerebral blood flow during Ramadan. METHODS The study group comprised 20 subjects (16 males and 4 females) on a regimen of 1 month food and water intake restriction, according to Islamic fasting ritual. Subjects were evaluated for cerebral bolo flow through a middle cerebral artery (MCA) by means of transcranial Doppler (TCD), the d...

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BACKGROUND Month-long daytime Ramadan fasting pose s major challenges to multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in Muslim countries. Physicians should have practical knowledge on the implications of fasting on MS. We present a summary of database searches (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PubMed) and a mini-symposium on Ramadan fasting and MS. In this symposium, we aimed to review the effect ...

Dear Editor, Fasting during Ramadan month is an Islamic obligation which may have side effects on vision of fasting Muslims. Previous studies showed that there was no relationship between Islamic fasting and myopia and changes in intraocular pressure due to fasting in healthy person were not considerable. In this month, an increased need for visual tasks such as studying Holy Quran, changes in ...

We aimed to assess the effect of Islamic intermittent fasting, during and outside of Ramadan, on plasma levels of leptin and ghrelin while controlling for several potential confounding variables. Eight healthy male volunteers with a mean age of 26.6±4.9 years reported to the sleep disorders center (SDC) at King Saud University on four occasions: 1) adaptation; 2) 4 weeks before Ramadan while pe...

Introduction: Millions of Muslims across the world observe Islamic fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, as well as the other specific dates in the lunar calendar year. While fasting during this month, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking from dawn to dusk. Islamic fasting is similar to alternate day fasting (ADF) since it incorporates an average of 12 hours of fasting and 12 hours of fe...

Dear Editor, One of the 5 fundamental rituals of Islam is fasting during the month of Ramadan. Islamic fasting requires abstinence from food, water, smoking and sexual intercourse between dawn and sunset.1 Different schools of Islamic teachings have different views on the effect of illness on fasting ranging from prohibiting fasting to leaving the option to fast to the believers.2 Thus, fasting...