Be cool during Ramadan
By Mohammed Junaid Azmuth
Summer in the Middle East is no joke. Temperatures, especially in the Gulf , push over 45 degrees with near maximum humidity. This is a problem when you want to exercise. To understand how to deal with the heat, first I’ll explain how your body regulates heat.
When you’re exposed to high tempereatures, the body will also increase its internal tempereature from between 36 and 37 degrees celcius. If this temperautre starts increasing, the body will use different mechanisms to cool itself down. One of the most common methods is to sweat. A body pushes water to it’s surfaces through the pores of your skin, evaporation occurs and that amplifies the body’s cooling process.
This process is harder with higher humidity because evaporation can only occur if the water content in the air is low. If the water levels in the air are high then evaporation of your sweat is not efficient. In these scenarios the body sweats profusely without any cooling until you become dehydrated and suffer heat exhaustion (which is when your internal body tempereature pushes over 37 degrees). This is a common problem when the humidity index is above 85 per cent. Whether you are training, or just relaxing - the following steps must be taken to make living in the heat bearable.
#1 Eat fresh, juicy fruit and vegetables:
Food like water melons, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes are all high in cardohydrates, electrolytes and water. These foods also have good carbohydrates, which means that the body doesn’t have to use high amounts of energy to digest them. Energy used for digestion, equals heat production. Heat production equals sweating.
Eat smaller amounts regularly to allow for proper digestion and to lower the stress on the body. Remember, the more you eat in one meal the harder and longer the body has to work to digest it and more of it is stored as fat. And fat is an insulator, so the higher your fat content, the more uncomfortable you will be in summer.
#2 Drink water regularly:
It is vital to drink at least 250ml every hour to avoid dehydration. Don’t drink iced water as a body has to use seven times more energy to warm the water before it can digest it. To allow quick absorption ensure that water is not cooler than 12 degrees. The fluid will also regulate the kidneys and keep them healthy. The water doesn’t only help cool the system directly, but also indirectly because it helps move all the waste products. So if your’re running to the toilet every 40 minutes, that’s healthy.
#3 Keep cool:
Avoid the outdoors, especially between 9am and 5pm. Stay in a cool environment at a tempereature between 20 to 23 degrees. This is the optimal zone for a person to function comfortably. Studies have shown that at 23 degrees your body can maintain an internal tempereature without strain and humidity at this temperature can actually assist in the normal functioning of a body.
Note: As hot as it might be don’t turn your airconditioners down to 15 degrees. Physiologically this will effect your body in two ways:
– Air conditioners dry the surrounding air which then causes a forced evaporation from your body so you can lose more water inside your office than outside.
– You waste energy trying to warm up. Airconditioning is another reason there is so many respiratory complaints in summer. The drying of the surrounding air dries out your trachea and bronchioles (wind pipe and secondary pipes to the lunges). This dryness makes you prone to infection.
4# When exercising, keep the sessions short and moderate:
This means that you should not be doing any sport for more than about 30 minutes in an enclosed environment at 23 degrees. Don’t consider activity outside.
One of the mistakes people make is to train either early or later at night. But your body needs sleep. Sleep is the only time when your body truly regenerates. To train either later or earlier can disturb sleep patterns, this can have a negative reaction physiologically that can result in a weaker immune system. Any sport is fine, so long as it’s done indoors. And there’s nothing stopping you from training twice in a day for, say, 15 minutes of work at 75 - 80 per cent of your standing heart rate.
5# Don’t try and increase your stamina by drinking more sport drinks:
This is dangerous. Many sport drinks have been derived by scientists through the analysis of your sugar and electrolyte concentrations in your urine. Urine is an excrement, a by-product of unwanted anomalies from within your body. So if your body does not require it, then why put it back in your system?
The carbohydrates and electrolytes in these drinks are often too concentrated and demand you drink ridiculous amounts of water to avoid stressing your system. Do not get me wrong, carbs during exercise is fine, but ensure that you dilute the sports drink. So for every 500ml of energy drink you buy, dilute it with another 500ml of water. This would be the ideal concentration for efficient absorbption and function. The best though, is still just water.
If you are struggling with the heat, however, the best method used by sport teams and indeed some mining corporations, is the assisted evaporation method. This simply requires a spray bottle filled with water and a fan. You spray your limbs and your head whilst sitting in front of a standard cooling fan. This assists the body into rapidly cooling and reaching its balanced state. Remember: it’s the drying of the water droplets, which increase the surface area for cooling.
Above all: DO NOT TRAIN IF YOU HAVEN’T HYDRATED PROPERLY DURING THE DAY.
This can put your body under more stress so instead of the body remaining healthy, it’s under pressure to play catch up. Don’t try and cram all the water in a short space of time either. This results in overhydration and a bloated feeling that is just as dangerous as dehydration. Your body under these circumstances has to get to “normal“ first, before it can start concentrating on its normal function.
This is particularly important for the muslim readers who are preparing for Ramadan. If your body is playing catch up it puts you at a big disadvantage during the fasting period and can result in lower immunity and possible kidny infections.
Heat acclimitization is a very long process that is not even a perfect adaptation. Arab nomadic tribes, Kalahari bushmen and Australian Aborigines are examples of people who have spent their lives in the harshest conditions in the world, but even these people have to abide by the laws of physiology.
They too have to drink water regularly to survive, eat shrubs and tubers that have high water and nutrient content and they too seek shade and suitable times for travel.
So be smart, hydrate correctly, train smartly
and be cool this Ramadan.
Ramadan health list:
Avoid
– Fatty and fried foods as they cause indigestion, heartburn, and weight problems.
– Also avoid those containing too much sugar.
– Do not overeat especially at Suhur.
– Avoid too much tea as it is a diuretic and cause you to lose mineral salts that your body needs during the day.
Drink
– As much water or fruit juices as possible between iftar and bedtime so that your body may adjust fluid levels in time.
Eat
– Slow-digesting foods rich in fibre, rather than fast-digesting foods.
– Slow-digesting foods are foods that contain grains and seeds like wheat, oats, beans, lentils, whole meal flour, unpolished rice, etc. (complex carbohydrates).
– Fast-burning foods are foods that contain sugar, white flour, etc. (refined carbohydrates).
– Fibre rich foods are mostly bran based foods like whole wheat, grains and seeds, vegetables and fruits.
– The diet should have a high fibre intake but also be well balanced, from each food group; fruits, vegetables, meat/ chicken/fish, bread/cereals and dairy products.
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