When we are fasting, this is the time for us to maintain our intake of food and drink. Eating nutritious and nutritious foods is certainly the menu of choice for most people when fasting. However, when fasting our bodies need more nutritional intake and nutrients than when we are not fasting. However, not a few people still consume unhealthy foods and drinks.
For example, the habit of consuming caffeine in coffee. It cannot be denied that coffee is indeed a type of beverage that is favored by most Indonesians. So it is not surprising that most Indonesians cannot be separated from coffee consumption every day. Unfortunately, during the fasting month, the habit of drinking coffee cannot be done as usual.
Even though coffee is included in one type of drink that contains lots of caffeine and can make the mind more relaxed. However, you must still be able to maintain your coffee intake while fasting. This is because coffee can be bad for your body, especially when you are fasting. However, there are also most people who still consume coffee when breaking the fast and also at dawn. So, can you consume coffee during the fasting month?
Is it okay to consume coffee during the fasting month?
This question is certainly a hot topic of conversation among coffee lovers. This is because while fasting, we are not allowed to consume coffee carelessly because it will interfere with our health. If we don’t control ourselves in consuming coffee, of course the health of our stomach and our bodies will be threatened, especially when fasting.
The prohibition on whether or not to consume coffee while fasting is certainly not always an absolute thing. Drinking coffee when breaking or fasting is of course still allowed as long as you pay attention to coffee intake during fasting. If you comply with the rules for consuming coffee, of course it will not have a bad impact on your health. For this reason, as long as you are allowed to consume coffee during the fasting month, you still have to pay attention to the amount of coffee intake for your body.
However, people who are accustomed to consuming coffee will experience quite severe effects if they stop drinking coffee suddenly. For most people, consuming coffee, of course, has a good effect, where coffee can increase alertness, focus the brain at work and avoid excessive drowsiness. In addition, coffee has antioxidant properties that can help the body fight free radicals. This is because coffee contains caffeine which is a stimulant substance that can affect the central nervous system.
Of course, it is not surprising that people who are accustomed to consuming coffee will experience some side effects if they are forced to not drink coffee at all. The bad effects that arise when you don’t consume coffee will be the same when you consume a large amount of coffee. What you will experience when you suddenly stop drinking coffee is that you will feel a headache and a fairly weak body and get tired easily. In addition, the focus of your brain and your concentration will be disturbed while working.
The side effect when you consume too much caffeine is that it will cause the sugar level in the blood to rise. This is because coffee contains added sugar which can make your blood rise drastically when fasting. In some people, coffee may cause stomach acid to increase so that stomach ulcers will recur.
Apart from the side effects of coffee consumption, of course you don’t want this condition when you are fasting. Therefore, when fasting you are required to pay attention to caffeine intake. Not only coffee, you will also get caffeine easily from other types of drinks without you knowing it, such as soft drinks or tea. Well, that’s why you shouldn’t consume too much coffee when fasting. It is enough only 2 glasses per day when breaking and also sahur.
Healthy Tips for Drinking Coffee While Fasting
Apart from being allowed to drink coffee during fasting, of course there are several things that must be considered in consuming coffee. This of course cannot be separated from tips and also healthy guidelines for consuming coffee during fasting. Some of these healthy tips are of course very important for you, especially for coffee lovers. So, what are the tips to do when consuming coffee while fasting? Let’s just look at the following!
Choose a coffee type
The first tip that you must do is to choose the type of coffee. This is because different types of coffee certainly have different effects and properties. The type of coffee you consume certainly determines the impact you will experience. As you know that currently there are many decaf coffee available, namely coffee without caffeine content. More precisely, coffee which contains less caffeine, which is about 98% of the caffeine in this type of decaf coffee has been removed.
Therefore, during the fasting month, you are advised to choose this type of coffee. The caffeine content in decaf coffee is of course different because it depends on the grains used for the coffee. As reported in the Hufftington Post, a study conducted by experts from the University of Florida in 2006 stated that you need to consume 5-10 cups of decaf coffee to feel the same effect as high-caffeinated coffee in general. Therefore, these very large quantities are very common when consumed during fasting.
Reduce coffee intake during the fasting month
If you don’t want to consume decaf type of coffee, then the next tip that you must do is to limit your coffee intake. In reducing coffee intake during the fasting month, you are not directly required to limit it. However, do it slowly so that you will not experience the bad effects directly.
Reducing coffee intake would be better if done on the first day of fasting. However, if you don’t have time to do this, then you can reduce your caffeine intake when you start fasting. However, this condition will make it a little difficult for you because you change this habit suddenly. For that, stop the habit of drinking coffee should not be done suddenly, but must be done slowly. This is intended to minimize the side effects that you may experience.
As reported by the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, where the safe dose of caffeine for one day is around 400 mg for adults. This amount is equivalent to 2-3 cups of black coffee. However, this amount is recommended for people with regular meal schedules for 3 times, not for people who are fasting. If you are fasting, then the best step you should take is to reduce your caffeine intake to 200-300 mg per day.
If you are accustomed to consuming coffee intake in a day, then when you are fasting, of course you have to find alternatives so you can stick with a cup of coffee a day. The way you can do this is by using a smaller cup. That way the amount of coffee you consume can be reduced. The good amount of coffee consumed is 2 cups with a smaller cup size for sahur and also iftar.
Choose the right time
If during fasting the time you use to consume free coffee and anytime, morning, evening and night. This is different during the fasti
ng month where you are required to consume coffee at certain times. You can only drink coffee when breaking the fast and also at dawn. You need to know that coffee has stimulant and diuretic properties. These properties can certainly cause more urine production, which can increase the risk of dehydration.
If you consume coffee at dawn, then the thick coffee taste in your mouth will make your mouth feel thirsty faster. It is also feared that the diuretic properties in coffee can make your body dehydrated due to lack of fluids. Therefore, consuming coffee at dawn is not the right time for you.
The best time we recommend consuming coffee during the fasting month is one or two hours after breaking the fast. If you drink coffee directly when breaking your fast, it is feared that your stomach wall will become irritated due to an empty stomach. For this reason, before you consume coffee, make sure you first fill your stomach with rice or other heavy foods to avoid unwanted things.
During the fasting month, you are prohibited from consuming coffee hours after tarawih or two hours before bedtime. Of course we all know that coffee will make our drowsiness disappear. If you consume coffee in the hours before you go to sleep, you can be sure you will not feel sleepy. If this condition occurs, it will disturb your sleep cycle so that it will make you sleep less. Even though the sleep time needed during fasting is shorter than before fasting.
Reduce suggestions about coffee
For people who have been consuming coffee for a long time, of course, coffee rarely has an effect such as loss of drowsiness or a fitter body. For most people, coffee is often suggested to get rid of drowsiness so that when that person consumes it, they won’t feel drowsy. Regardless of suggestion or not, of course, don’t think too much about the fact that coffee won’t get rid of drowsiness. When you consume coffee, of course you will think coffee will relieve sleepiness when in fact you are sleepy. Especially when fasting, you are advised to get more rest so that you can be fitter while fasting.
Limiting coffee intake when fasting is certainly something you have to do. This is none other than so that you stay healthy during fasting even though you don’t stop your habit of consuming coffee. Those are some things about whether it is permissible to consume coffee during the fasting month and smart tips for consuming coffee while fasting. Hope it is useful!
