Boosting your family’s immunity is your responsibility ... This is how women prepare Ramadan tables in the Kurna crisis

Larissa Slaei - Beirut

The holy month of Ramadan is distinguished by its family rituals, and it is known that housewives prepare many different varieties for the table of the month of Ramadan, and the preparations for them to receive this holy month.

But in light of these difficult economic conditions, and with the spread of the Corona virus and the imposition of home quarantine, how will their preparations for this month be in terms of preparing tables and Ramadan rituals? 

Is there a healthy nutritional method that housewives can adopt to help prevent disease and strengthen the immune system? What does the dietitian advise in conjunction with domestic isolation for fear of an outbreak of corona virus?

Al-Jazeera Net met some women who talked about their preparations to receive this blessed month. What did they say?

A different Ramadan table.
The housewife, Bassima Sewa, makes early preparation for preparing food items for her family, which takes a long time to prepare such as pies, samosa, fried kibbeh, pizza and pastries.

Even in the light of the Corona crisis, she tried to prepare all these items to keep the breakfast table that her family used to get early on, and indicated that she would adopt one main diet rich in vitamins, with the need to have power or fetish on the table.

And because Ramadan this year will be limited to the family only, Basima will not spend most of her time preparing food as before, and she will use this month to perform worship properly, because it is not only a month for food, it is not wise to waste it by preparing meals, Ramadan dishes and different juices.

"In short, kitchen time should not be allowed to overcome the religious duties imposed this month," she tells Al Jazeera Net. 

The month of Ramadan is less crowded and
Mervat Effendi organizes her time and does not put herself in a dilemma to reconcile the performance of homework and religious duties in this blessed month, especially since the day of Ramadan is long, and many actions can be done. For Mervat, this month is less crowded for her family, especially since the house used to receive guests daily.

And you see that the morning period can be devoted to the comfort of the woman, then it starts in the afternoon to prepare breakfast, and after the afternoon prayer she sits on her carpet for a quarter of an hour reading the available books of God Almighty and remembers her remembrances.

In light of the economic crisis, you acknowledge that the diverse Arab cuisine with its famous dishes will be affected by the Corona crisis, it is not possible to purchase all the needs as every year, and the purchase will be limited to what is necessary for the table of salad, soup and a daily dish that is beneficial to health, and the purchase of sweets will be avoided and replaced with fruits or the preparation of light types of Desserts such as cake and konafa with cheese.

Mervat regrets that Ramadan this year will lose some of its joy in terms of family visits, especially on Ramadan Iftar in light of the application of social divergence.

Healthy Nutrition During Ramadan
Neven Allam, a nutrition specialist, offers a set of the most important basic rules of nutrition and healthy eating methods during Ramadan in the context of quarantine, the first of which is the necessity of awareness of the correct nutritional behaviors that must be followed.

Teach your family healthy habits and
advise Nevin to expedite eating breakfast, because the stomach is empty, which reduces blood sugar, and it is preferable to eat foods that are quick to digest and absorb such as dates that supply the body with sugar, and drink water that should not be cold.

With regard to suhoor, she considers oats, whole wheat bread and apples as suitable options for suhoor, because they contain a high content of fiber, in addition to giving them a feeling of satiety.

Prefer to eat low-fat milk at suhoor, which is a great source of protein and calcium, and helps to overcome thirst throughout the day, and maintains a normal body position.

It is preferable to consume an appropriate amount of complex carbohydrates, as it helps to store energy and release it slowly during long hours of fasting, including barley, wheat, oats, millet (sorghum), semolina, beans, lentils and wheat flour.

Boost your family's immunity and the dietitian
recommends housewife to boost the immune system, by preparing foods and juices rich in vitamins.

Vitamin C: improves the functioning of the immune system and is present in orange juice.

Vitamin D:  High in fish, salmon, sardines, swordfish and tuna.

Vitamin A:  Available in animal products, and in vegetables such as sweet potatoes, green cabbage, and carrots.

Omega 3:  in blue fish, salmon and selenium, and is also available in whole grains and meat.

B vitamins  B2 (B2, B2, B2): vegetables are very rich in them, such as parsley, hot pepper, coriander, chives and mint, and recent studies have confirmed that these vegetables boost immunity. Vitamin B12 is also found in meat, molluscs and crustaceans.

Polyphenols:  These are organic antioxidant compounds that boost immunity. They are found in vegetables and spices such as thyme, rosemary, and basil.

Avoid these habits and
alert the dietitian that eating more than needed does not mean strengthening the body. Rather, it can negatively affect health.

It also warns against eating fried foods, sweets and foods that contain a lot of fat and sugar, as they do not provide enough nutrition, but may harm the body.

In addition to avoiding caffeinated drinks, such as tea, coffee, and cola, caffeine is a diuretic and stimulates water loss faster, which causes thirst.

Golden Year
Nevin stresses the importance of following the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the manner of eating: one third for food, one third for drink, and one third for breath, where he said, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, in the authentic hadith: “Adam’s did not fill a bowl of evil from the belly, according to Ibn Adam, eating food that crucified it, If inevitably, a third of his food and a third of his drink and a third of himself.

According to the nutritionist, the message of Ramadan is to learn to control and control self-control, so don't let your diet deteriorate by the time of breaking the fast.