Family Diet In Islam: The Importance of Food and Correct Nutritional Habits
Family Diet In Islam:
The Importance of Food and
Correct Nutritional Habits
Food
is an essential prerequisite for life and as such the primary goal of
eating and drinking is to enable the body to function normally. With
food, or the lack of it, the destinies of individuals are greatly
influenced. We should "eat to live", and "not live
to eat". The Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) recommended even for
pious man the quantity of food "which is just sufficient to keep his
back-bone erect".
Nutrition is a matter of life-long eating
habits which become set with age. Dietary patterns also vary from one
person to another according to the difference of cultural and geographic
environment to another. To ensure a proper supply of the essential
nutrients, we must combine food sources of these nutritients in the
right amounts. This results in a healthy well-balanced diet.
A BALANCED DIET
A balanced diet consists of food from the five basic food groups in the correct proportions. That is:
Bread and cereal group - (bread, breakfast cereals, pasta, rice - important nutrients CHO, vitamin B, dietary fibre)
Fats
and oils group - (margarine, oils, mayonnaise, salad dressing) -
important nutrients - essential fatty acids, vitamin A.D.E.)
Meat and meat alternatives - (meat, chicken, fish, eggs, legumes, including
Soya - important nutrient -protein, iron, vitamin B)
Milk and milk products - (milk, cheese, yoghurts - important nutrients -
calcium, phosphorus, vitamins)
Fruit and vegetables - (all types - important nutrients include vitamin &
minerals especially vitamin A & C. and fibre)
Having food from the five basic food groups during the day ensures that the diet consists of varieties of nutrients.
Breakfast
is the most important meal of the day. A great number of adults and
children eat an inadequate breakfast or skip it altogether. A good
breakfast should emphasize complex carbohydrate and should provide
between 25-30 % of the energy requirements recommended daily, and
vitamins, minerals and fibre. For example; wholewheat bread, low-fat
spread, cheese/tomato, yoghurt or milk with muesli, all-bran flakes,
weetbix or cooked oats and fruit. Here the emphasis is on dietary fibre.
The old view point was that food fibre is only necessary for
regular movement of the bowels. Nowadays researchers are investigating
the connection between food fibre and several typical western diseases
such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, cancer of the colon,
overweight, hypertension, diverticulosis etc. Surveys show that these
conditions are less common among groups of people following a high-fibre
diet.
According to the following Hadith Sahl bin Sa`d (r.a.)
said: "I did not see the Prophet (S.A.W.S.) take sifted flour ever since
Allah sent him till Allah took his breath".
And then he went on
to explain this: "We used to grind it and blow it off. So what was
blown off, went away, and what was remained, we cooked and then we ate."
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE DIET
Islam enjoins us to
have a balance diet in order to have a variety of nutrients. When we
look at verses from the Holy Qura'n, the recommended foods indicate
nutrient density. It states:
"O you people! Eat of what is on earth lawful and good!" (2:168)
"So eat of (meats), on which Allah's name hath been pronounced if ye have faith in his signs." (6:118)
"The game of the sea and its food are permitted to you." (5 :99)
"Pure milk, easy and agreeable to swallow for those who drink." (16:66)
"He
it is who produceth gardens with trellises and without, and dates, and
tilth with produce of all kinds and olives and pomegranetes, similar and
different, eat of their fruit in season." (16:141)
These
recommended foods mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, will certainly fulfill
daily protein, carbohydrates, fat and vitamins requirements.
NUTRITION DURING THE LIFE CYCLE
The diet of a pregnant woman has an effect on the development of the foetus and the course of pregnancy and confinement.
Eating
a sensible well-balanced diet of protein (meat, fish, cheese) milk,
fresh fruits and vegetables, increased amounts of carbohydrates,
especially fibre, reducing fat, will help to provide the pregnant woman
with energy needs, over-come nausea, constipation, anemia, control
weight gain, provide the necessary calcium intake for calcification of
bones and teeth of baby and also provide additional protein and vitamin B
complex.
The nutrition status of the pregnant woman will
largely determine the nutritional requirements during lactation when her
nutritional requirements are even higher especially the calcium intake
which should be increased.
When we look at infant nutrition
where breastfeeding is recommended at least for the first two years, we
find reference made to this in the Holy Qur'an (31:14).
Human
milk is the most balanced food for an infant. Human milk forms fine
flocculent curds in the stomach of the infant, thus enhancing digestion
and leading to more rapid emptying of the stomach, reduces the
likelihood of allergies and other illness. And of course from the
psychological point, breast-feeding provides bonding between mother and
child.
Food continues to be a major factor in the development of
the whole person throughout the growing years.Pre-school children
require the same basic nutrients as teenagers and adults, but in smaller
quantities. A selection of a variety of foods from the milk and meat
group, fruit and vegetables and bread and cereals groups provides a
sound basis for the child's diet.
The teenage years involves
social, physical and physio-logical development. All these facets of the
adolescent influences his nutritional status and food habits, and
stresses of various kinds during this period also have an effect on
nutrition. Here again, milk, meat and its alternatives, wholegrains,
cereals, breads, fruit and vegetables are recommended.
Snacking
makes up about 25% of the energy requirement of most teenagers. But
snacking is acceptable provided the snacks furnish an equivalent amount
of the days allowance for protein, vitamin and minerals.
If good
nutritional habits are not inculcated at the beginning of young
adulthood as part of the lifestyle, poor eating habits become a risk
factor for a number of diseases for the middle-aged and elderly.
Most
modern affluent homemakers are forced to seek ways of acquiring time
due to having jobs outside home and therefore regularly make use of
convenience foods, processed foods, and fast foods. These foods are
often high in kilojoules, high in fat content, especially high in
saturated fats and cholesterol, high in sodium, low in nutritional value
and contain liberal amounts of food additives.
The individual
who has had poor food habits throughout life is not likely to be in as
good health as the one who has enjoyed the benefits of a good diet.
SOME DIET-RELATED HEALTH PROBLEMS
Many
diet-related health problems affect many individuals, like: high blood
cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and coronary heart disease.
Some
of the risk factors of coronary heart disease are: High blood
cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, stress, lack of exercise,
overweight, and diabetes.
Diet plays a decisive role in the
control of blood fats that is, cholesterol and triglycerides and other
risk factors, like hypertension and diabetes, and hence in the
development of cornonary heart disease.
The prudent dietary guidelines for coronary heart disease, are:
food low in fat, especially saturated fats
to substitute saturated fat with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats
limit the intake of foods high in cholesterol
eat more complex carbohydrates especially rich in fibre
control your weight
use less salt
High
blood cholesterol is a risk factor which can easily be controlled by
making changes to our eating habits. The body can manufacture all its
cholesterol needs from fat in the foods we eat. The westernized diet is
high in fat and cholesterol and our bodies are becoming overloaded.
Therefore, cut out many risks as you can.
This can be achieved by improving our lifestyle, and eating habits.
eat less fat (30% of total energy requirement should be fat)
reduce saturated fat (animal fat, full-cream dairy products, brick margarine, coconut and palm kernel oils)
reduce dietary cholesterol (egg yolk and organ meats -brains, liver, as well as prawns and shrimps)
stop smoking
control hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
control diabetes
exercise regularly
reduce weight
reduce stress and
eat a wide variety of foods (refer to the 5 food groups)
eat more carbohydrates especially rich in fibre (fruit, veg, legumes, oats)
eat regular meals (don't skip meals)
reduce salt intake (to control Hypertension)
eat moderately (to avoid ooverweight)
Moderation
is the keyword as far as eating habits are concerned. As with all our
divine obligations moderation in terms of the quantity of the food we
eat is essential. The Holy Qur'an mentions this: "Eat and drink and be
not immoderate." (7:31)
Hypertension - the elevation of the
blood pressure above normal is a major risk factor and a symptom that
accompanies many cardiovascular and renal diseases.
Obesity is
often associated with hypertension, so there seems to be a strong
correlation between weight and blood pressure and between increases in
weight and increases in blood pressure.
Sodium restriction is
effective in lowering blood pressure in some persons. Many food contains
salt, like convenience food, processed food and preserved food,
examples are: Sodium benzoate, a preservative used in relishes, sauces,
margarine. Sodium propionate in cheese and breads to retard mould
formation. Sodium alginate in ice cream to give the smooth texture.
Monosodium Glutamate in processed foods. Natural sodium content of
animal food is relatively high (meat, fish, eggs, cheese) although
nutritionally essential must be used in moderate amounts.
Organ meats contain more sodium than muscle meats. Shellfish of all kinds are especially high in sodium than fresh water fish.
All in all we can put it as that:
weight control - highest priority in dietary management of diabetes
eat regular meals - a delay in eating may produce hypoglycaemia
eat moderately
reduce simple sugars
increase foods rich in carbohydrates
eat more dietary fibre
eat less fat or cut them from your diet
CONCLUSION
Good food must contain three essential components:
nutritional benefits and efficientcy in producing the needed energy.
lightness for the stomach
ease of digestion
Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Qur'an:
"O
you who believe, do not forbid the good things which Allah has made
lawful for you and do not exceed limits. Surely Allah does not love
those who exceeds the limits." (5:90)
And then defining
moderation, the Prophetic guidance on the best of common diets is: "one
third food, one third water and one third air." Because, when the
stomach is saturated with food, it will not be able to take in water,
and when food and water exceed their recommended level, one may suffer
from pulmonary difficulties, resulting in stress and exhaustion from
lungs being unable to easily deliver oxygenated blood to the left atrium
of the heart.
One will also feel heaviness in his body, his
heart and spirit will experience languor and drowiness and his limbs
will fail to obey him in performing his basic religious duties. Hence a
filled stomach is damaging to one's body, heart and spirit. Moderation
is the path of good health and the body benefits from moderate and
nutritious meals.
By: Amina Mohamed
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